Colonial Building, Triple Cities College Special Collections Research Center

Colonial Building, Image 12-1065

College inaugurated: June 7, 1946

Named for: Cities of Binghamton, Endicott and Johnson City where SU had held extension classes since 1932

Original Building: Bowes mansion donated January 1946 by Thomas Watson, founder of IBM

Location: 300 Lincoln Avenue, Endicott, NY

Sold in 1950: State University of New York purchased college in August 1950 for $215,000 creating Harpur College, now SUNY Binghamton

Notes: Renamed the Colonial Building, the Bowes mansion became the college's administration building. The 3-story, 16-room mansion was built ca. 1900 by Alphonsus and Julia Bowes and purchased in 1943 by Thomas Watson. SU acquired adjacent land from New York State Electric and Gas Co. and by early spring in 1951, 18 prefab buildings had been added. The campus then consisted of classrooms, lecture rooms, labs, a cafeteria, a library, faculty offices, a bookstore and student lounges.