50 Hidden Gems on Campuses Across America

At first glance, your average college campus typically seems pretty innocuous: a dorm here, student union there, libraries, administration buildings, classrooms, regular things you’d expect to find at any school. But so many campuses are home to old mysteries, amazing books, carefully manicured gardens, and sometimes even ghost stories. As students and faculty rush about their daily lives on campus, it’s certainly easy for all of these things to pass them by, but when given a second look or a moment of investigation, you may find that there’s a hidden gem that’s been there all along, just waiting to be discovered. Here, we’ll explore 50 amazing gems hidden among college campuses in the US, some of them secret, some mysterious, and some of them just simply underutilized.

University Lore

Just about every school has its own set of legends about unwritten graduation requirements, spooky stories no one can prove, and even little Easter eggs hidden about campus. We’ll explore just a few of them here.

1. Hidden Owl, Columbia University: In the center of Columbia University is the statue of Alma Mater, and in the folds of her robe you’ll find a hidden owl. Most who have found it won’t share its location, but that’s part of the fun: there are many legends about what happens if you find the owl on your own, including marrying a Barnard student and getting straight As.
2. 4.0 Hill, UC Berkeley: Near the Chancellor’s House at UC Berkeley is a hill known as 4.0 Hill. According to university lore, if you roll down the hill, you’ll get a 4.0 GPA that semester.
3. Exorcism Room, College of the Holy Cross: On the fourth floor of Fenwick clock tower at College of the Holy Cross is the “Stairway to Nowhere” that stops short, right into a wall that’s apparently been erected to hide what’s beyond, the fabled Exorcism Room. The tower room was the site of an exorcism in the 1800s, but stories from the 80s and 90s persist, including those about dead priests and disappearing “HELP” signs.
4. Semi-Secret Campus Secret Society, Yale: Yale University is no stranger to secret societies, with its own legendary Skull and Bones. But there’s a new kind of society on campus these days, and it’s a secret society in search of, what else, campus secrets. This group works to find out about the university’s hidden truths, finding secret rooms, researching university lore, and exploring campus mysteries.

Architectural Wonders

Some college campus architects enjoy putting sound tricks, strange rooms, and hidden treasures in their work, including these here.

1. Tea House, University of Texas at Arlington: Designed and built by architecture students, this tea house in the architecture courtyard is a quiet sanctuary away from the hustle and bustle of the university.
2. Whispering Wall, Ohio State University: At the Wexner Center for the Arts, you can find an architectural secret on what looks like a weird set of stairs: two people sitting in the corner where the stairs meet the wall, and on the same row on the other end of the wall can whisper and hear each other as if they were sitting next to each other.
3. Long Room Priest Hole, Stonyhurst College: During the period of Recusancy, Catholic priests were hunted by the authorities, and residences constructed priest holes as hiding places to protect them. Stonyhurst College’s Long Room includes one of these priest holes, dating back to the building’s time as a residence. There is another hiding place in the gatehouse, covered by a false chimney.
4. Opening Bookshelves, Dunster House Library, Harvard University: The Dunster House library at Harvard University is home to swinging bookshelves, which some students use to enter the library (from who knows where).

Underground

College campuses are full of underground treasures, from basement crypts to the incredibly common (but no less exciting) underground steam tunnel system.

