The construction of the Main Building in 1864 marked the beginning of the steady expansion of Rensselaer’s campus up the hill on Troy’s eastern edge. There were two exceptions: the Gymnasium (the subject of our December 3 post) built just below the Main Building in 1887 and the lesser known Alumni Building erected on Second Street next to the Troy Savings Bank in 1893.

Image The staff of the Institute Archives is pleased to announce the digitization of back issues of RPI’s student newspaper, The Renss

Lately we’ve been reviewing our collections for information about the era in which the first women students were admitted to Rensselaer.  This occurred in the fall of 1942, after the United States entered World War II, as industries clamored for female engineers to help r

This weekend (October 4-6, 2013), alumni and their families will congregate on campus to celebrate an annual ritual:  RPI reunion.  Folks who received their degrees in years ending in 3 or 8 will revisit the site of their student days, reveling in memories while noticing the many changes that have taken place at Rensselaer.

On May 20, 1862, 10 days after Rensselaer’s physical plant was completely destroyed in The Great Troy Fire, the Institute’s trustees began planning a new home for Rensselaer.  Under the leadership of

Fishing through some unidentified photographs yesterday, I came across a folder labeled "Students" and within it I found this great photograph of a cheering crowd. As I stood above the image smiling (because this photo told me it was the next mystery image), I asked silently, who, what, when, and where? Look at their faces, there's so much intensity, excitement, maybe even dismay, perhaps suspension. This crowd is packed into a space with wood and leather seats, and one gentleman is holding what looks like a program with the Rensselaer seal on it. Hmmmm!

In 1947, Samuel Rezneck (Professor of History at the Institute) replied to a researcher who asked why the Institute had adopted cherry and white as its school colors. We have Rezneck's response to the query which reveals some colorful articles he found in The Rensselaer Polytechnic that I sought out for myself and couldn't resist sharing with our readers.

I started this blog more than three years ago, to post unidentified images and share information about the history of RPI. It was kind of an experiment, but it quickly became a pet project of mine. I was thrilled when people began responding with answers, comments and memories! I hope I've been able to illustrate that the history of the Institute is made up of the stories of many, many incredible people.

Today we celebrate 175 Years of Civil Engineering at Rensselaer!

Commencement is right around the corner, and the anticipation is building!  During the ceremony, cameras will inevitably become focused on the commencement speaker.  In a long-held tradition, a person of honor will step up to the podium and address the graduates.  To mark the occasion of commencement, I've brought together some selected images of past RPI commencement speakers.  If you are interested in consulting a full list of speakers, look here.