"Plan for the Future Development of Hobart College"

This campus plan, created by architect Hobart Upjohn, presents a top-down view of the Hobart College campus and his ideas for its future growth.  It includes existing buildings and a number of new buildings, none of which were ever built.  Each building is marked with a number and is identified in the top right corner.

The plan is undated, however records from the Board of Trustees indicate that in April 1930 the board resolved to secure an architect to lay out a complete general plan in regard to the structure and the location of future buildings for both colleges.  In June 1930 Hobart Upjohn reported to the board his thoughts on the future development of the campus and agreed to make a survey and draft a plan.  In October he presented plans for both the Hobart campus and the William Smith campus, which were approved in principal.  It is believed that this Hobart College campus plan is the one presented by Upjohn to the Board of Trustees in October of 1930, as recorded in the trustee minutes.  Unfortunately no record of the William Smith College campus plan has been found, although the minutes state that it included a new gymnasium and dormitory group.  Hobart Upjohn was the architect for Comstock House, the William Smith dormitory built in 1931-32.

The new buildings include a much larger library to the south of Coxe Hall (#6), a dormitory behind Geneva and Trinity Halls (#8), a "Memorial Building" with a tower and cloister next to the President's House (#3), an administration, classroom, and science building along St. Clair St. (#4,5), and a large theatre where Sherrill Hall now stands (#1).  In this plan Merritt Hall would be removed and an addition would be built onto Williams Hall, which at the time was the gymnasium.  Upjohn also planned to move the chapel into Demarest, which was the library, and use St. John's Chapel as a student club.  One of Upjohn's suggestions was for an outside swimming pool with a conservatory roof, although this does not appear on the plan.

At the time that this plan was drawn up the college had recently embarked on a College Building and Endowment Fund campaign.  Presumably some of the money raised would go towards new buildings, although Comstock House was the only new building erected following the campaign.  It is clear that Upjohn's plan for the Hobart College campus was never realized.