The new skylight ceiling of the recently opened Moynihan Train Hall, the expansion of Penn Station, recalls the 1913 opening of Grand Central Terminal and its own celestial ceiling. Above the main concourse, the vaulted ceiling features an expansive mural of stars and constellations, thanks to the expertise of Columbia astronomy professor Harold Jacoby. […]
Tag: University Archives
Mamie’s “Lovely Pink Gown”
In 1963, former University President Dwight D. Eisenhower was invited back to Columbia to receive the Alexander Hamilton Medal. For the dinner event held at Low Library, Mamie Eisenhower chose to wear the pink gown she posed in 1950 for her Columbia portrait. This gown is currently held at the University Archives. […]
Pierre Toussaint’s Portrait at Columbia
One of the most frequently reproduced images from the University Archives is an early 1850s portrait of Pierre Toussaint taken by former University President and enthusiastic amateur photographer Nathaniel Fish Moore. This photograph, long held by the Moore family, arrived at the Archives in 1944. It was initially incorrectly credited and its subject misidentified, but […]
Still Presidential: Former Presidents at Columbia
Columbia has hosted future Presidents and sitting Presidents. Here, we focus on a few other former Presidents who came to the University. Can you guess which former president served as a featured speaker at an engineering school fundraiser, as a guest lecturer at the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education desegregation case, […]
US Presidents Who Officially Visited Columbia
In a previous post, we talked about some of the future U.S. Presidents who spent time at Columbia, as students, lecturers, award recipients and even a university president, on their way to the White House. Here, we recall the sitting Presidents who have made official visits to the University. […]