1. Memorial Chapel Crypt, Duke University: Beneath the Memorial Chapel at Duke University is a crypt that is used for prayer meetings and bible studies. But people who want to hang out with prominent people from Duke’s history might enjoy the space as well: buried beneath the floor are several members of the Duke family and former presidents.
2. Secret Tunnels, University of Texas at Austin: For years, students have heard rumors of a secret network of tunnels underneath the University of Texas, connecting nearly all of the buildings. It is reported that these tunnels were used to get to campus sniper Charles Whitman in 1966 without being shot. These tunnels went apparently unexplored until an undergrad and his friends did some investigation (and lock cutting), sharing their experience in an online essay.
3. Steam Tunnels, University of Michigan: Like UT, the University of Michigan has a collection of tunnels that students love to explore. Alumni love to share stories about students opening secret outdoor entrances and using the tunnels to explore campus buildings after hours.
4. East and West Tunnels, Duke University: Duke University students have an unofficial list of “graduation requirements,” and exploring the East and West underground steam tunnels is one of those things. Students have been a part of this forbidden tradition for years, and tunnel history is full of lore: it’s reported that they were used as potential escape routes during WWI or WWII, and that they were stocked as potential fallout shelters during the Cold War.
5. Steam Tunnels of NCSU: Yet another campus with steam tunnels, photos of NCSU’s tunnel network reveal exactly what you’d expect to find in mysterious underground tunnels: lots of pipes, graffiti, and seldom-used old machinery. The tunnels seem quite intriguing and surreal, even featuring interesting stenciled works left behind by student adventurers who have previously explored the network, some dating back to the 1950s.
6. Madonna della Strada, Loyola University: In the crypt chapels of the Madonna della Strada, there are actual remains buried in the crypt, including Ivan and Isabel McKenna in the most ornate of the seven crypts.
7. McCabe Sub-Basement, Swathmore College: In this sub-basement at Swathmore, you’ll find find college archives, including Quaker meeting records stored in a fireproof cage and editions of the campus abolitionist paper The Liberator. It’s rumored that this spot is the safest bomb shelter in its area, and if the president or important dignitaries are in the area during a bomb threat, they are to be taken to shelter in place within the basement.
8. Catering Supply Room, Ohio University: There’s a small storage space, room 121A, in Ohio Union basement at Ohio Sate University, and it’s said to be the place where Ohio State’s secret society, the Scarlet Order, meets. Its description sounds like it came right out of a movie: red walls, stones, votive, candles, and even a skeleton. The society is said to have formerly met in a crawl space under the old Union.
9. Etcheverry Hall Basement, UC Berkeley: This gym-sized basement once held a complete nuclear reactor, which was moved when the city declared itself nuclear-free. Guides warn visitors to keep an eye out for a nuclear powered robotic ant that lives in the basement.
10. Sub-sub-basement, Payne Whitney Gymnasium, Yale University: Some campuses have creepy basements, but Yale has a creepy sub-sub-basement, which has just one lightbulb, a collection of cobwebs, and a mysterious door leading to an unknown place.

Gardens & Views

These natural wonders are easy to pass by on a busy day, but we encourage students and visitors to stop and enjoy them, if only for a moment.

1. Secret Garden, Arizona State University: This not so “secret” garden has its own Foursquare check-in, but all of its commenters agree: it’s a great place for studying, picnicking, or bringing a date to hang out and take a break.
2. Irish Garden, Caltech: Just south of the Annenberg building on the Caltech campus is a small garden that’s perfect for quiet reflection. If you look carefully, you’ll find a plaque reminding observers that the iris variant was created at Caltech.
3. Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden: Covering five acres, this sculpture garden contains masterpieces from Matisse, Rodin, Noguchi, and more. It’s a great place to have a picnic lunch and soak in the ambiance of art.
4. Horticulture Demonstration Gardens, Richland College: Students at Richland College can escape the bustle of campus life, finding piece and quiet in the Horticulture Demonstration Gardens, a space that was designed and built by students in 1986. These half acre gardens are full of trees, small creatures, winding paths, and benches perfect for a quiet lunch or study break.
5. CSUN Pond: Full of huge koi, plenty of ducks, turtles, and natural flora, this pond is a peaceful place to enjoy lunch or get some reading done. Bonus points: it’s located inside of an orange orchard, so, free oranges!
6. South Hall Rock Grouping, Carthage College: Carthage is located right on the shores of Lake Michigan in Kenosha, Wisconsin. There are several spots on campus where you can see the beach, but an apparent favorite is a grouping of rocks behind the South Hall right off the shore, perfect for reading and daydreaming.
7. Memorial Courtyard, Binghampton University: Located inside the Fine Arts building at Binghamptom, this courtyard is dedicated to university alumni who lost their lives on September 11th. It’s a peaceful place full of benches and gardens, and often, friendly dogs brought on campus by professors.
8. Grinnell Natural Area, Berkeley: The Grinnell Natural Area at Berkeley is lauded as a secret study site, a perfect place to pull up a stump and sit down with a book while enjoying a glimpse of nature.
9. Lyle E. Littlefield Ornamentals Trial Garden, University of Maine: This gated garden might look small from the outside, but inside, it’s a huge “horticulturalist’s wet dream,” with lots of different species and specimens to check out. Plus, lots of shade makes this a great picnic spot to explore.

