Westchester Community College - Campus

Campus

WCC's main campus sits at an elevation of 500 ft (152 m), off of Grasslands Road in Valhalla, just north of White Plains. In 1780, this location was the site of a surprise attack by British and Hessian troops on American soldiers. The attack occurred at what was then called Young's Corners (now Knollwood and Grasslands roads) at Young's Tavern. When the troops marched off the fields, they encountered a group of American colonists, some the victims of smallpox, who were buried alive in snowdrifts. The land later belonged to the founder of Kensico Cemetery, Reiss Carpentar. He died in 1910, after being the victim of a swindle, and the land was then acquired by Joseph Daly. Daly used the property largely for breeding horses, and he later sold it to John Hartford.

A master plan for the college was completed in 1961, with plans for the buildings on campus. The plan included 8 buildings, and they were to be finished by 1988: the Engineering Technologies building (1962), the Student Center (1963), the Physical Education building (1964), the Classroom building (1967), the Learning Resource Center (1969), the Science building (1978), the Academic Arts building (1981), and the Administration building (1988). The Mount Kisco architecture firm of Kaeyer, Parker & Garment designed the Science, Academic Arts, and Administration buildings. The Administration building was originally to have four floors, according to the master plan, but was scaled back to three after funding from the county and the New York State Dormitory Authority was reduced due to inflation.

The Learning Resource Center was renamed the Harold L. Drimmer Library in 1994, after a longtime chairman of the college's board of trustees. The library was completely renovated and expanded in 2002, at a cost of $15 million. The new design was carried out by the firm Lothrop Associates, which doubled the size of the building to over 100,000 square feet. The updated building contains not only library facilities, but also computer training labs, a student lounge, and conference rooms. The building's architect, Aaron B. Schwarz of Perkins Eastman architects, incorporated as much natural lighting as possible into the new design. The building's facade has stones similar to the original Learning Resource Center building, to better match the existing look on campus. Schwarz received a Design Award in 2003 for the building, from the Westchester/Mid-Hudson chapter of the American Institute of Architects.