Fernow Hall
Why it's listed
Fernow Hall is a brick teaching building on the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, built in 1912-14 as the Forestry Building for the New York State College of Agriculture. Green & Wicks of Buffalo designed it, and the Durolithic Company of Buffalo built it. The state legislature had created a College of Forestry at Cornell in 1898, but it lost funding in 1903. Liberty Hyde Bailey later secured a department and a $100,000 appropriation in 1912 for this building, which was meant to start a plant industry quadrangle that was never completed. The hall is eleven bays long, with buff tapestry brick walls, limestone trim and slate roofs. Its projecting central pavilions have recessed windows and decorated brick panels. The design draws on Renaissance, Colonial and Prairie School influences. It was later named for Bernhard E. Fernow, the first director of forestry study at Cornell, and it still houses classrooms and offices.
Significance in brief: The building recalls Cornell's early forestry program and is one of the buildings erected in the first decade of the New York State College of Agriculture. It is also notable as the work of the prominent Buffalo firm Green & Wicks. Its design stands out for the treatment of its central pavilions, which resemble Prairie School educational buildings, while still matching the earlier college buildings in massing, scale and materials.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 84003183, listed September 24, 1984. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Cornell University campus, Ithaca |
|---|---|
| County | Tompkins County |
| Listed | September 24, 1984 |
| Reference number | 84003183 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1912-14 |
| Architect / builder | Architect: Green & Wicks, Buffalo; Builder: Durolithic Company, Buffalo |
| Architectural style | Combines Renaissance, Colonial and Prairie School influences |
| Areas of significance | Education, Architecture |
| Level of significance | National |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | In use as classrooms and offices for the Department of Natural Resources; condition rated fair. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.44879, -76.47541 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 84003183.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5445129
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.