Planting Fields Foundation opens new exhibition, School Days: Planting Fields as a University 1955-1972 at the Manor House.
Before the Planting Fields Arboretum became a state park it was a campus of State University of New York.
The first students registered for tuition free classes at the new State University College on Long Island in the fall of 1957. The exhibition, using vintage photographs, original archives and artifacts tells the story of how the mansion, Coe Hall, was adapted for use as classrooms and dormitories. In 1961, as the school grew, additional facilities were housed in 16 temporary geodesic domes erected in the gardens.
William R. Coe who deeded the estate to New York State in 1955 prohibited the addition of any permanent buildings to the property. The college offered a four year B.A .designed for training future high school teachers who would be needed for the “baby boom” generation.
When the new SUNY campus opened at Stony Brook in 1962 the college at Planting Fields was moved there. In its place was housed the new SUNY Center of International Studies and World Affairs. Close to Manhattan’s United Nations, Planting Fields was a beautiful retreat used to host seminars and conferences about international education.
Coe Hall was renamed International Hall and the name was used until the entire program was moved to Albany in 1968.
In 1968 a fire at the mansion at Old Westbury State College required the campus to be relocated and so Planting Fields became its home for three years. It was created as an experimental school in answer to growing student radicalism of the 1960s.
There were no grades, and no student ever received a failing grade. The activist nature of the student body combined with the open ended goals of the school resulted in a power struggle between students and administration.
At the end of the spring 1971 semester the school was deemed a failure and it was closed by the Board of Regents. Come see the exhibition to learn more about this fascinating period in the history of Planting Fields.
A members Preview Reception will be held at the Manor House on Thursday, June 5 from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
The exhibition will be on display from Saturday, June 7 through Sept. 30 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily. Free admission with $8 parking fee
