Ely Hall

Ely Hall
Ely Hall
	Ely's facade in 2015
Former names	Alumnae Gymnasium
General information
Type	Classroom, laboratory, meeting space
Architectural style	Richardsonian Romanesque
Town or city	Poughkeepsie, New York
Country	US
Coordinates	41°41′17″N 73°53′42″W / 41.6880603°N 73.8950368°W
Named for	Achsah M. Ely
Groundbreaking	March 29, 1889
Opened	November 23, 1889
Renovated	1906, 1994
Cost	$22,000
Renovation cost	$25,000 (1906)
Owner	Vassar College
Technical details
Material	Brick
Floor count	Two
Design and construction
Architect(s)	William Tubby
Main contractor	Mr. Otis
Renovating team
Architect(s)	William Downing (1906)
Renovating firm	Olson Lewis Architects & Planners, Inc. (1994)

Ely Hall is a two-story Richardsonian Romanesque classroom and laboratory building on the campus of Vassar College in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, US. The structure houses Vassar's Department of Earth Science and Geography, the A. Scott Warthin Jr. Museum of Geology and Natural History, and the Aula, a spacious and frequently used gathering space.

Originally known as the Alumnae Gymnasium, the building was erected as a response to the perception that Vassar's physical education program was falling behind those of other Seven Sisters colleges. Plans for the hall were made, scrapped, and remade as the college and alumnae benefactors struggled to raise sufficient funds. Ultimately, the building was designed by William Tubby and constructed in 1889, signaling a physical decentralization away from the college's Main Building. When it opened, the gymnasium featured a large pool and a variety of other athletic spaces. Vassar's enrollment quickly outgrew the limited space within the building, and it was first expanded and then superseded by Kenyon Hall in the 1930s. The Geology Department moved into the building shortly thereafter.