10 Amazing Castles Located on College Campuses in the United States

College campuses across the United States come in all different sizes, shapes and forms. Some are amazingly beautiful while others leave a lot to be desired aesthetically. Here is a list of 10 colleges in the United States that all contain amazing castles located on their campuses. 

Some of these amazing castles on college campuses were actually built specifically for the colleges that have them but many of the amazing castles on the list were built for wealthy individuals and were later either donated to colleges or bought by the colleges that now own them. Hope you enjoy the amazing castles on the list and you can visit almost all of the castles on the list through campus tours offered by each college.

10. Grey Towers Castle

Grey Towers Castle is located on the campus of Arcadia University in Glenside, Pennsylvania, just north of Philadelphia. Built in 1893 by architect Horace Trumbauer for sugar magnate William Welsh Harrison, Grey Towers Castle was inspired by Alnick Castle in Northumberland County in England. Grey Towers Castle was purchased by Arcadia University (known then as Beaver College) in 1929. Today the castle houses the office of the president, the Admissions and Financial Aid departments, as well as provides some housing for students on the upper floors. The castle contains many secret passages that Williams Welsh Harrison used to use to fool around with his female servants back in the day.

9. Boston University Castle

                                                            (Photo by Fletcher6)

The Boston University Castle, also known as the BU Castle is located on Bay State Road on the campus of Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts. The BU Castle was built for businessman William Lindsey, who made his money with a patented cartridge belt used in the Boer War, and was completed in 1915. After Lindsey passed away, Oakes Ames purchased the castle and donated it to Boston University in 1939. From 1939 until 1967, the BU Castle was the home of the presidents of the college. Today the BU Castle is used for receptions and concerts and can be rented out for weddings and special events and the BU Pub is located in the basement for BU students and faculty.

8. Hippol Castle or Gimghoul Castle

                                                            (Photo by The evil fluffyface)

Hippol Castle which is also known as Gimghoul Castle is located on Gimghoul Road on the Chapel Hill campus of the University of North Carolina. Built in 1924, Hippol Castle or Gimghoul Castle is the headquarters for the secret society known as the Order of Gimghoul, which has been around since 1889. The society is secretive but is believed to be made up primarily of select UNC students and graduates.

7. Meadow Brook Hall 

                                                       (Photo by Wm. Chris Rowland II)

                                                      

Meadow Brook Hall is a huge castle-like Tudor revival-style mansion that is now home to Oakland University in Rochester Hills, Michigan. Originally built from 1926-1929 by Matilda Dodge Wilson, the wealthy widow of car maker John Francis Dodge and wife of lumberman Alfred G. Wilson, in 1957 the castle and surrounding property were donated to the state of Michigan to start Michigan State University - Oakland, which is now known as just Oakland University. Today, the Meadow Brook Hall castle is open to the public and is also a research, training and scholarship resource for Oakland University students and faculty.

6. Nichols Hall Castle

                                                   (Photo by Cole and Vanessa Hoosier)

Nichols Hall Castle is on the campus of Kansas State University located in Manhattan, Kansas. The castle was built in 1911 and named for E.R. Nichols the president of Kansas State until 1909, who had lobbied for the money to build the castle. Originally built and used as a gymnasium complete with pools in the basement, Nichols Hall Castle is used today to house the Computer and Information Sciences, Communication Studies, and Theatre and Dance departments. 

5. Altgeld Castles 

Back in the late 1890s former Illinois Governor Peter John Altgeld was the driving force behind castles being built at five different Illinois state colleges. The castles that were built on the campuses of Southern Illinois University, the University of Illinois at Champagne-Urbana, and Northern Illinois University are all named Altgeld Hall Castles. The castle at Illinois State University is called Cook Hall Castle and the castle at Eastern Illinois University is called the Old Main Castle. 

                                                         (Photo by Andy McMurray)

4. Reid Castle

Reid Castle or Reid Hall, also known at The Castle, is located on the campus of Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York. Built in 1892 for New York Tribune owner Whitelaw Reid and his wife Elizabeth, Reid Castle was purchased by Manhattanville College in 1951 when the college decided to move to Purchase from New York City where it had been since 1841. Today Reid Castle is an academic building that can be rented out for weddings, meetings and special events.

3. Usen Castle

Usen Castle is located on the campus of Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. Usen Castle was built by Dr. John Hall Smith in 1928 to serve as the home of Middlesex College of Medicine and Surgery. After the college closed in 1945, Brandeis University acquired the school's charter and campus which included Usen Castle. Today, Usen Castle, often called just the Castle on campus, serves as a dormitory that houses 120 sophomore students and is also home to a coffeehouse and a late-night snack bar.  

2. Ochre Court

                                                            (Photo by David King)

Ochre Court is a castle-like chateauesque mansion that is owned by Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island. Ochre Court was built by architect Richard Morris Hunt and finished in 1892 for investment banker Ogden Goelet and his wife Mary Wilson. In 1947, the Goelet family donated Ochre Court to the Sisters of Mercy who then established Salve Regina University at the site. Today, Ochre Hall serves as the central administration building for the university, and Ochre Hall is also used for concerts, lectures, special student activities like dances and for other special functions mainly on the first floor.

1. Bryn Mawr Castles

Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania tops the list as the campus is filled with castle-like buildings including Pembroke Hall, Radnor Hall, Rhoads Hall and Rockefeller Hall. Bryn Mawr means big hill in Welsh and the women's liberal arts college is located on a hill just a few miles northwest of Philadelphia. Most of the castle-like buildings were built in the late 1800s and most are used as college dormitories today.