Main Street Panorama Map

Hair Care ( 15 N. Main)

The location of hair Care was originally at 14 west University. Located now where the tattoo show is now. The building that it is not housed in used to be for many years the Alfred Pharmacy, which started in 1900 and was started by a man by the name of Fred Ellis. In the years around 1988 the pharmacy moved to it’s present location on the south side of the street. The building is housed in what Alfred considers to be the brick block. In 2000 Hair Care worked in Alfred to promote the organization “Locks For Love”.

The Parlor hair salon (23 N. Main)

The location on the Parlor hair Salon has had many different faces through out the years. Aunt Cookie’s Sub shop was located in the Parlor’s location up until 1980. In 1980 the sub shop was then transformed in to “ The Whole in Thyme” tea house and bagel shop. They served various different kinds of herbal teas and displayed various local art works, along with holding folk shows and yoga workshops. Soon after the opening of “ The Whole in Thyme” a vegetarian gourmet restaurant opened, by the name of “ The Peaceable Kingdom”. This restaurant was started by student who attended Alfred University school of art and design for glass blowing and decided to open up her own restaurant. Today it is the Parlor Hair Salon.

Montessori School ( 8 ½ South Main Street)

To talk alittle about what the Montessori education ideals are:“The Montessori Education Method became a significant influence in the United States in the early 1960's”...”She formulated an educational program to meet the particular needs of the child at whatever stage of development, to help him/her reach his/her fullest potential.” Alfred’s Montessori school was housed in what used to be Crandall Barn, was built in 1851 by a man of the name of Ira Crandall who was in the cheese business and had a general store on church street at the time. Ira Crandall died and the barn was left empty for years, then in in the 1940’s after WWII the School for American Craftsmen used the Crandall barn as its main base. With these owners the extra room was added to house kilns and other craft making tools.

Wellness Center Health Services

I am a senior who made it through all four years of college without ever going to the health center. My roommate freshman year did break her arm and went to the health center. They made her take a taxi to the hospital which cost her 50 dollars because it is a distance away. No one at the health center is authorized to give students a ride to the hospital. In the work cited there is the website that is the home page for the Wellness Center. The Wellness Center is on Park Street and on the website it states that appointments are highly recommended. The hours for the health center is 8:30 to 4:30 monday through friday and give a number for 24 hour emergency calls. This number is 877- 924- 7758 and is toll free.

Work Cited:

http://www.alfred.edu/students/student_services/health_center.cfm

Winter Fun

Where West University and Church Street sits a fraternity. Last year I lived across form this fraternity and watched them construct a skating rink. At first I as not sure what they where doing but one night they brought some spot lights out and started ice skating and playing hockey. About two days after the completion of the skating rink the temperatures warmed up and that was the end of the ice rink.

The knitting store

After the first experience at the knitting store, it is hard not to go back. The first step in provides you with an overwhelming array of color, warmth and familiarity. My first time I went there I spent a hundred dollars of money I did not have just because everything was so beautiful. If you go at the right time there might even be some snacks and the sales are always great. The couple who owns the store are so knowledgeable it is hard not to ask them to show you everything they know. If you are an avid knitter, this little shop is the most wonderful place you will ever step foot into.

Hairpin

Up from the suites, while trying to find a parking spot, you can see s small alcove of grass providing a haven for pick nicking, cloud watching, snow for building and meteor shower watching. With one of the most expansive views on campus, Hairpin is the ideal place to relax.

Fosters

On a hot summer day, all I want to do is go swimming. The summer in Alfred was perhaps my happiest time here. No one to answer to, no responsibilities that were outrageous and the feeling of complete Independence was unbelievable. I could do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted without feeling a hint of guilt for not working or making money. Foster Lake provided an idyllic little escape where I could swim, tan (mostly freckle), and bask in the warmth of summer. Less than a seven minute drive from town Fosters is the most accessible swimming hole around. Down a road that looks like a private driveway is the lake. The caretaker/ owner lives in a little house on the driveway. It is complete with a dock, boats and a path around the lake to take a walk. With a slight breeze always blowing and the hot dock underneath me the sky reminded me of how grateful I was to be there.

