So, this is Martin’s Way?
Yes, the photo shows a segment of Martin’s Way, as it approaches Beinecke Village (although Filius, which composes part of that complex, does not appear in the image). The bronze campus map, which might make a good Schelling point, would be behind the photographer.
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I thought Filius was the octagonal shaped building on the right?
Meanwhile, are we fine with this as the defining feature of Kenyon?
The Hamilton complex includes two octagonal forms. Filius would be to the left, and offset toward the rear, from the perspective of that image.
The Kenyon image depicts a location on the far side of Gambier from the Gates of Hell, so it doesn’t seem relevant to the prior post on Kenyon. Nonetheless, a more utilitarian segment of Middle Path can be seen stretching toward a vanishing point.
As @merc81 stated, the site of your Kenyon picture is from far from the Gates of Hell. For a realistic perspective of the area between Gambier and Kenyon’s most historic buildings, the photos below show the Gates of Hell and Middle Path from opposing vantage points:
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Oh, much better. 
I’m kind of in agreement with
My choice would be the Old Campus. Home to a majority of the first-year dorms, it’s a touchstone for the entire student body. Fairly open to the general public. And I think that’s the Yale Fence (or a replica of it) in the foreground which hearkens back to its earliest years:
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Just to supplement this observation for those who do not know . . .
Memorial Quadrangle is Branford College on three sides, and Saybrook College on the fourth, which are two of Yale’s residential colleges (and really it is Branford turf–Saybrook’s courtyards are on the other side).
It actually has a somewhat interesting history–when it was first built with funding from Anna Harkness, the residential college plan was still in the future, and it was originally used for College seniors. Edward Harkness then gave the donation that really kicked off the residential college system, the complex was modified a bit, and it was converted into the separated Branford and Saybrook.
In that sense it is a very foundational space for Yale’s transformation into a Collegiate Gothic college modeled on Oxford, and indeed other colleges that followed a similar path after Yale (although Yale was not itself remotely first in the US).
However, it is not really a space frequently visited by the public or indeed other Yale students, it is instead mostly used by Branfordians.
Old Campus in contrast is a mix of some first-year housing, some academic buildings, and some other College buildings. So lots of College students spend lots of time on Old Campus, particularly as first years but also for various classes, events, and so on.
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Smith College
Personally, I think Paradise Pond and the botanical gardens. All in the midst of an arboretum
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A reason I proposed Memorial Quadrangle was that, beyond its, arguably, defining general aesthetics, it posts a signature building, Harkness Tower, on its perimeter. With breadth of student activity considered, however, Old Campus, as you suggested, appears to be more representative of Yale overall.
I guess you could also say that in terms of cars passing by on I-95, the Harkness Tower is probably the most visible emblem of Yale.
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For sure Harkness is a signature building.
As a practical matter, we can combine these suggestions because by far most Yalies will be most familiar with the view of Harkness from Old Campus (it is across the street):
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At Rice I’d say Lovett Hall.
It’s the oldest building on Campus and sort of the iconic building used in promotional materials. When you come in the official entrance to the university you drive along a road with a canopy of oaks and Lovett Hall is directly in front of you. When you go through the main arch you enter the quad. Freshmen walk through the arches during a matriculation ceremony their first night on campus (complete with fireworks) and then they aren’t supposed to walk out the opposite way until a procession on graduation day. The architectural style of the building is mimicked throughout campus, especially the arches the run along the quad side.
The quad used to be sort of a formal space that wasn’t used a lot except to walk through to get from one place to another but it was redesigned this year to be more of a gathering spot for students with a lot more landscaping, seating, and trees for shade. It’s lovely.
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I am still flabbergasted that JMU does tours that only tour the other side of 81, and not the side of campus that has the quad at all. We didn’t realize that’s what we signed up for, and my son was so disappointed with the campus (or lack thereof) that it was hard to convince him to apply. We tried to do a drive through of the pretty side of campus with the quad, but just didn’t really have the time to do it justice on our own.
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I haven’t taken a tour in a long time, but I never took a tour that focused on East Campus. They always ended at the Quad. The campus isn’t that big, they should be able to cover both. I used to wonder why they never took tours to UREC.
Nowadays you sign up for either/or - East Campus or West Campus. We signed up late, when we realized we’d be able to get there after a UVA tour and do both the same day and only East was available. I don’t think it would show particularly well on it’s own regardless, but it showed particularly poorly just a few hours after UVA.
