The Campus of Drexel University is divided into four sites in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania—the University City Campus, the Center City Campus, the Queen Lane Campus, and the Academy of Natural Sciences. An additional location for the College of Medicine is under construction by Tower Health near Reading Hospital in West Reading, Pennsylvania. A branch campus in California—the Drexel University Sacramento Campus–closed in 2015.
Philadelphia campuses
Free shuttles connect the Philadelphia campuses.
University City Main Campus
The University City Main Campus of Drexel University is located in the University City district of West Philadelphia. It is Drexel's largest and oldest campus.
Description
The University City Main Campus is located just west of the Schuylkill River. The campus reaches: from Chestnut St. in the south to Powelton Ave in the north; and from the Amtrak rail yard in the east to 34th St. in the west. The campus originally consisted of only the Main Building, dedicated in 1891, and its additions. The Main Building's facade is decorated with glazed architectural terra-cotta pattern reliefs and architectural sculptures. The university's first dormitory, the Art Deco style Van Rensselaer Hall, opened in 1932.
In the 1960s the campus expanded greatly and several new buildings were constructed, mainly in the International Style, with orange brick facades. Since then the University has bought nearly all the remaining buildings within the campus perimeter, and has adaptively reused many of them for academic and residential purposes; some of the more notable include the Rush Building, a former hospital that now houses the Drexel University College of Computing and Informatics and the Paul Peck Alumni Center, a former bank designed by Frank Furness. The university has since built another wave of new buildings, primarily in the Modern and Postmodern styles, with metal and glass facades.
North of the Drexel campus lies the Powelton Village district, a neighborhood of primarily Victorian homes. Drexel's continued efforts to expand the university and its dormitories have brought them into conflict with the Powelton Village Civic Association, which has attempted to block university projects on several occasions.
Drexel has been expanding into the University City Science Center buildings. This is a research park presently consisting of 16 modern buildings along Market Street, and is expanding westward. The buildings house labs, classrooms, and other operations of Drexel and the University of Pennsylvania, as well as hosting incubator spaces for startup companies and facilities used by 30 other stakeholders.
Art galleries
Drexel maintains several art galleries on its main campus. The Drexel Collection is housed primarily in the Westphal Picture Gallery, on the third floor of the Main Building. The collection was established by the university's founder, Anthony J. Drexel, who collected many types of art. The collection continued to receive donations after his death from family, friends, and alumni. The collection has a large variety of artworks and artifacts, including porcelains and furniture.
The Leonard Pearlstein Gallery is an aluminum and slate structure connected to Nesbitt Hall, the College of Media Arts and Design building, in which art exhibitions are frequently held. The slate side of the building is frequently covered with chalk messages about upcoming events.
Student life
The main campus is home to several student-life related locations, including the Creese Student Center, the Mandell Theater, and Lounge 101 in the basement of the Main Building. The main campus also includes Ross Commons, a remodeled old house converted for students' enjoyment to a restaurant, and meeting, leisure, and study space.
On the south end of campus the Creese Student Center has a cafe, information desk, and sitting areas and tables for students. In the basement are the commuter lounge and the Greenawalt Student Development Center, which houses offices and meeting rooms for many student organizations such as the Undergraduate Student Government Association (USGA).