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Tours

1. Campus Walking Tour

   Welcome to Smith! Enjoy a self-guided tour of the college's 147-acre campus.

   Stops

   1. Admission

      The Office of Admission is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. during the academic year and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the summer. Interviews, tours and information sessions are offered at regularly scheduled times. Appointments for interviews should be made three weeks in advance in writing or by calling 413-585-2500. No appointments are necessary for tours or information sessions, though calling to confirm times is recommended.

   2. Boat House

      Boats owned by the college include canoes, kayaks, rowboats and shells, all available for student use at the Boat House, which sits on the banks of Paradise Pond and serves as both a classroom and center for boat storage. The house is also a center for ice skating and ice hockey enthusiasts in the winter. The dock is a favorite place for sitting and enjoying the quiet beauty of the surrounding natural setting. 

   3. Lyman Conservatory

      Lyman Conservatory houses more than 2,500 species of plants selected from a wide variety of families and habitats, and it comprises one of the best collections of tropical, subtropical and desert plants in the country. It opened in 1895 under the leadership of Smith President Laurenus Clark Seelye, who envisioned the campus as an outdoor botany classroom that included plants and trees from around the world and afforded students both pleasure and an education. The plant house is one of the few remaining conservatories built in the 19th century. Each year visitors flock to the conservatory for the spring bulb show and fall chrysanthemum show.

   4. Sabin-Reed Hall

      Sabin-Reed was dedicated in 1967. It is named for Florence Sabin, class of 1893, the first woman appointed to a professorship at Johns Hopkins University, and Dorothy Reed Mendenhall, class of 1895, a fellow at Johns Hopkins and an associate of William Osler, one of the four founders of Johns Hopkins medical institutions.

       

      Sabin-Reed features state-of-the-art technology and equipment for use in the biological sciences, chemistry and geosciences departments. 

   5. Burton Hall

      Burton Hall was built in 1914 as a home for the life sciences, zoology and botany, which later collectively became biological sciences. Burton was originally called Biology Hall and was renamed in 1917 in recognition of Smith's second president, Marion Burton. Part of the Clark Science Center, Burton Hall is now home to the departments of geology and mathematics. Sculptor and mathematician Helaman Ferguson created the sculpture Aperiodic Penrose, which illustrates a mathematical theorem and is part of an outdoor rock garden that flanks the building. Inside, visitors can find cases of fascinating mineral and gemstone displays.

   6. McConnell Hall

      McConnell Hall is part of the Clark Science Center, a multibuilding complex of classrooms and research laboratories. McConnell was dedicated in 1967 and is named for Edna McConnell Clark, class of 1909. The building houses the departments of astronomy, computer science and physics, and it features a rooftop observatory with a suite of telescopes for student use.

   7. Bass Hall

      Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Hall was dedicated in September 1991 and is the home of the college’s psychology department. Anne Thaxton Bass ’70 is a philanthropist involved in conservation and cultural and educational organizations. Bass Hall's architecture was influenced by the postmodern movement, and it was designed to harmonize with the neighboring buildings, Morris and Lawrence houses, with a red brick and limestone exterior. 

   8. Young Science Library

      The Anita O'K. and Robert Young Science Library, one of the largest college science libraries in the country, has more than 127,000 volumes, 700 periodical subscriptions, 140,000 maps and an array of digital information resources. The building's graceful cupola and weathervane tie it to the Alumnae Gym next door and flood the second and third floors with light.

   9. Sage Hall

      Sage Hall, home of the music department, opened in 1924 and was completely renovated in the 1990s. Sage has a large concert hall, an intimate recital hall, dozens of practice rooms, an early music room and an electronic music studio. The building is named for Margaret Olivia Sage, who was a generous donor to Smith in the 1920s.

   10. Ainsworth Gymnasium

       The Ainsworth Gymnasium is part of the Ainsworth/Scott sports complex. Ainsworth features a swimming pool with one- and three-meter diving boards, five international-sized squash courts, a fitness studio with a 24-foot-climbing wall and an intercollegiate gymnasium. The facilities are augmented by 30 acres of athletic fields.

   11. Scott Gymnasium

       Part of the Ainsworth/Scott sports complex, Scott Gymnasium is home to a dance studio, gymnasium, training room and the human performance laboratory.The 6,500-plus square foot Olin Fitness Center features aerobic machines, each with individual TV screens, as well as weightlifting stations.

   12. Schacht Center for Health and Wellness

       The campus health center, named in honor of Nancy and Henry Schacht, offers a range of student services, including counseling, sports physicals, reproductive health, immunizations and nutrition. Nancy Schacht served as a Smith trustee from 2000 to 2010. Located on Belmont Avenue, the Schacht Center is designed to be a one-stop location for medical, wellness and counseling services. To contact Health Services call 413-585-2800. For emergencies call Campus Police at ext. 800.

