Milbank Hall, Barnard College

Barnard College was formed in 1888 as the "women's annex" to Columbia College and is now an undergraduate college of Columbia University. Columbia relocated to the Morningside Heights neighborhood in 1897 with Barnard adjacent to the west, across Broadway. Three of the original buildings of Barnard College - Milbank (1897), Fiske 1897), and Brinckerhoff (1898) - are now collectively called Milbank Hall. The three interconnected buildings are four stories tall on a raised basement. The buildings face Broadway (Brinckerhoff), W. 120th Street (Milbank), or Claremont Avenue (Fiske). The buildings are Italian Renaissance style with Colonial-inspired features and were designed by architect Charles A. Rich.  Milbank Hall is constructed of dark red brick accented in limestone or terra cotta with a basement covered in rusticated limestone. In 2003, Milbank Hall was listed in the New York and National Registers of Historic Places.

Before the Barnard College campus was built in Morningside Heights, the land was across the street from the Bloomingdale Insane Asylum grounds. By 1894, the future footprint of the first three interconnected buildings on the campus (now "Milbank Hall") was undeveloped except for a wooden frame building near the northeast corner/ partly within the future footprint of W. 120th Street. The old alignment of Bloomingdale Road passed through the northwest corner of the future Milbank Hall, and all of the land (except the two north corners of the building) were owned by New York Hospital (the owners of the asylum).

The three original buildings on the Barnard College campus on Morningside Heights form a U-shape with a courtyard open to the south toward W. 119th Street (now closed to traffic). They were the first group of buildings in New York City specifically built for a women's college. The architectural trim on Milbank Hall is limestone and terra cotta on the first story; most of the second to fourth-story trim is terra cotta glazed white to resemble limestone. The entrances to each of the three original buildings are inscribed with the original name above the doorway. The most elaborate entryway is into the original Milbank Hall on W. 120th Street, topped by a balcony with four two-story columns/ pilasters supporting the inscription under four urns.

A greenhouse was constructed on the roof of Milbank Hall in 1998, forming a fifth floor. The Arthur Ross Greenhouse adds over 2,000 square feet under glass with over 400 plant species. The greenhouse replaced an earlier one built on campus in 1928 and is used for STEM research. As of the fall term 2021, students have returned to campus at Barnard and tours are offered in person of the exteriors only of buildings; virtual tours are available online (link re: tours below). The first floor of Milbank Hall includes the Minor Latham Playhouse and the fourth floor holds Kreuger Lecture Hall.

Barnard College. Botany@Barnard: Arthur Ross Greenhouse Celebrates 20 Years, Barnard College: News. October 5th 2018. Accessed October 8th 2021. https://barnard.edu/news/botanybarnar-arthur-ross-greenhouse-celebrates-20-years.

Barnard College. Campus Map, Barnard College: Visit. January 1st 2021. Accessed October 8th 2021. https://barnard.edu/campus-map.

Barnard College. The College and its Mission, Barnard College: About Barnard. January 1st 2021. Accessed October 8th 2021. https://barnard.edu/college-and-its-mission.

NYS CRIS. Inventory Data on Milbank Hall, 606 W. 120th Street, New York, New York 10027, New York State Cultural Resource Information System database. Accessed October 8th 2021. https://cris.parks.ny.gov/.