NYU Founders Memorial

Founders Memorial sits in Schwartz Plaza, just east of Bobst Library and features an architectural detail from the University Building, the first building constructed by the University.

The University Building was largely completed by 1835 and dedicated in 1837. Its iconic architectural style was Gothic Revival. It sat on the east side of Washington Square, where the Silver Center for Arts and Science is now located.

In 1894 New York University moved the bulk of undergraduate instruction from Greenwich Village to a new campus in the University Heights neighborhood in the Bronx. In the same year, the University tore down the University Building, which had, at the time, outlived its usefulness, and the Memorial was installed at University Heights. In 1973 NYU sold its campus in the Bronx and returned the Memorial to Washington Square.