Bryn Mawr College

Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania

Bryn Mawr College Report (External PDF) 2MB

Founded in 1879, the buildings and landscapes of Bryn Mawr College are outstanding models of campus planning and the Collegiate Gothic style of architecture. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Bryn Mawr's campus includes the work of noted architects and landscape architects such as Ralph Adams Cram, Frederick Law Olmsted, and Calvert Vaux. This grant will allow the college to produce a plan detailing the current state of the built and natural environment at Bryn Mawr and an assessment of the internal policies that affect it.

Bryn Mawr College received a Getty grant in 2002 for $225,000 to support campus heritage planning.

Report Summary

Purpose: This grant allowed the college to implement a multi-phase plan studying the history and status of the built and natural campus environment. It culminated in the development of guidelines for improved internal and town/gown policies that affect that status and created a framework to measure the effectiveness of these policies over time.

Historic Designation(s): Founded in 1879, the college includes several sites that contribute to the Bryn Mawr College Historic District (1979). The M. Carey Thomas Library is also designated as a National Register site and National Historic Landmark (1991). Thomas was instrumental as a pioneer in establishing the college as a leading institution among women's colleges in all aspects of higher education. She also pursued a far reaching building campaign that resulted in the earliest Collegiate Gothic building the United States.

The campus plan (1882-1884) of landscape designer, Calvert Vaux, had a lasting effect on the campus in many respects. Frederick Law Olmsted of Olmsted Brothers, working with Cope and Stewardson, also produced a plan (1895) also had a similarly significant impact, particularly regarding the treatment of open space, definition of boundaries, and views and vistas across the campus. Several additional noteworthy architects and designers are cited in the report, including Ralph Adams Cram; Mellor, Meigs & Howe; Louis I. Kahn; and others.

Planning Process: The project team, composed of consultants, Bryn Mawr College staff, administration, students, and alumnae, undertook four phases of work: research of archival data, sponsorship of a workshop to develop a decision-making process, development of guidelines and principles for action, and planning for assessment of the recommended actions.

Outcomes—Products: One result of the project was the development of a historic resource inventory and analytical study, which is intended to serve as an important resource for integrated planning, an feature of campus development that has increased in scope and use in the past decade. Historic value was determined by a scoring system based on the standards and criteria of the National Register of Historic Places. Sites were evaluated with regard to their significance within the context of history at Bryn Mawr College and also the outside community.

Outcomes—Policies and Practices: The project also resulted in “Principles for Campus Heritage Preservation,” which provides guidance to both strengthen the historic core of the campus and offer campus-wide concepts for future development and planning. The four principles are to reinforce iconic campus identity, address the campus as a whole, recognize the campus as an interdependent system, and invest in excellence and quality at all levels.