Where We Are Located

The HWS English Department is located in Demarest Hall next to St. John's Chapel and Medbery Hall.

Demarest Hall was the Colleges' library from the time it was built in 1885 until the Warren Hunting Smith Library opened in 1976. The family of Upjohn architects in New York City designed it. This stone building with its buttresses, lancet windows, and entrance porch was in the best English Gothic tradition. Books were arranged in alcoves on the main floor and galleries of the large reading room, and there was an equally large room mostly above ground level in the basement.

The library's location on campus reflected the growth of the college as it began to descend to Pulteney Street from Main Street and the Quad began to take shape.

In 1895, Mrs. Agnes Demarest gave money to build an addition to the library on its north end to contain stack-rooms. Her donations eventually totaled $100,000 and Hobart College named the library for her. The addition was built in the Gothic style to match the main building.

In 1961, Demarest was joined to the Chapel by St. Mark's Tower.

Another library wing in stone was added in 1964 which doubled the library's capacity. Unfortunately, the wing was inadequate to handle the number of student patrons within four years and there was an acute shortage of space for books.

In 1984, the Colleges completed an impressive restoration of Demarest's main reading room, now known as the Elizabeth Blackwell Room. It is one of the most beautiful spots for studying on campus. Students who lift their eyes from their books for inspiration can look at the stained-glass likenesses of Bishop Hobart, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, William Shakespeare, and other notables.

Demarest Hall also is home to the Religious Studies department, the Philosophy department, and the Department of English and Comparative Literature. There are classrooms upstairs and the business office, including payroll and financial aid, is in the basement.

Demarest Hall can be accessed by South Main Street or Pultney Street.

Department of English & Comparative Literature
Hobart & William Smith Colleges
Geneva, NY 14456
phone (315) 781-3347
fax (315) 781-3348