Skip to search Skip to footer WU PHYSICIANS DIRECTORY APPLYVISITGIVE Academics Research Campus Experience Who We Are DANFORTH CAMPUS The Danforth Campus of Washington University in St. Louis is located on 169 acres just beyond the western edge of the City of St. Louis. The Danforth Campus borders the west end of Forest Park, the site of the 1904 World’s Fair and one of the nation’s largest urban parks. On September 17, 2006, the Hilltop Campus of Washington University in St. Louis was renamed the Danforth Campus. The Danforth Campus continues to grow today. Explore the major construction and renovation projects going on around Washington University, including the transformation of the east end of the Danforth Campus. DANFORTH CAMPUS MAP Explore locations on the Danforth Campus View Danforth Campus Accessibility Maps by Building Find Gender-Inclusive/Family Restrooms (PDF) Get additional maps, directions and parking information Featuring predominantly Collegiate Gothic architecture in its academic buildings — several of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places — the campus is at once reminiscent of great European universities and a forward-looking center of academic excellence, cutting-edge research and creativity. History and Architecture From 1853 until 1905, the university was located in downtown St. Louis. None of the downtown campus buildings still stands. Planning for the move from downtown to the Danforth Campus began in the mid-1890s with the acquisition of the Danforth Campus site. Site plans were prepared in 1895 by the firm of Olmsted, Olmsted and Eliot, and in 1899, a national competition was held to choose the architectural firm that would design the campus. Six firms entered the competition; the commission was awarded to Cope and Stewardson, of Philadelphia. Construction of the Danforth Campus began in October of 1900 with the laying of the cornerstone for Busch Hall. Laying of the cornerstone for Brookings Hall occurred in November of 1900. During the World’s Fair, a total of nine buildings were leased to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company for use as administrative offices and exhibit space; construction of four of the nine buildings was funded by income from the lease agreement. The first academic use of the Danforth Campus buildings took place on January 30, 1905, two months after the Fair’s close, and the Danforth Campus was formally dedicated during Commencement ceremonies in June 1905. Cope and Stewardson described the architectural style of the campus: “Throughout, the style is, broadly speaking, Academic Gothic of the fifteenth and sixteenth Centuries, but some of the buildings represent the early pure type and other the modified type, called ‘Jacobean,’ in which certain details of the Renaissance were introduced.” “The Brookings building is in the earlier pure Academic Gothic … the laboratories and scientific buildings, as better expressing their purpose, are … of the later style. For the library we should propose something midway between the two. [Note: the library referred to here is Ridgley Hall, not the present-day Olin Library] The other buildings beyond the Academic Courts, in the less formal part of the group, we should treat in the earlier period with a greater number of gables and more variety of outline following the more domestic type of the style.” The Academic Gothic style chosen by Cope and Stewardson was inspired by the architecture of Oxford and Cambridge universities. The predominant building materials are Bedford Limestone and Missouri Red Granite. Today, 19 Danforth Campus buildings are listed in the National Register of Historic Places; these buildings are known collectively as the Danforth Campus Historic District. Cope and Stewardson’s original vision and their choice of building materials have, with few exceptions, guided the Danforth Campus’ building plan up to the present day. The result is a campus whose buildings are unique for both their beauty and their similarity of style. Danforth Campus Buildings A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | # A Adolphus Busch Hall Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity Alumni House Anheuser-Busch Hall Athletics Complex Top ↑ B Bauer Hall Bayer Laboratory Louis D. Beaumont House Beaumont Pavillion Beta Theta Pi Fraternity Bixby Hall Blewett Hall Bowles Plaza Brauer Hall Brookings Hall Brookings Quadrangle Bryan Hall Busch III Laboratory of Biology Bushyhead Track Elizabeth Gray Danforth Butterfly Garden Top ↑ C Capps Plaza Catholic Student Center Chabad House Compton Laboratory Crow Hall Cupples I Hall Cupples II Hall Top ↑ D Danforth House Danforth Plaza Danforth University Center Dardick House Dauten House Dula Foundation Central Courtyard Duncker Hall Top ↑ E Eads Hall Edison Theatre Eisendrath Garden Thomas H. Eliot Hall Thomas H. Eliot House William Greenleaf Eliot Plaque Episcopal Campus Ministry Top ↑ F Field House and Recreational Gym Francis Field Francis Gymnasium Top ↑ G Gaylord Music Library George Warren Brown Hall Givens Hall Goldfarb Hall Goldfarb Plant Growth Facility Graham Chapel Green Hall Gregg House Top ↑ H Hamsini House Harbison House Hillel Center Hillman Hall Hitzeman House Holmes Lounge Hurd House Top ↑ I Intramural Recreational Fields Top ↑ J January Hall Jolley Hall Jubel Hall Top ↑ K Kappa Sigma Fraternity House Kelly Baseball Field Kemper Art Museum Knight Executive Education Center Knight Hall Koenig House Top ↑ L Lee House Lien House Life Sciences Building Liggett House Lopata Courtyard Lopata Hall Lopata (Lucy & Stanley) House Lopata Plaza Louderman Hall Lutheran Campus Center Top ↑ M Mallinckrodt Center Mass Spectrometry (Cyclotron Building) McDonnell Hall McKelvey Hall McMillan Hall McMillen Laboratory Millbrook Building Millbrook Square Millbrook Square Apartments Millstone Plaza Mudd House Music Classroom Building Myers House Top ↑ N Howard Nemerov House Nursery School Top ↑ O Olin Library Top ↑ P Park House Power Plant Top ↑ R Rebstock Hall Ridgley Court Ridgley Hall Rudolph Hall Rutledge House Top ↑ S Sam Fox Arts Center Schnuck Pavilion Seigle Hall Sever Memorial Hall Shanedling House Shepley House Sigma Chi Fraternity Sigma Nu Fraternity Simon Hall Softball Field Somers Family Hall Sumers Recreation Center Sumers Welcome Center Steinberg Hall Stix House Top ↑ T Tao Tennis Center Tietjens Memorial Music Studio Tisch Park Top ↑ U Umrath Hall Umrath House University Police Headquarters Urbauer Hall Top ↑ V Village House Top ↑ W Walker Hall Weil Hall Wheeler House Whitaker Hall Whittemore House Wilson Hall Ann W. Olin Women’s Building Wrighton Hall Top ↑ # 276 North Skinker Who We Are Mission Statement University Facts Our Campuses Disability Resources Maps, Directions and Parking Danforth Campus Medical Campus South Campus Tyson Research Center West Campus Campus Stores Strategic Priorities Leadership News and Publications Annual Report Audited Financial Statements Compliance and Policies History and Traditions Contact Washington University in St. Louis 1 Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130 Danforth Campus: 314-935-5000 Medical Campus: 314-362-5000 facebook twitter instagram youtube snapchat tiktok OUR SCHOOLS Arts & Sciences Brown School McKelvey School of Engineering Olin Business School Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts School of Law School of Medicine OUR PEOPLE Prospective Students Current Students Parents & Families Faculty & Staff Alumni & Friends RESOURCES Directory Maps, Directions and Parking Campus Stores Job Opportunities The Source WUPD (Police) Emergency Information © 2021 WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS POLICIES