History
Early in Cornell's history, at the turn of the 20th century, banker and hardware magnate Robert H. Treman, Class of 1878, built his family estate on University Hill, just west of today's West Campus. Treman hired his friend Warren Manning, a pioneer of American landscape architecture, to design the site. The Ithaca Daily News of November 2, 1901 reported that the west lawn would be "left to nature as the best gardener." Upon his death in 1937, Treman, who preserved all of the Ithaca area's gorges, donated $5000 to the University specifically for the beautification of the campus. Much of his west lawn grew into the Redbud Woods, which retains many original Manning design elements and boasts locally rare yellow oak and hackberry trees as well as an unusually dense stand of redbuds.
Redbud Woods was part of the landscaping of Robert H. Treman's historic estate. In the late 19th century Warren Manning designed the landscape of the Treman family estate (now Von Cramm Hall, 660, and the Kahin Center) so that it would grow into natural woodlands and beautify the campus. The woods, if left to grow untouched, might eventually reach the stage of a climax forest. Over time, Redbud Woods became perceived as a buffer between the University and the surrounding community.
In 1970, the University proposed to construct a parking lot behind Von Cramm Hall. However, this proposal was dropped after by protests led by Gordon G. Chang.
Read more about this topic: Redbud Woods Controversy
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