American college towns are known for their culture and youthful vibe, but many also benefit from having campus that are practically museums of architecture, landscape design, and flora.
In fact, a few college campus have even been designated as such.
If you want to see the best that American academia has to offer, you don’t have to be a student.
All of these campuses are open to the public, and their officials love receiving visitors.
University of Virginia, Charlottesville: Established in 1819, UVA is one of the oldest major universities in the country. It was conceived and founded by Thomas Jefferson, who also played an active role in its planning and construction. He even personally designed the world-famous UVA rotunda, which is just one of the many old buildings that recently made the UVA campus the only college campus in the U.S. to be recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Brooklyn College, New York City: Set amidst the bustle of Brooklyn’s inner neighborhoods, the Brooklyn College campus is a small oasis of greenery. The design and architecture were inspired by Jefferson’s UVA, but the campus was constructed over 100 years later, during the Great Depression.
Indiana University, Bloomington: Indiana isn’t widely known for its beauty, but Indianans would beg to differ when it comes to some of the state’s most beautiful location. One example is the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington. Constructed in the late 1800s, the campus has several old landmark buildings, a hilly and tree-filled landscape, and lots of well-tended gardens.
Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey: The Ivy League schools tend to produce many of our most eminent and wealthy people, which is why they also commonly get ample donations from their alumni. As a result, colleges like Princeton are able to build and maintain breathtaking campuses with beautiful landscapes and world-class architecture. Princeton is one of the oldest colleges in the northeast, and over the years it has steadily accumulated a wealth of architectural marvels.
Sara Lawrence College, Bronxville, New York: Located just 10 miles north of busy Manhattan, the campus of Sarah Lawrence College is a strange little gem hidden among the suburbs of Westchester County. The campus is laid out over steep and forested hills with a central ridge around which the main buildings are situated. The old buildings convey an air of midcentury suburban comfort, while the newer buildings around the edge of campus are on the cutting edge of green-building technology.
Vanderbilt University, Nashville: Vanderbilt was officially designated a botanical garden in 1988, and it shows. The verdant campus is brimming with many variety of trees, an abundance of colorful flowers, and even some exotic plants. The Bicentennial Oak near the center of campus has been around since Revolutionary times.
Yale University, New Haven: Yale is another Ivy League school that has benefited from a long history of wealthy backers. The Gothic spires of its central buildings are visible from across town, and the insides of the buildings have a castle-like feeling that makes the classroom experience interesting.
By Caterina Christakos
Post a Comment