Lawrence Hall, located prominently on Colgate University’s academic quad, is home to many different departments and academic centers. Lawrence houses the departments of the classics, romance languages and literatures, German, religion, East Asian languages and literatures, Jewish studies, Russian and Eurasian studies, Middle Eastern and Islamic studies as well as the division of the arts and humanities office. Additionally, the building houses the W.M. Keck Humanities Resource Center, Max Kade German Center, W.H. Gifford Classics Center, Japan Studies Center, Robert Ho Center for Chinese Studies and Robert Ho Lecture Room.
While this building may be a center for academics on campus, there is a lot of mystery and whimsy within its walls. Built in 1926, the building is one of Colgate’s older buildings, creating a spooky atmosphere. Specifically, the deep cherry wood of the Classic’s Center, while beautiful, gives the room an eerie feeling. The age and aesthetic of the room lead many to believe that it is haunted, including sophomore MG King.
“Many people think the classics center is extraordinarily haunted and after many late nights and early mornings there, I am inclined to agree. The doors often slam shut on their own. People will try to tell you that it’s because of a ‘difference in air pressure when people open doors in the hallway,’ but it’s ghosts,” King said.
While the building has a spooky atmosphere, the buildings intrigue and mystery is somewhat softened through anecdotes about some of the architectural quirks of the building’s layout, such as the bathroom located very close to the Classics Center.
“I’m also not a big fan of the gender neutral bathroom being attached to the classics center. Sometimes, someone will go in there while we’re having class, and you can hear everything. Everyone has a good laugh,” King said.
Further softening the mystery and sinister interior vibe of the building is the large chicken statue located in a professor’s office.
“The classics department recently […] acquired a large metal chicken about 5ft 5in tall, which currently resides in [Associate] Professor [of the Classics William] Stull’s office,” King said.
Besides the building’s quirky layout, slightly creepy atmosphere and large chicken statue, it is a beloved place to study on campus. Sophomore Georgia Porter feels most motivated to do work in the Classics Center, making Lawrence her favorite place to study on campus.
“As a history and classical studies double-major, I have most of my classes in Lawrence, and from that it’s become my go-to study spot. The auditorium by the Keck Center is fantastic for watching films for class; there is never a shortage of free classrooms to do work in — with good chalkboards, too,” Porter said.
King echoes this sentiment that Lawrence is a great study spot, specifically because of the availability of chalkboards to write on.
“The Classics Center is obviously a favorite, considering the amount of non-classics students who like to study in there, but the Keck Center and area outside are honestly pretty underrated. I’m a big fan of the chalkboards in each room, although I’m pretty sure at some point the amount of chalk dust in the carpeting in the Classics Center became so excessive that they were considering removing the carpet entirely,” King said.
Roy D. and Margaret B. Wooster Chair in the Classics Rebecca Ammerman agrees that the Keck Lounge on the terrace level of Lawrence is one of the best spots in the building. However, her reasoning isn’t because of chalkboards. Ammerman likes the Keck Lounge as it can accommodate small or large group meetings and has unique etched glass.
“The etched glass is by Denise Leone, [who is] a glass-artist who lives in Hamilton. The images represent various ancient Greek sculptures of gods and other subjects,” Ammerman described.
The small details of the building’s decor, such as this stained glass, reflects the different departments that are housed within the building.
“[Working in Lawrence is] fun due to all the different types of interior decoration that reflect the different languages and cultures that are taught within the different departments housed in Lawrence,” Ammerman said.
Lawrence Hall is a great study spot with its accessibility to chalk boards, open classrooms and abundance of different corners and nooks to study in. So the next time you’re looking for a place to study that also happens to have a large chicken statue, Lawrence is the place for you.