Untapped Resources

So many colleges are home to amazing collections and spaces that are unfortunately all too often unknown to students. Find out about great study rooms, incredible books, and even more resources that often sit unused, just waiting to be discovered.

1. Welles-Brown Room, University of Rochester: Inside the busy Rush Rhees library, you’ll find an idyllic study lounge, where you’ll take advantage of luxurious chairs, couches, and the pleasant scent of old literature for a nap or a super posh study session.
2. Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas: Students often spend their entire time on campus without stepping foot in this library, but it’s full of incredible primary sources, including one of the largest sci-fi and fantasy literature collections in the country, historic photographs, and a significant collection of personal and family papers documenting the African-American experience in Kansas.
3. Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University: The Cantor Arts Center at Stanford is full of remarkable art, including a large grouping of Rodin bronzes, the largest collection outside of Paris.
4. Keynes’s General Theory, Mises Institute: University libraries seem to be full of treasures that are just waiting to be explored, but unfortunately, so often go unnoticed. The library at the Mises Institute is no exception, with a reported copy of Keynes’s General Theory in its possession, one that is covered with doodles and notes put there by none other than Murray N. Rothbard.
5. Xwi7xwa Library, University of British Columbia: This fairly new (2005) branch of the UBC Library is regarded as “secret,” and we’re betting that has a lot to do with students not being able to pronounce its name. But according to UBC guides, the library is serene, lush, and calm, complete with a mini waterfall to create the ultimate in peaceful study spots on campus.
6. Kerr Hall East Basement, Ryerson University: It’s reported that the basement of Kerr Hall East, also known as the “dungeon” is a great place to crash.
7. New College Basement, University of Toronto: This room is designated for tutorial use, but it’s so out of the way in the “deserted, maze-like basement” of New College at University of Toronto, it’s also a very private place for amorous adventures, complete with a locking door. Apparently, it can be rented out from the porter.

Weird Wonders

Big thinkers and lots of money sometimes come together to create really weird things, and here we’ll take a look at some of the strangest, but pretty cool, things you can find on college campuses.

1. The Brain Room, Yale University: Yale once had an entire room filled with brains in jars. Let that sink in for a moment. Located in the medical school, it was supposed to be accessed by neuroscience students exclusively, but many students were lured to find it by the promise of an extremely weird room full of jarred brains. In recent years, the brain collection has been moved into an exhibit in the Cushing Center, so students no longer have to sneak around for their glimpse at more than 400 brains in jars.
2. Crypt of Civilization, Oglethorpe University: Converted from a swimming pool, the Crypt of Civilization is a time capsule, sealed in 1940 and designed to be opened in the year 8113. Its creator, Thornwell Jacobs, envisioned it to be a memorial of civilization as we know it today, left for future inhabitants or visitors to Earth.
3. Winnie the Pooh Tree, Harvard University: At the foot of a tree (known as the Winnie the Pooh Tree) outside the Science Center at Harvard University, you’ll find small items that people have left for each other.
4. More Hall Annex, University of Washington: South of the computer science building at the University of Washington, there is a building that once housed a nuclear reactor, deactivated in 1988 and dismantled in 2006. The building has been added to the National Register of Historic Places in an effort to save it from being demolished, as it has been under consideration for demolition since 2008.

Haunted Hollows

True or not, there’s something so fun about a good ghost story, especially ghosts haunting unsuspecting collect students. These stories highlight university lore, hidden tragedies, and secrets dating back for centuries.

1. Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority House, University of Georgia: The Alpha Gamma Delta house is one of the university’s oldest sororities, and the haunt that plagues the sorority comes from its founding family. The family’s daughter was stood up on her wedding day, and hanged herself in the attic in despair. Sorority sisters and visitors alike report feeling her presence and even say they’ve seen a woman glaring at them from the attic windows.
2. Sessions House, Smith College: This grand colonial house at Smith College was once a residence, and has a secret staircase that has served many uses: as a place to hide from attacking Native Americans, a passageway for the Underground Railroad, and sexual escapades. These escapades were between the original owner Captain Hunt’s granddaughter, Lucy, and a captive Redcoat, Johnny, from the Revolutionary War. Lucy and Johnny’s ghosts are said to roam the house looking for each other.
3. Wilson Hall, Ohio University: Wilson Hall is Ohio University’s most famously haunted spot, featured in Scariest Places on Earth and sitting dead-center in the middle of Athens, Ohio’s five “pentagram cemeteries,” and supposedly built on top of a mental health center cemetery. Sources say reports of Wilson Hall hauntings are not true, and all the stories are vague untruths. There are, however, a number of other spots on campus that are reported to be truly haunted, including a few Greek houses and residence halls.
4. Old Botany Building, Penn State University: This building at Penn State has been investigated on A&E’s Paranormal State series, following claims that Frances Atherton, the wife of former president George Atherton haunts the attic. Many reports of sightings have been shared, all with her looking out the attic’s window toward the area where her husband George’s grave is located. Others have reported actually seeing her knitting, and lights have been turned off and on in locked rooms. Perhaps the creepiest report involves a staff photo, that once developed, revealed a figure looking out the upstairs window of the building that was presumed to be empty at the time.
5. Sibley Hall, Lindenwood University: Lindenwood University founder Mary Sibley apparently loves her school so much that she’s decided she’ll never leave. According to university legend, she rises from her grave and walks to the Sibley Hall chapel, where she plays the pipe organ. Staff and students have shared their own reports of sightings in the Sibley Hall attic and dormitory halls.
6. Academy Building, Zion Bible College (formerly Bradford College): This campus was abandoned for several years after Bradford College was shuttered in 2000, and it seems it was for a good reason: it’s pretty badly haunted. Its most famous ghost is a young girl who allegedly had a relationship with a priest at the school, and upon becoming pregnant, died from either a suicide or murder by the priest. She, along with the priest, are said to haunt the old Academy Building, sharing screams, voices, and unexplained images. In 2008, the campus reopened as a bible college. There’s no word on any attempts at divine intervention with the ghosts.
7. Washington Hall, Notre Dame: There are a few potential ghost stories haunting Washington Hall, but the most famous campus ghost is that of George Gipp, Notre Dame’s All-American football player. Returning late to campus one night, Gipp was locked out of his dorm and slept on the front steps of Washington Hall, where he contracted deadly pneumonia. On his death bed, he made his famous plea to his coach Knute Rockne for the team to “just win one for the Gipper.” Since then, residents of the hall have experienced disturbances including an incredibly loud French horn and ghostly figure. The haunting has been so intense that the Travel Channel paid a visit to the campus to investigate.

Watering Holes & Secret Party Spots

If you were a college student, and you found a secret room, what would you do? Probably host a killer party. These secret party spots, and obscure watering holes are fun places to find on a college campus.

1. Storage Spaces, Harvard Dorms: In some of the Harvard dorms, students are lucky enough to find bonus rooms and “storage spaces” attached to their bedrooms, turning triple rooms into quads and opening secret stairwells. Often, students use them to host weekend parties that leave others asking, “Did we go into a wall last night?”
2. Secret Party Room, Butler Court, Keene State College: Harvard isn’t the only New England school with secret party areas, Keene State College in New Hampshire has one in the Butler Court dorm. Through a small panel, students have been able to gain access to a large hidden room used for parties. But school officials took action when students posted party photos on Facebook.
3. Valhalla, Rice University: Valhalla is a grad student bar on the Rice University campus that is reported to be “secret” but is common knowledge among university students and even in the Houston area. The bar is legendary for its air of mystery, relaxed atmosphere, and dirt cheap beer prices, thanks to its volunteer bartenders.
4. Secret Coke Stash, Pasture Labs, Penn State University: PepsiCo has had an exclusive deal on the Penn State campus since 1992, but there is one place on campus for students to get their Coke fix: in a federally-run agricultural research facility, Pasture Labs. You’ll have to sneak into the lunchroom for your fix, but Coke waits for you there nonetheless.
5. Abandoned Wing, Wilson College: According to one Redditor, Wilson College is home to an entire wing of campus that was abandoned about 40 years ago. A group of students explored the wing, finding a radio station, classrooms full of furniture, and even and underground swimming complex.

Taken From Online Colleges