fire field

The hike leaves you short of breath and with the thought that you will never climb that hill again. The anticipation during the hike is part of the great experience of the evening. on top of the hill, past the observatory and up a steep climb is a huge open field. Coming through the field with flashlights you are aware that the people already at the bonfire are wondering if you are friends or enemies( police). The vastness of the dark field provides you with a feeling of unease but as soon as you are closer to the fire the comfort and familiarity of the atmosphere overcome es you. The peacefull neess of sitting at a campfire, surrounded by friends is an experience that everyone should have. The crisp starry sky, the clanking of bottles, the warmth of the fire- all lead to utter contentment.

Kinfolk

Alfred is not a town where many stores are known to be open. The one place in town that is always reliable is Kinfolk- the petite grocery providing local and organic food. Going there always provides a much needed break and quick walk! Whether it be brownies, bean curd or bacon, Kinfolk will provide you with almost any cooking necessity. This little store provides a wonderful array of spices and seasonings(my favorite part of the shop) in a self help section that you can measure out and put in little bags for yourself. Kinfolk is a special little store that is not commonly seen in neighborhoods. It provides the community with a haven of healthy delicious food, provided through the commitment of the owners -Jessin and Elliot.

When a student who was visiting for the summer ask a local where they could get toothpaste one Saturday they sent her to Kinfolk. This is her account of the store "They sent me to an apothecary with dirt floors run by a little dwarf."
- This is true Kinfolk provides a magical escape with a taste of love.

Cohen Center/ Cohen Gallery

Cohen Center was built in the 1890's. About 10 years ago, when Greek life was still a big part of Alfred this spot on main street belonged to a fraternity. However, once the University possessed the building around 2001 they turned it into a much more functional location. Another facility was built toward the back of the property where freshman foundations programs are held. The main house is used as a gallery for distinguished artists and the second floor is used as apartments which are reserved for visiting artists of Alfred, such as Lenka Clayton and Jeff Kalstrom. The Cohen center is also important to the students of Alfred University, it gives them an opportunity to create shows for themselves.

Tinkertown- Friday is PIE DAY!

Tinkertown Hardware is know to be a quick and easy stop for many Alfred students. The staff is always friendly and helpful. Upon opening the doors as you enter you immediately smell the aroma of fresh popcorn which is always available. Friday is often an exciting time for the people of Alfred. Besides the fact that the weekend has finally arrived, we know that FRIDAY IS PIE DAY!! For under $10 you can choose from a variety of homemade pies such as strawberry rhubarb or bumbleberry!

Night Walk: Harder to Pine Hill

As an arts student I spend the majority of my time in Harder Hall. I have lived on campus for the past three years of my experience at Alfred, and for two of them my Sophomore and Junior year I have lived in the same suite in the Davis building of lower Pine Hill. Most nights my day is finished somewhere between 9-2 AM when I leave the studio, make a detour through Binns, check my mailbox in the campus mail room and then walk the high road from Powell Campus center back to the Pine Hill Suites. I am going to complete and post an audio "tour" if you will, cataloging my evening journey.
I talk to prospective students and parents often as part of my Resident Assistant position. More often than not either parents or students or both have the question about feeling secure on campus or some doubts about the idea of walking home by oneself at night. However, for those of us living on Alfred's campus we know that it is simply a safe place to be, no more explanation needed. It is a top notch art school where after spending all night and part of the next morning working on can be home in 10 minuets walk or less (depending on the weather) without any worry of harrasment, transportation problems or running into any unsavory characters. The experience of the evening walk home for students at our arts school counterparts in New York City are quite the contrast to the peacefulness of Alfred.

I will post the audio content on this page as soon as I have it. (Most likely Saturday morning)

Village Hall, Fireman's Hall (Cop Shop)

The Village Hall is home to many different things and events. The police station is located there, also the village clerk, a courtroom, and a theater, and also hosts the Fireman's Ball. Sitting atop it's incredibly loud bell tower is a weathervane shaped as a fireman saving a child, which, if you look closely enough, has a bullet hole it in put there by a relative of Becky and Cameron Prophet when trying to shoot a bird off of it.

