There a lot of very pretty LACs. They don’t have the burden of having to stuff in millions of square feet of space to accommodate research or high rise dorms. Some of the nice ones are: Richmond, W&L, Middlebury, Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore, Kenyon, Sewanee, Sweet Briar, Wellesley, Colgate, Rhodes, and Mount Holyoke.
Larger universities tend to have beautiful, memorable signature areas, but may not be as consistently nice. Some great signature areas are the Lawn at UVA, the Quad at Washington, and Harvard Yard.
@jmtabb will second UW. We were there last week and even though it was raining the cherry blossoms in the quad were in full bloom and looked spectacular against the backdrop of the old gothic buildings. In addition, on a sunny day the views of the snow capped Mt. Rainer beyond the Drumweller Fountain is spectacular.
The drive up Palm Drive at Stanford toward the gorgeous Memorial Church, and the rest of the quad there are gorgeous; I don’t think the rest of the Stanford campus is anything special (I went there for grad school; on my first visit somehow missed the “beauty shot” was was singularly unimpressed!) My UG was Swarthmore and I agree it’s beautiful, especially in the spring. They have made many, many little pocket gardens that are each a work of art.
Just remember to always keep your back to Uris Hall (known as Old Rusty in my time even though it was new), one of the worst eyesores ever constructed.
Fortunately a campus is so much more than the superficial appearances- beauty. Especially since beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder- anything gothic is a huge negative for me (as is the boring Stanford architecture and landscaping).
Urban universities rarely get any love on these lists. McGill University in Montreal is unique in being in the middle of a major downtown yet it has a green campus with Mount Royal rising behind it. (The current half a billion dollars of restoration and new construction on campus has made it a bit of a mess for a few years though.)
I’m always fascinated by the Csial building at MIT and several of the surrounding buildings. I like the modern and the functional aspects. The BCS building across the street has a green space, with plants and full windows.
If a campus is adding oN a new science building, why should the facade be red brick or whatever, to match existing buildings? Why not move ahead?
Lehigh, hands down, of the 30+ colleges I have now seen. Bates is lovely. The quad is just so perfect, and I think Gomes Chapel is by far the nicest chapel we have seen. I love Dickinson, for the way it feels like part of the town. The buildings there are beautiful.
Oh…I forgot about Pepperdine. Gorgeous views of the Pacific Ocean from just about every building.
My kid hated the school…but took more pictures there than anywhere else we visited. The drive to the top of the hill (where the law school is) has a few scenic overlooks.
