Hangouts through the years

Cornell student hangouts are the places where lifelong friendships are forged. Some gathering places have spanned decades, while others came and went in a blaze of glory. 

Here five alumni and a member of the Class of 2024 tell the stories of their special space. Sit back and time travel to that place you knew, or wish you had.

Thomas Commons lobby alive with students
by Ken Roden ’24

As the sun rises to meet the top of the hill in Mount Vernon, you can expect to find students already making their way to the cornerstone of Cornell College: the Thomas Commons.

 

 

The Pauley Lounge Folk
by Erin Casey ’09

But the lounge wasn’t just for fun and games; it was a place where we broke out of our shells and looked past differences to get to know one another.

 

 

Meet me at the Orange Carpet
by Christy Hamilton ’01

We bobbed and throbbed with Sir Mix-a-Lot on the Orange Carpet. The orange was barely visible under the press of sweaty students crowding for a spot near the rap star. 

 

 

The General Tavern: Karmic ’70s gathering place
by Bruce Millard ’76

Smack dab into the middle of Main Street U.S.A., seemingly dropped from some karmic tornado that had gathered every piece of exotic ’60s cultural debris in its long and winding path, plopped The General Tavern.

 

Dorm life gave sense of belonging
by Susan Schwab Donovan ’66

Later, a little colony of procrastinators would gather in the lounge, pulling all-nighters to cram for an exam or to finish (or start) a paper due the next day. By the wee hours, the smoky air was thick with tension and irritability.

 

The Cole Bin: Dating in the ’50s
by Duane Carlson ’55

Dating on the Hilltop in the ’50s centered on the ramshackle, shedlike building known as the Cole Bin, with its aptly named Furnace Room.