A History Tour of Sheldon Court, a Collegetown Landmark in Brick
"Cornell’s First Dormitory,” a 1903 newspaper ad proclaimed, describing the new structure as “built to fill a long-felt want at Cornell.” The ad highlighted the electric desk lamps, Mission-style furniture, tile and marble lavatories, telephone connections in each room, and fireplaces in most suites.
The cost per year, including services and utilities: $150.
Nearly a century and a quarter later, that building—Sheldon Court—remains a Collegetown landmark. And its ground-floor retail space has housed some of the neighborhood’s most enduring businesses over the decades, from the Triangle Bookshop to Collegetown Bagels.
While it now shares a dense stretch of College Avenue with the Schwartz Center next door and the towering, redeveloped Chacona Block across the street, Sheldon Court once dominated the landscape—and was in the vanguard of student living.
Sheldon Court once dominated the Collegetown landscape—and was in the vanguard of student living.