Main Building (Vassar College)

Vassar College ( VASS-ər) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely following Elmira College. It became coeducational in 1969 and now has a gender ratio at the national average. The college is one of the historic Seven Sisters, the first elite women's colleges in the U.S., and has a historic relationship with Yale University, which suggested a merger before they both became coeducational. As of 2021, of all those who apply to Vassar, approximately 19% are accepted for matriculation. Currently, there are close to 2,500 students attending the degree awarding institution. The college offers B.A. degrees in more than 50 majors, and features a flexible curriculum designed to promote a breadth of studies. Student groups at the college include theater and comedy organizations, a cappella groups, club sports teams, volunteer and service groups, and a circus troupe. Vassar College's varsity sports teams, known as the Brewers, play in the NCAA's Division III as members of the Liberty League. The Vassar campus comprises over 1,000 acres (400 ha) and more than 100 buildings, including two National Historic Landmarks and an additional National Historic Place. A designated arboretum, the campus features more than 200 species of trees, a native plant preserve, and a 530-acre (210 ha) ecological preserve.

Ely Hall is a two-story Richardsonian Romanesque classroom and laboratory building on the campus of Vassar College in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, US. The structure houses Vassar's Department of Earth Science and Geography, the A. Scott Warthin, Jr. Museum of Geology and Natural History, and the Aula, a spacious and frequently used gathering space. Originally known as the Alumnae Gymnasium, the building was erected as a response to the perception that Vassar's physical education program was falling behind those of other Seven Sisters colleges. Plans for the hall were made, scrapped, and remade as the college and alumnae benefactors struggled to raise sufficient funds. Ultimately, the building was designed by William Tubby and constructed in 1889, signaling a physical decentralization away from the college's Main Building. When it opened, the gymnasium featured a large pool and a variety of other athletic spaces. Vassar's enrollment quickly outgrew the limited space within the building, and it was first expanded and then superseded by Kenyon Hall in the 1930s. The Geology Department moved into the building shortly thereafter.

The Vassar Chapel, built in 1904, is the main religious building at Vassar College, and is the largest religious edifice in Poughkeepsie, New York. Although it has been altered, repaired, and acoustically improved, it is one of the few buildings at Vassar that has not undergone considerable renovation. Each semester, the College community gathers in the Chapel for fall and spring convocations, in which the President and a notable member of the faculty deliver addresses.

The Seeley G. Mudd Chemistry Building was a chemistry laboratory and classroom building on the campus of Vassar College in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York. The 42,000-square-foot (3,900 m2) postmodern building stood on the north end of a cluster of other science buildings on the site of the school's first chemistry laboratory. It was completed in 1984 at a cost of $7.2 million after the college received money from a fund bequeathed to it in the will of California cardiologist and professor Seeley G. Mudd. The structure replaced Sanders Hall of Chemistry and included elements designed to be energy efficient, notably a large wall of glass blocks that designers hoped would passively heat the building. Reviews of the structure were positive when it opened with critics praising the way its form complemented nearby older buildings. By 2015, many aspects of the building had been evaluated as being in Fair or Poor condition and the building was demolished in April 2016 as part of the Science Center project, later replaced with an open green space.

The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, commonly known as The Loeb, is a teaching museum, major art repository, and exhibition space on the campus of Vassar College, in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. It was founded in 1864 as the Vassar College Art Gallery. It displays works from antiquity to contemporary times. Vassar was the first college or university in the country to include an art museum as part of its original plan. The current 36,000-square-foot (3,300 m2) facility was designed by César Pelli and named in honor of the new building’s primary donor Frances Lehman Loeb, a member of the Class of 1928.The Lehman Loeb Art Center’s collections chart the history of art from antiquity to the present and comprise over 18,000 works, including paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs, textiles, and glass and ceramic wares. Teaching students and working as an important tangible complement to the curriculum is the main focus of the collection. Notable holdings include the Warburg Collection of Old Master prints, an important group of Hudson River School paintings given by Matthew Vassar at the college’s inception, and a wide range of works by major European and American twentieth century painters.

The Vogelstein Center for Drama and Film is the home to Vassar College's drama and film departments. Before its 2003 renovation, the building was known as Avery Hall, and before that, the Calisthenium and Riding Academy. It was originally designed by J.A. Wood. It has been adapted to many uses since its construction. A design by Cesar Pelli turned it into the Center for Drama and Film in 2003.

Strong House (originally Strong Hall) is a dormitory at Vassar College named after Bessie Rockefeller Strong, the oldest daughter of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, who was largely responsible for funding the building's construction. It used to be the only all female dormitory remaining after Vassar went coeducational in 1969. However, Strong House currently identifies as a gender inclusive dorm. The building was designed by Francis R. Allen and was completed in 1893.It is located at Vassar College, in Poughkeepsie, New York.

The Powerhouse Theater (officially the Hallie Flanagan Davis Powerhouse Theater) is a theater building on the campus of Vassar College in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, US. Originally built as a power station in 1912, it was renovated and repurposed as a theater in 1973. Each summer it hosts student productions as well as professional workshops and readings as part of the Vassar–New York Stage and Film Powerhouse Theater program.

The Frederick Ferris Thompson Memorial Library is the main library building at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York.

Raymond House is one of five quadrangle residence halls at Vassar College, located in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York. Designed by Francis R. Allen, Raymond House was erected in 1897 in response to the popularity of Strong House and named after the second president of Vassar College, John Howard Raymond. The dormitory has five floors and is one of the residence halls that was paid for by the college in entirety.

The Bridge for Laboratory Sciences (shortened to the Bridge) is a two-story laboratory and classroom building on the campus of Vassar College in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York. Designed by Ennead Architects, the 80,000-square-foot (7,400 m2) structure curves 300 feet (91 m) across the Fonteyn Kill and connects to the renovated Olmsted Hall as part of the Integrated Science Center project.

Lathrop House (known officially as Edward Lathrop House) was the third quadrangle dormitory built on Vassar College's campus in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York. Constructed in 1901 and designed by Boston-based Allen & Vance, the brick dorm stands five stories tall. Lathrop houses 180 students who may be any year or gender.