   13. Mendenhall Center for the Performing Arts

       Named for Thomas Mendenhall, president of the college from 1959 to 1975, the performing arts center is the home of the college’s departments of music, theatre and dance. The center features the 460-seat Theatre 14 and the black-box Hallie Flanagan Studio Theatre. The building also houses faculty offices; classrooms; lighting, sound and set design labs; the Gamut lounge; rehearsal spaces; dressing rooms; and professional scene and costume shops. A renovation enlarged storage spaces for theater costumes and the music collection, as well as creating a multiuse classroom. The Josten Performing Arts library is also here, providing music scores, recordings, books and other resources.

        

       The building is wheelchair accessible.

   14. Ford Hall

       Opened in 2010, Ford Hall is a science and engineering facility designed to blur the boundaries between traditional disciplines, creating an optimum environment for students and faculty to address key scientific and technological developments of our time. Ford Hall, which is the home for the Picker Engineering Program, computer science, chemistry, biochemistry and molecular biology, is named in honor of the Ford Motor Company Fund, the lead donor to the project.

   15. Neilson Library

       William Allan Neilson Library, named for Smith’s third president, serves as the main social sciences and humanities library and includes the library administrative offices. On the third floor, the Mortimer Rare Book Room showcases more than 25,000 printed books in all subjects from the 15th through 20th centuries, as well as the Virginia Woolf and Sylvia Plath manuscript collections. An enclosed bridge connects the library with the Alumnae Gym, which holds the college archives, the Sophia Smith Collection and the Center for Media Production. In 2015 the college announced that acclaimed designer Maya Lin was chosen to redesign and reimagine Neilson Library. The project is expected to break ground in 2017 and will likely last two years.

   16. Seelye Hall

       Seelye Hall is the college's main humanities classroom building. Seelye also houses a large computer resource center, a digital design studio, faculty offices and the Jacobson Center for Writing, Teaching and Learning.

   17. College Hall

       College Hall was the first Smith College building. Today it houses many major administrative offices, including the president's office, the dean of the college, dean of the faculty, financial aid, registrar, institutional diversity and equity, graduate and special programs, disability services and the controller's office.

   18. Brown Fine Arts Center

       The renowned Smith College Museum of Art, Hillyer Art Library and art department have a distinguished home in the Brown Fine Arts Center. The 164,000-square-foot facility includes a cutting-edge digital imaging center and an enclosed, 40-foot-high skylit atrium that unites the art library, museum and art department and serves as a year-round gathering space.

   19. Museum of Art

       Part of the Brown Fine Arts Center, the Smith College Museum of Art includes four floors of exhibition galleries that house the permanent collection; the Cunningham Center for the Study of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs; and changing exhibitions that regularly include a family friendly resource area. Featured amenities include the Museum Shop, artist-designed restrooms and handcrafted gallery benches.

   20. Alumnae House

       The Alumnae House, at 33 Elm Street, was built in 1938 as a center for alumnae and college activity. Notable architectural features include a Georgian facade, three-over-three Colonial fenestration, an entrance portico with Doric columns and an interior featuring Art Deco motifs. The Office of Alumnae Relations and Development are located in the Alumnae House.

   21. Unity House

       At Unity House, a diverse range of students gather to celebrate and share their cultural heritage. The house offers space for hosting educational and social activities, meetings and shared offices. 

   22. Dewey Hall

       Built in 1827, Dewey Hall was the residence of Smith's earliest students. Today, after being moved from its original site and completely renovated, the building houses faculty offices.

   23. Hatfield Hall

       Hatfield Hall is home to the college's foreign-language departments and includes classrooms and faculty offices.

   24. Wright Hall

       Wright Hall supports many academic activities. The 400-seat Leo Weinstein Auditorium, seminar rooms and faculty offices draw students for formal classroom study, for lectures and special presentations, for informal discussions and for research. Wright is also home to the college's Poetry Center; the Center for Community Collaboration; the Center for the Environment, Ecological Design and Sustainability; and the Lewis Global Studies Center.

   25. John M. Greene Hall

       John M. Greene Hall is used for all-college gatherings such as the academic convocations that open each semester. Other popular activities held at John M. Greene are concerts and Christmas Vespers.

   26. Campus Center

       The Campus Center is the crossroads of community at Smith. The nearly 60,000-square-foot building features a skylit concourse, a two-story lounge looking toward Paradise Pond, performance and meeting rooms, a community art gallery, the student mail room, the student radio station, a food court and the Grécourt Bookshop.

   27. Helen Hills Hills Chapel

       The Helen Hills Hills Chapel is a multifaith space where religious and social concerns of many traditions find expression. The chapel has a large space on the main floor for formal gatherings, concerts and quiet contemplation. The dean of religious life and staff offices are on the lower level, along with the Bodman Lounge, the Blue Room (a quiet space for meditation and prayer), the Reading Room and a kitchen. Many chapel-sponsored student groups present programs of religious, educational, ethical and cultural interest during the academic year. The Service Organizations of Smith, a voluntary service organization, is also housed here.

   28. President's House

       The official residence of the Smith College president is a Georgian home overlooking Paradise Pond. Opened in 1920, the building was illustrated in House Beautiful, where it was praised for the subtle blending of public and private spaces. Several of the gardens that surround the house are open to visitors.