The police station within is very small. There are about 6 desks and two rooms for questioning. Most of the policemen's desks are lined with impressive glass art, or what some may know as marijuana pipes and bongs, presumably confiscated from students of both the university and state college. Although, it is very silly to see a police station filled with with drug paraphernalia sitting out completely out in the open.

There have been a number of community plays put on over the years (if anyone really wants a list, let me know and I can get it in a jiffy). Last summer, Jewel (Buckwalter) Agaard and Steve Crandall starred with other locals in a production of a play that's name escapes me at the moment. The theater itself is small, but very well handcrafted and preserved, with an old fashioned ticket booth and all.





...more to come.

Lenticular Clouds

Lenticular clouds are not common clouds, such as cumulous, cirrus, stratus, cumulostratus, nimbus, cumulonimbus, etc. They are a special cloud, because they do not form high in the sky, such as cirrus, nor do they form over bodies of water such as cumulous and nimbus clouds. They form over mountains when the weather conditions are right, usually beginning in April, when it's spring and the atmosphere is confused for about a month, and also near mountains and valleys in a humid climate: Allegany County, NY. "Lenticular" simply means lens shaped. When a warm, humid mass of air moves over a mountain and the dew point drops to the point of condensation, lenticular clouds form. These clouds sometimes never leave their post at the top of the mountain, but, if you're looking closely enough a point in Alfred where you can see over the trees (such as Hairpin Turn), when a warm front came in the night before, you can see altocumulous lenticular clouds traveling across the sky from the north. If you happen to be grocery shopping at the Hornell Wegman's during one of these spring/summer cycles, you can see hundreds of these brilliant clouds stacked upon each other scattered across the sky from the parking lot, traveling and dissipating towards Alfred.

Prexy's Pool

prexy - the head administrative officer of a college or university

There once lived a pool, primarily known as "Prexy's Bath Tub" in the middle of what now is the Bartlett Garden next to Carnegie Hall, then an original Carnegie Library, and the "Overlooked Bridge." It was at the site of an "ancient store" that burned down in 1913, and the basement of the building was turned into a a pool filled with water lilies and goldfish with a fountain in the middle. Reason's for it's name are unknown, but one story tells of a child who fell into the pool, too small to get out himself, called for help, and President-Emeritus Boothe C. Davis ran from his office in the Carnegie Library and pulled the child out.

Prexy's Pool was often the site of student activities and parades, however, where there are college students, there is mischief. It was officially filled in during a campus-wide landscaping projects, arguably between 1952 and 1958, due to students throwing each other into the pool, especially freshmen and sophomores. Alan Littell, a local author, historian, and just a good old facts guy who likes to hang out in the Herrick Archives told me a story about several "frat boys" who emptied the pool completely and carried a Volkswagen Beetle over to the site and dropped it in.

And, as we all know, if Prexy's Pool were still here, we would still throw freshmen into it.





THANKS TO THE AMAZING UNIVERSITY ARCHIVIST LAURIE MCFADDEN

Post Office

Our modern day post office was built in 1984. The first postmaster in Alfred received less than $50 a year for his services. The post office was formerly located at the Village Hall. Around 1848, the time when the post office first came into being, mail would come once a week, since Alfred wasn't a very populous area. Without postage, each letter was charged according to the distance it traveled. Since the dawn of Alfred, the post office has changed locations five times. In 1965 Alfred welcomed its first door-to-door mail delivery service.

Panda

Located at 27 N. Main St. The Chinese food restaurant known as Panda has been around since 2005. It is a family owned Chinese restaurant, with its employees living above Panda during the hours that they aren't preparing delicious foodstuffs for you and I. A long time ago this corner space used to be known as Greene Baggs.

