Several of the choices seem like solid Schelling points, which may represent a good way to think of this. However, rendezvous may be misssed at schools such as Yale and Wesleyan University.
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William &Mary: The Christopher Wren Building; the sunken garden; the Crim Dell Bridge. I hope, in time, the stunning Memorial to the Enslaved will also reach that stature on campus.
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I would say, in the case of Wesleyan University, Foss Hill is the Schelling point, and the Center for the Arts is more of a rendezvous.
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The Freshman Quad at Amherst. It’s right next door to the library. And from there, if you look directly south, you can see the horizon:
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Williams
Probably the Paresky Student Center:
The name says it all; one of the better student centers among the NESCAC group of colleges; a warm and cozy dining and hang-out place for those long, New England winters.
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1a and 1b – thankfully they’re just a block from each other. hehe
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For the places I’ve attended full-time -
Ohio State - Ohio Stadium
USC - Tommy Trojan statue
University of Alaska Fairbanks - none
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Hamilton
Most Defining Place
The Filius Events Barn
What You Would See
A row of Cape Cod style, clapboard buildings that bestride the main road between the main campus and the arts village. Anyone going from one end of Hamilton to the other would have to pass through its arcade, usually overflowing with posters and announcements of upcoming events. It is also next to the bookstore.
What You Would Miss
Ironically, there’s not much else to see from this vantage point as it seems to have literally been carved out of the surrounding woods.
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University of Virginia -The Rotunda , The Lawn, The Academical Village.
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Virginia Tech -The Pylons, April 16 Memorial, The Drillfield.
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I am not a graduate of Notre Dame. I just visited there a few days ago and invite a graduate to correct me if I am wrong. But I would imagine that many grads might say the the following:
Most Defining Place and What You Would See
Standing in the “God Quad” by the statue of Jesus looking at the Golden Dome and the Basillica. Two amazing buildings in a 45 degree visual arc.
What You Would Miss
The Grotto. The Lakes. The Inside of the Basillica. The Stadium. Touchdown Jesus and reflecting pool.
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Oxford UK? Well I don’t know that they were designed like that, as opposed to organically evolving over the centuries. I don’t know Oxford (though I will instantly recognise a photo of the Bodleian library). For Cambridge, the iconic image is Kings College /the Kings chapel, much as members of the other colleges might not want it to be and much as it may have a number of “competitors” (including the bridge of sighs at St John’s and the Corpus Clock).
So Oxford itself developed over a relatively long time.
But in that post I was referring to the US colleges that admired the Oxford campus, and so fast-tracked a campus master plan that tried to recreate something of the same sort of feel.
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In an example of an Oxford-like school in a smaller form, Trinity’s Long Walk does define its campus quite well:
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I note Trinity is an interesting case because my understanding is they started on an ambitious Collegiate Gothic master plan, courtesy of William Burges, but then stopped because Burges had not properly accounted for the site terrain (he apparently never visited), and also lack of funds.
This is apparently what one version of the plan was supposed to look like:
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However, here’s the thing: Gothic architecture is designed to keep intruders and marauders out, thus, making it a popular form of urban development both in its original form and in its “revival” movement in early 20th century American college campuses. For that reason, I don’t think Trinity students spend a lot of time walking up and down Summit Avenue. A more defining place - I think - would be somewhere inside of the Long Walk. I’m thinking, The Chapel?
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While Long Walk is parallel to Summit Street, it follows along the opposite side of the buildings in the photo, adjacent to the green. The chapel is easily visible from points along Long Walk. In terms of analogous collegiate features, Long Walk carries foot traffic at Trinity similarly to, but not as extensively as, Middle Path at Kenyon and Martin’s Way at Hamilton.
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