Our Campus
Tucked away on a 500-acre former estate in Westchester County, our unique sprawling campus was designed by master architect Edward Larrabee Barnes. Almost all the buildings on the Purchase campus are the same color. Why is that? Well, there’s a historical reason and a metaphorical one.
The Story Behind the Brick
Our campus master plan relied upon several highly renowned architects to design the buildings on the Main Plaza. To unify these diverse structures and bring coherence to the campus, the architects were required to use the same shade of brick.
We like to think the consistency and order of the buildings’ facades is offset by the explosively colorful, diverse, and unconventional intellectual and artistic activity that happens inside them. Behind our uniform brick walls are classrooms, laboratories, performance spaces, and studios—those spaces where the real heart of campus can be found.
The Purchase Experience
Life here is hands-on and community-focused. We all pitch in to make Purchase a sustainable and diverse home for creative minds.
We’re DIY meets intellectualism, boundless intensity infused with an inquisitive spirit.
We’d love for you to come see us—schedule a tour and get the rundown from our Admissions Ambassadors.
A Walk Through Purchase
-
Purchase College Main Plaza
-
Campus selfie
-
The Great Lawn
-
Jamming outside Student Services Building
-
Outside Starbucks and the Fort Awesome residence
-
Robert Indiana’s Art near Neuberger Museum of Art
-
Students in the Dance Building
-
Performance in the Recital Hall
-
-
Enjoying the weather, games, music and more at Culture Shock '17.
-
Henry Moore, Large Two Forms
-
Fall Ball, one of Purchase's most beloved traditions.
-
Campus in the winter
-
Enjoying class outside
-
Get involved at the Student Involvement Fair
-
Biology student working on her Senior Project in the lab.
-
Jumping for joy!
-
Professor Lisa Jean Moore, leads a class on Public Health.
-
Letting off some steam
-
Students in class
-
Biology students in the Genetics Lab
-
Main Plaza
-
One of many stone walls preserved on campus
The Colors of Purchase
Purchase is colorful in so many ways, as evidenced by this website, which draws its palette from the photo features on the home page. They’re always changing.
Our athletics teams are blue and orange, adopted from the New York Knicks, who once used our Physical Education building as their practice facility for many years.
Heliotrope and puce, however, are often cited as the official colors of Purchase. The color choice dates back to the early seventies, when, according to legend, an off-hand remark about suggested colors for the first graduation gained traction among the students. Controversial at the time, the color combination was put up for a student vote, twice, and became the colors of choice.