Check out our beautiful campus!

Well, if you didn't know, the Smith College campus is an arboretum started by President Neilson. He hired Frederick Law Olmstead, the designer of Central Park in New York City, to give the campus one cohesive design. The result has changed a bit since then, but you can still see some elements in the wide, open Chapin and Science Quad lawns.

Chapin Lawn and Campus Center Science Quad and back of Neison Library

Two beautiful and important features on campus are Paradise Pond and the Systematics Garden next to Lyman Plant House.

Paradise Pond in the fall Systematics Garden

Fountain with Systematics Garden behind Perrenial Border

Another feature original to Olmstead's design is the allee of trees running down the center of campus. The trees are oaks flanked by elms. During the heat of summer they are a welcome bit of shade. Then there is another picture looking past Neison Library to the Campus Center with Helen Hills Hills Chapel in the distance. Just a nice landscape seen from Seeley.

Olmstead's Allee Neison Library, Campus Center, and Helen Hills Hills Chapel

Here are just some particularly pretty pictures around campus. First we have the bulb hill, which is spectacular in the spring. Next, we have the extremely old river birch tree behind Lawrence House. It is over 100 years old and interesting because it is out of its native habitat (swampy river land as you can tell by the name) yet it lives on happily. The last two pictures are of the Katsura tree (a little artsy photo but pretty with the new red buds glowing in the sunlight) and the front of Lyman Plant House, the seat of all that's wonderful about this gorgeous campus.

Bulb Hill Beautiful River Birch

Katsura japonica The front of Lyman Plant House

Learn more about the campus gardens and Lyman Plant House at the Smith College Botanic Garden website. It's beautiful!


Back to top