Rochester Institute of Technology - Techmila / Ramikin Yearbook (Rochester, NY)

Page 16 text:

Corinthian Hall By the year 1850 so much interest had been shown in the Rochester Athenaeum that larger quarters were needed. At that time Corinthian Hall was one of the show places of Rochester and it was to this building the Athenaeum was moved. Here regular lectures were given and over fifteen hundred people attended and many were turned from the doors. It has been said that no building in America at that period had housed such a great number of famous statesmen and men of letters. Corinthian Hall was another large stone in the foundation of a great educational venture.

Page 15 text:

Reynold's Arcade Among the few buildings of Rochester's first growth was the Reynold's Arcade. Besides being one of the largest structures in the youthful city it had the added privilege of being the first home of the Rochester Athenaeum. Colonel Rochester realized that the pioneering people needed intellectual food. Growth was their purpose and for this growth reading could furnish nourishment. Many excellent books and interesting periodicals were brought together to form a library which was called the Rochester Athenaeum.

Page 17 text:

Smith and Perkins Building During the years following the period of Corinthian Hall the brilliancy of the Athenaeum somewhat faded. In 1885 a liberal spirited group of citizens under the inspiring leadership of Captain Henry Lomb founded a school for technological training. It began as an evening school in one room in the old Free Academy building but so quickly grew that, after the first year, it was removed to the Smith and Perkins Building on Exchange Street. In its seventh year the Institute took over the charter of the Rochester Athenaeum and it has since been known as the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute.