Africana Studies and Research Center (ASRC)
Cornell University
310 Triphammer Road
Built: 1957
Architects: Carl C. and Robert B. Tallman, Ithaca, NY
The Africana Studies and Research Center was established in 1969, in the aftermath of the student unrest at Cornell and the tail end of the Civil Rights Era.
Suspected arson at the Center's initial building on Wait Avenue in April 1970, following the previous year's '69 Willard Straight Hall takeover, convinced the university to provide a new home immediately for the ASRC. The university purchased the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity house at 310 Triphammer Road in June and started remodelling so that the building could be ready for ASRC occupancy by the beginning of the fall term.
Cornell University
310 Triphammer Road
Built: 1957
Architects: Carl C. and Robert B. Tallman, Ithaca, NY
The Africana Studies and Research Center was established in 1969, in the aftermath of the student unrest at Cornell and the tail end of the Civil Rights Era.
Suspected arson at the Center's initial building on Wait Avenue in April 1970, following the previous year's '69 Willard Straight Hall takeover, convinced the university to provide a new home immediately for the ASRC. The university purchased the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity house at 310 Triphammer Road in June and started remodelling so that the building could be ready for ASRC occupancy by the beginning of the fall term.
Investigating the suspected arson at the Africana Center's first building at 320 Wait Avenue, Cornell Chronicle, Volume 1, Number 24, Sunday, April 5, 1970
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Controversy over location ensued; some people, whether associated with the ASRC or not, considered its placement on the north of campus--a twenty-minute walk from central campus--a form of segregation.
However, 310 Triphammer has remained the Africana Studies and Research Center's home, with ample space for an extensive library and classrooms. The building was renovated in 2005, giving the John Henrik Clarke Africana Library a bright, modern space for researchers to access its extensive holdings.
However, 310 Triphammer has remained the Africana Studies and Research Center's home, with ample space for an extensive library and classrooms. The building was renovated in 2005, giving the John Henrik Clarke Africana Library a bright, modern space for researchers to access its extensive holdings.
History of the Site
The three-plus acre site that came to house the ASRC in 1970 had witnessed decades of changes in land use. Early in the century, the site had been farmland owned by Franklin Cuthbert Cornell, son of Cornell founder Ezra Cornell. Ithaca's social elite thought the cleared, rolling lands would make an excellent site for a golf course. In 1902, the land was transferred as part of a larger parcel to the Country Club of Ithaca.
However, pressed by expanding suburban development into Cayuga Heights, the Country Club sold the land in 1925 to the Eleusis Fraternity and moved farther north. Eleusis never built on the lot and in turn sold its property to another fraternity, Alpha Tau Omega, in 1940.
World War II disrupted student enrollment at Cornell, and fraternity membership declined as well. It was only after the return of the GIs that fraternity numbers--and the building industry--rebounded.
ATO made plans for a new building on the Triphammer lot that could accommodate 40 members living at the house. Cornell architecture professors F. M. Wells and T. H. Canfield, planned a modern building that thoughtfully used the site and allowed for light-filled public spaces and efficient private living areas for students. However, in 1953, ATO decided to renovate its existing building at 625 University Avenue instead of building at the site on Triphammer Road.
However, pressed by expanding suburban development into Cayuga Heights, the Country Club sold the land in 1925 to the Eleusis Fraternity and moved farther north. Eleusis never built on the lot and in turn sold its property to another fraternity, Alpha Tau Omega, in 1940.
World War II disrupted student enrollment at Cornell, and fraternity membership declined as well. It was only after the return of the GIs that fraternity numbers--and the building industry--rebounded.
ATO made plans for a new building on the Triphammer lot that could accommodate 40 members living at the house. Cornell architecture professors F. M. Wells and T. H. Canfield, planned a modern building that thoughtfully used the site and allowed for light-filled public spaces and efficient private living areas for students. However, in 1953, ATO decided to renovate its existing building at 625 University Avenue instead of building at the site on Triphammer Road.
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The Canfield and Wells plans for Alpha Tau Omega (never built) show the location of the 310 Triphammer Road site and its terrain. F.M. Wells and T.H. Canfield, "Proposed House for Beta Theta Chapter of Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity, Cornell" undated.
In 1955, ATO sold the lot to the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. Cornell alum and Alpha Epsilon Pi brother Hyman Adelsberg, a real estate broker in New York City, actively advised the fraternity and helped them plan a new house. Completed in January 1957, the fraternity building was designed by Ithaca architects Carl C. and Robert B. Tallman. (Tallman and Tallman, with T. H. Canfield as the design leader, later designed the new buildings on the Ithaca College campus on South Hill.) A single-story addition with approximately 6,000 square feet was added to the building after Cornell acquired the property in 1970.
Patricia Longoria
Deputy Historian
2016
Deputy Historian
2016