Uni-Mart

In 1984, Daniel Wallace, real estate manager for Uni-Marts Inc. of State College Pa. proposed the construction of a Uni-Mart self- service gas station/convenience store in a lot that was once described as run-down. The land was owned by a Wellsville doctor (the E.J Brown estate) but was formerly occupied by the Psi Delta Omega fraternity (now relocated across the street). The sale of the building did not include the terra cotta roof or copper plumbing, both of which had plans to be salvaged. Wallace wanted to demolish the house and put in a parking lot in the front of the building, adhering to the standard Uni-Marts layout. Citizens of Alfred were worried of traffic congestion and of the current zoning code, which said that a gas station cannot be within 500 ft. of a public assembly. Also, concerns of Uni-Mart becoming a shady student shortcut with the potential to corrupt pedestrian traffic, plagued locals. The parking lot was moved to the back, with less parking spots than expected: Wallace fought against the idea of one parking space for each 200 ft. of floor space. Wallace explained his reasoning to put eight spots rather than twelve in the back of Uni-Marts in saying, "our customers are in our stores an average of 2.02 minutes and spend an average of $1.79," (in 1984) "those additional parking spaces will never be used, but I'll go on record saying we will add them." I sometimes walk past Uni-Mart on the secret path that connects AU to AS and see the parking lot packed to full capacity. I wonder if Wallace is kicking himself now for not super-sizing his lot more. After nearly 7 months of negotiations and deliberations, Uni-Mart was erected with a nice and commercial looking red plastic sign, that some Alfredians happened to object to. Plans to have a gas pumps, however, were never realized.

Community Bank

The bank on Main Street was originally established in 1882. It was a "University Bank", run by bank president William H. Crandall, and was located at 17 Main St. The bank was very decorative and classy looking, fine carved wood on the interior and large windows looking out onto the street.

The bank was a University Bank from 1882 to 1951 when they consolidated to Citizens Bank, also moving locations to the current building at 39 North Main in 1963.

The bank now located on North Main St. is the only bank within the Village of Alfred. It is currently a Community Bank. The building, originally built in 1963, started as a Citizens National Bank. In the early 1980's, the bank changed companies and switched to a Key Bank. Finally, in 1997 it became what it is today, a Community Bank.

(Information and pictures from "Images of America, Alfred and Alfred Station" by Laurie Lounsberry McFadden)

Alfred Freshmen Fashion

This is in the working so hang in there with me, though I wanted to post something before it got too late. I was reviewing my last blog entry and wanted to edit it to fit in with the personal Alfred and the audio tour mapping project. I originally did a color study on the color preferences for Alfred students and found that most students wear colors black white grey green blue and purple. However I wanted to expand this study to enclose a more unique view on Alfred fashion.

I remembered an article that I read as a freshmen about faux pas. I was able to dig through the fiat archives and find this article entitles "The freshman's guide to no being pegged as poorly dressed first-year student on campus! " by Sarah Harrison. This article highlights the common do's and don'ts about freshmen fashion. For example Freshmen were found to ware their lanyard complete with room key, ID and mail room key, but considered a major foux pa since many of us put these items in our pockets or bags. The next item on this list was wearing old high school gear and how these items should be replaced with AU pride wear, but that students at Alfred should not need to go as far as wearing everything Alfred and that a simple AU shirt will do. This article also makes mention of the all too common Ugg boots which had plagued the campus.

On a realistic note and some of my own observations I have noticed and found practical that wearing high heels around campus is a major no no unless you want to pull your self from between the metal stairs.

Depending on which kind of student you are on campus I feel dictates your wardrobe. Being Alfred many of us will have our long sleeves and hats and jeans right up till Hot dog day. Also if you are an art student you might be a fist out of water if you are caught wearing your studio drab in actual public outside of Alfred. This happened on a trip to Cornell University when we all got off the bus in our flannel shirts, earthy leggings and sweaters. We kinda felt like a dust ball that rolled across campus...it was such a contrast. I've also noticed that the higher up in Harder Hall you go the cleaner the people seem. When you work on design you don't have to worry about getting paint or ink all over your nice jeans or mud all over your self from ceramics. I've also found from working in ceramics that electronics have a shorter life span in these areas so usually students in these parts have army work mans proof phones.

Engineering students also have a dress code, though their clothing has less to do with function or association with their work. Their clothes will more than likely be Representative to their interests, perhaps a sports affiliation or towards comfort and aesthetics.

