Photograph of John Jay Hall, with Wallach Hall to the left and Butler Library to the right.
Former names
Students Hall
General information
Address
511 West 114th Street, New York City, New York
Named for
John Jay
Opened
1927
Owner
Columbia University
Technical details
Floor count
15
Floor area
148,292 square feet
Design and construction
Architect(s)
McKim, Mead, and White
John Jay Hall is a 15-story building located on the southeastern extremity of the Morningside Heights campus of Columbia University in New York City, on the northwestern corner of 114th St. and Amsterdam Avenue. Named for Founding Father, The Federalist Papers author, diplomat, and first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court John Jay (Class of 1764), it was among the last buildings designed by the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White, which had provided Columbia's original Morningside Heights campus plan, and was finished in 1927.
The building includes freshman housing for students of Columbia College and the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science; John Jay Dining Hall, the university's primary undergraduate dining facility; JJ's Place, an underground student quick service restaurant; the university's health services center; and an elegant wood-paneled lounge. Among its most prominent residents was the Spanish poet Federico García Lorca.
Unlike Carman Hall, the other exclusively freshman dormitory at Columbia, in which rooms are double-occupancy and arranged in clusters of two around a common bathroom as a suite, John Jay Hall's accommodations consist primarily of single rooms along narrow corridors, generally with three double-occupancy rooms per floor. Other dormitories housing undergraduate freshmen (but not exclusively so) include Wallach Hall, Hartley Hall, and Furnald Hall.
JohnJay (December 23 [O.S. December 12], 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, diplomat, abolitionist, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and...
The JohnJay College of Criminal Justice (JohnJay) is a public college focused on criminal justice and located in New York City. It is a senior college...
private board of trustees headed by former students Alexander Hamilton and JohnJay. In 1896, the campus was moved to its current location in Morningside Heights...
medicine JohnJayHall, a dormitory at Columbia University JayJay the Jet Plane, a children's television cartoon series JayJay, a 2003 Tamil film Jay-J (born...
John Clarkson Jay (September 11, 1808 – November 15, 1891) was an American physician and notable conchologist as well as one of the original founders...
Morningside Park and returned to Columbia's campus, where they took over Hamilton Hall, a building housing both classrooms and the offices of the Columbia College...
of Columbia University. Through the efforts of Alexander Hamilton and JohnJay, control of the university was returned to a private board of trustees...
kosher deli used to be housed on the main floor. It was moved in 2007 to JohnJayHall. Langston Hughes, writer, key figure of the Harlem Renaissance Jack...
two lived in JohnJayHall. She and actor David Harbour were in a relationship between 2011 and 2015. In 2010, she received a JohnJay Award, an honorary...
John Jacob "Jay" Berwanger (March 19, 1914 – June 26, 2002) was an American college football player and referee. In 1935, Berwanger was the first recipient...
Jay and the Americans are an American rock group who formed in the late 1950s. Their initial line-up consisted of John "Jay" Traynor, Howie Kane (born...
John Davison "Jay" Rockefeller IV (born June 18, 1937) is a retired American politician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia (1985–2015)...
Columbia University's JohnJayHall to demand that the Columbia Administration ban the U.S. Marines from recruiting inside the JohnJayHall lobby. After a group...
Jay Silverheels (born Harold Jay Smith; May 26, 1912 – March 5, 1980) was an Indigenous Canadian actor and athlete. He was well known for his role as Tonto...
Sarah Van Brugh Livingston Jay (August 2, 1756 – May 28, 1802) was an American socialite and wife of founding father JohnJay, in which capacity she was...
University. As a student, he roomed with composer Philip Springer in JohnJayHall. As a member of the Marine Forces Reserve he was recalled to active...
trustees of King's College were five "founding fathers" of the United States: JohnJay, who negotiated the Treaty of Paris between the United States and the Kingdom...
tunnels, including the one connecting the freshman dorms JohnJayHall, Wallach Hall, and Hartley Hall, are still accessible. As of 2009[update], the tunnels...
JohnJay Iselin (December 8, 1933 – May 6, 2008) was an American magazine and television journalist, editor, and publisher. He served as president of WNET...
Studies and Creative Writing. As a student, she was a resident of JohnJayHall. Hall was initially a student in the theater department, where she took...
JohnJay Chapman (March 2, 1862 – November 4, 1933) was an American writer. Chapman was born in New York City on March 2, 1862. He was a son of Henry Grafton...
episode of The Kids in the Hall revival. In 2022, Baruchel hosted the Crave original series We're All Gonna Die (Even Jay Baruchel), a six-episode docuseries...
award-winning All-Star players, including Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar, Joe Carter, John Olerud, and Devon White. The Blue Jays became the first (and, to date,...
Global Information
