When the University held its first classes in 1871, they took place in downtown Syracuse. With construction of the Hall of Languages underway, the University rented space in Myers Block, located at the southeast corner of Montgomery and East Genesee Streets.
Photos: Syracuse Views Through the Decades
Go back in time with this selection of historic images from the University Archives. The photos capture the evolution of the campus, student life and the community that has defined the University through the years.
To learn more about materials and photos in the University Archives, part of the Special Collections Research Center in the University Libraries, visit its website.
Students in the University’s first dorm, Winchell Hall, in 1938 (Courtesy of the University Archives)
When the University held its first classes in 1871, they took place in downtown Syracuse. With construction of the Hall of Languages underway, the University rented space in Myers Block, located at the southeast corner of Montgomery and East Genesee Streets. Classrooms, a library and faculty offices were housed on the second floor, more classrooms and a chemistry lab were on the third and the chapel and assembly room were on the fourth floor. (Courtesy of the University Archives)
The University began construction on Archbold Stadium 121 years ago. This photo shows the excavation work for the stadium site in 1905. (Courtesy of the University Archives)
The newly built Archbold Gymnasium in 1908. The stadium, which was demolished in the late ’70s to make way for the Carrier Dome, was one of the first concrete stadiums in the United States. (Courtesy of the University Archives)
July marks the 51st anniversary of the founding of the University’s Department of Women’s Athletics. In this photo from 1976, the women’s volleyball team competes. The men’s and women’s athletics departments merged in July 1982 under the umbrella of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. (Photo by Joe Wrinn, courtesy of the University Archives)
A look at the Holden Observatory, the second-oldest building on campus, being moved to a new spot on campus in the summer of 1991 to make room for the construction of Eggers Hall. The 375-ton building was moved 180 feet over three days. (Photo courtesy of the University Archives)
This view from the late-1920s shows what used to be a rose garden in the area that is now part of Shaw Quadrangle in front of Carnegie Library. During the University’s history, the space in the middle of campus has hosted myriad activities, including agriculture, baseball games and a rose garden. By 1929, the central lawn area that would become the Quad was created. (Photo courtesy of University Archives)
A throwback photo of an early iteration of Otto, taken around 1986-1987
A photograph of what commencement looked like 110 years ago. Chancellor James Roscoe Day addresses the Class of 1916 in Archbold Gymnasium.
The Hall of Languages, circa 1880. According to the University Archives, this is one of its oldest images of campus.
A gem from the Archives’ Photograph Collection, dated circa 1970s
An image from another frosty time on the Quad, circa 1930s
Photograph of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speaking at Syracuse University, July 15, 1965, from the Syracuse Summer Orange, July 22, 1965. King visited campus to speak at the annual Summer Sessions banquet, giving a speech titled “The Role of Education in the Civil Rights Movement.” (Photo by Allen Butte)
The Old Row, circa 1920s
A circa 1930s photo of Alpha Gamma Delta sorority sisters taking advantage of Syracuse’s winter weather
A view of Bird Library in 1972, the year it opened.
Ice skating and skiing at Drumlins Country Club, circa 1938. (Courtesy of Drumlins)
Felisha Legette-Jack ’89 in action when she was a student-athlete at SU in 1985. (Photo by Conan D. Owen)
Students taking an exam in Archbold Gymnasium in the 1940s.