But one thing is for sure, Alfred brings out the country hick in ya' with our crochet hats and gloves to our outdoor sneakers and bikes and our constant reminder from nature that we are in the middle of no where far away from anything but Walmart fashion.

Fire on Main Street

The morning of the fire (it was a Thursday), I was woken up by loud trucks going up and down the Ford Street hill very early. I thought it was just the garbage truck, but at one point I opened my eyes and saw flashing lights on the opposite wall. I heard the siren go off, then it went off again. I checked Facebook, and gasped loudly, waking up my roommate. With barefeet, we ran to the chilly balcony and saw the pillar of smoke. I took pictures, then ran to the top of the Women's Leadership Center and took more pictures. My roommate and I stood there for a good ten minutes, just watching and listening.

Later that day I went down to look at the damage. I remember the large yellow pool of water that one of the firemen was sitting above, his booted feet dangling a few inches above the edge of the plastic yellow wall. He was laughing and smiling. He had a beard.

Deer Stairwell

It's weird being in Harder Hall now (I'm a BAFA kid).  This is the year I really got to know my way around (which is good because I'm unfazed by the construction now).  

The mural stairwell that runs from the 5th floor to the Ceramic area, though, is one that I remember when I took art tours when visiting Alfred.  I was always struck by this staircase.  Even to this day, I can't really put into words how I feel about it.  Something between happiness, curiosity, and contentedness.  Sublime... I think that's the word I'm looking for.  

And only today I passed by it between floors 1 and 2, and they're painting over part of it.

Chorus Room in Miller

An acquaintance once visited the Chorus room in Miller and this is how she described the landscape:

"Sunny and green, I look out the window and there's so much more sky then there is ground.  The line trees separates the fields and it looks like the paintings of the landscape that you see.  Then you start thinking about the English countryside and shepherds and people running around through the grass.  And Beethoven's Pastoral symphony is playing in the background, of course."

Observatory

I've only officially been to the Stull Observatory once, and it was great.  But my favorite part of that experience had nothing to do with the telescopes there.  While waiting in line, I looked up at the clear night sky, lost my balance a little bit, and tripped into the shadow of the building.  I looked up again and the numbers of stars had increased tenfold.  While everyone else enjoyed tiny, singular Jupiter for 5 seconds through the telescope, I laid in the grass in the shadow of a building and enjoyed the Milky Way.

The Alfred Siren

My first year at Alfred, I made a video about the history of the town.  I wanted to include the siren because it was still a new idea to me: to have a town-wide fire alarm.  I tried to record the sound of the siren, but it didn't work, so I resorted to finding a siren sound file online.  I remember thinking, "This is perfect!"

I watched the video a few weeks ago, and when the siren started blaring, I only just now realized how thoroughly horrible it is.  Not only is it the wrong pitch, but it lasted for too long.  I guess I really am a resident now.

We need your help! :D

Hey All,
We went through the information that has already been posted on the blog, and we chose sites on campus that we are interested in discussing. We’ve made a master list that also includes sites that we’d like to know more about. So here is a list of specific questions that our group has about all of these buildings.


Overall info that we would like for ALL of the buildings (including Libraries, sites of Fire and Future Plans):
when was the building built?
what were its functions over time?
physical and functional transformations & significant dates thereof?
important people associated with buildings?

powell campus center
the gothic
allen hall
south hall
stull observatory
susan howell hall
seidlin hall
steinheim
davis gym
40 north main street (the gallery)
davis memorial carillon
alumni hall

LIBRARIES:
Alfred Union Library
Kenyon Hall (used to be where powell is now)
Rogers Hall (also used to be where powell is now)
Herrick Library
Harder Hall
Scholes Library


FIRES:

Middle Hall
Burdick Hall
Kanakadea Hall
Babcock Hall
Fasano House
The Brick

FUTURE PLANS:
Merrill Field
Harder Hall
Miller Performing Arts Center
Language House (12 Park Street)



Thanks, everybody!!

LOVE<3<3,
Team Tortuga
(aka the Transformation Group)