Pomona College - Campus

Campus

Pomona’s campus is in Claremont, California, covering an area of 140 acres (57 ha). It includes 59 buildings, including 12 residence halls. The campus in Claremont originally began with the donation of an incomplete hotel—what would become Sumner Hall. It quickly expanded from 7 buildings in 1909—the time James Blaisdell took over as President. He had the foresight to purchase the empty land around the College while it was still available, securing the College’s future and allowing for expansion for years to come.

Currently, First Street borders the campus on the south, Mills and Amherst Avenues to the east, Eighth Street on the north, and Harvard Avenue on the west. Claremont Graduate University, Scripps College and Claremont McKenna College are adjacent to Pomona’s north, from west to east respectively. Pomona is divided into North Campus and South Campus, casually divided by Sixth Street, with a few exceptions. Many of the earlier buildings were in the Spanish Renaissance Revival and Mission Styles, usually only one or two stories in height. Designed by Pasadena architect Myron Hunt, Bridges Hall of Music, is an example of these styles combined. Later buildings took inspiration from these styles, with usually three or fewer stories and stucco walls.

South Campus consists of mostly first-year and sophomore housing and academic buildings for the social sciences and humanities. Among the notable dormitories are Harwood Court, originally a women’s dorm built in 1921, and Oldenborg Center, a foreign language housing option for students that includes a foreign language dining hall. Also of note is Sumner Hall, Pomona’s first building, Bridges Auditorium (“Big Bridges”) —used for concerts and speakers with a capacity of 2,500—Bridges Hall of Music (“Little Bridges”), a concert hall built in 1915 with seating for 600, and Carnegie Building, which houses the Politics and Economics departments. It was originally built in 1929 as a library for the College. Marston Quadrangle is located between Carnegie Building and Bridges Auditorium, one of two quadrangles on campus. The Pomona College Organic Farm is hidden behind The Wash on the southeastern corner of campus.

North Campus is also a mix of residential and academic buildings. Most of the academic buildings house science departments. Among the notable buildings are the Richard C. Seaver Biology Building (“Seaver West”), built with environmentally friendly features, completed in 2005, and the Lincoln and Edmunds buildings, both completed in 2007.

The Lincoln and Edmunds buildings were the first buildings in Claremont to garner a gold certification award from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Program. The two new academic buildings also house the first publicly accessible Skyspace art installation by renowned artist and alumnus James Turrell '65.

North Campus dormitories house mostly juniors and seniors. Smiley Hall is the oldest dorm West of the Mississippi. It was built in 1908. While it is south of Sixth Street, it is still considered a North Campus dorm. Frary Dining Hall, one of two dining halls on campus, is the location of the murals “Prometheus” by José Clemente Orozco, his first work in the US, and “Genesis” by Rico Lebrun.

Along the south side of Sixth Street are buildings central to the campus. Smith Campus Center is home to many student services, including a mailroom, The Coop student store and two restaurants; Alexander Hall houses administrative offices. Athletic facilities are to the south of Sixth Street and to the east of Smiley Hall. The Rains Center is the main athletic facility with a fitness center, gym and locker rooms. Adjacent to Rains Center is Merritt Football Field, Alumni Baseball Field and Haldeman Pool. Other Pomona facilities of note include the student group and lounge in Walker Hall known as the Women's Union, the Sontag Greek Theatre—an outdoor amphitheater, as well as The Farm, an experiment in sustainable farming and the Seaver Theatre Complex, built in 1990 with a 335-seat auditorium, 100-seat experimental theater and several other studios and rehearsal spaces. Another notable resource is the Robert J. Bernard Field Station north of Foothill Boulevard.

The campus is less than five miles (8 km) south of the San Gabriel Mountains, on top of the alluvial fans that have come from nearby San Antonio Canyon. The campus is relatively flat, with a slight uphill grade from south to north, because of this. Mount San Antonio (also known as Mount Baldy) is 14 miles (22 km) north of the College and is visible from the campus. The Mount Baldy Ski Lifts is a popular spot for students to ski in the winter because of its convenient location. On clear days, the Chino Hills are visible to the south and San Bernardino Mountains to the east.