Hall of Fame for Great Americans
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Hall of Fame Complex
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View of the Hall of Fame for Great Americans
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| Location | Bronx Community College campus, Bronx, New York |
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| Coordinates | 40°51′31″N 73°54′52″W / 40.85861°N 73.91444°WCoordinates: 40°51′31″N 73°54′52″W / 40.85861°N 73.91444°W |
| Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
| Built | 1894 |
| Architect | White, Stanford; Multiple |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival, Beaux Arts |
| NRHP Reference # | |
| Added to NRHP | September 7, 1979 |
The Hall of Fame for Great Americans is an outdoor sculpture gallery, located on the grounds of Bronx Community College in the Bronx, New York City. Completed in 1900 as part of the University Heights campus of New York University, the 630-foot (192 m) stone colonnade half-encircles the university library and houses 98 bronze portrait busts. Designed by architect Stanford White (who also designed the library), the Beaux Arts structure was donated by Helen Gould, and was formally dedicated on May 30, 1901.
New York University (under severe financial distress) was forced to sell the campus in 1973 to the City University of New York and it became Bronx Community College. Though the Hall's renown has itself faded, its architecture remains, and it stands as a secular national shrine not just to great men and women, but to Roman ideals of fame favored at the beginning of the 20th century.
The library and hall stand on the heights occupied by the British army in the autumn of 1776 during its successful attack upon Fort Washington. Dr. Henry Mitchell MacCracken, Chancellor of New York University and originator of The Hall of Fame, once said:
"Lost to the invaders of 1776, this summit is now retaken by the goodly troop of 'Great Americans', General Washington their leader. They enter into possession of these Heights and are destined to hold them, we trust, forever."
It was the first hall of fame in the United States. "Fame" here means "renown" (rather than today's more common meaning of "celebrity"). Chancellor MacCracken, acknowledged inspiration from the Ruhmeshalle (Hall of Fame) in Munich, Germany.
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