<p>There is one building at U of I that could be Hogwarts-like. Altgeld Hall [I wish it had pictures of the spiral staircase: <a href="http://www.uiuc.edu/navigation/buildings/altgeld.top.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.uiuc.edu/navigation/buildings/altgeld.top.html</a>] is modeled after a castle in England which is split up into five parts with the main part being at U of I (the other four are at the four other U of IL colleges). As a result of the splitting and general architecture of the castle there are staircases that go nowhere and skip floors (like go from the basement to the second without going to the first), doors opening into walls, an extremely small, slow elevator, and a spiral staircase that gets smaller as you go down. It is not a place that one wants to get lost in, which is easier said than done.</p>
<p>Other odd elements are the library which has a glass in the top around it so people on the upper level can look down into the library, the wrap around chalkboards/dry-eraseboards in the classrooms, and the bell tower that chimes and plays requests (Christmas music during Dec, other various stupid things, whatever someone can set to notes that it can play it will). It is a rather odd, old building next to very modern, normal looking ones.</p>
<p>When my daughter and I walked in to the library at Lehigh, we both immediately thought Hogwarts. It has a domed ceiling and a mezzanine/balcony thingie. Definitely cool.</p>
<p>jaimie17: I just spent about a half an hour looking at those pics of Cambridge on the 3rd link you posted.
OMG!!!
They are incredible.
Thanks for the link!!</p>
<p>Take a look at the Cadet Mess Hall (in the last column). You can enlarge the picture to get a good view and then you can almost see the food magically appear on the tables. :-)</p>
<p>Wesleyan has a knack for recycling its old buildings, giving its core campus a true Hogwartsian feel.</p>
<p>The main library is very cozy and full of nooks and crannies. The reference room has wood paneling and a tapestry which is very Hogwartsian; there's also the rare book room, the perfect place to find that special spell or potion. And let"s not forget the marble bathrooms in the basement: was that a moan I heard coming from one of the stalls?</p>
<p>The staircase in the Davenport student center sometimes reminds me of the one in Hogwarts; they don't move in and out crazily, but you can get dizzy looking up at them (you can always take the elevator.)</p>
<p>The new Campus Center will sport a pair of castle-like turrets over the main entrance. Actually, they've dominated the main campus for over a hundred years--it was the old gymnasium. </p>
<p>And while most of the dorms are modern, there's an underground utility tunnel that connects all the freshman dorms; supposedly it's off limits, but, occasionally it gets broken into; they say, it's guarded by a three-headed pit bull.</p>
<p>Bryn Mawr is very Hogwart-esque. Many of the residential halls are essentially American castles. The Latern Night tradition has everyone dressed in black cloaks, carrying a latern paned with their class color. Thomas Library(not a library anymore, but a hall) and the Cloisters make you wonder if you've just stepped into the movie. There aren't any pictures online that I can find, but trust me. It was a minor factor, but a factor all the same, in me choosing to attend BMC.</p>
<p>This thread made me think of something. There are other wizard schools mentioned in the books you know, so it's not guaranteed you'll go to Hogwarts. How would Hogwarts compare to top tier schools.</p>
<p>What would the US News rank for Hogwarts be?</p>
<p>I think alot of these schools have amazingly hogwarts- esque librarys/ dining halls. Harvard, Yale, Uchicago, and kenyon seems good on that part. the g=town lib. was awesome as well.
....on another note, prep school with a hogwarts-esque dining hall... avon old farms. It's an all-boys school but my school has several social events with them.</p>
<p>As some peopel have already mentioned, Oxford and Cambridge are truely the most Hogwarts-like of any school... I mean parts of the movies were actually filmed there so, at least in terms of the movie version of Harry Potter, it "IS" Hogwarts! ;-)</p>
<p>Personally, I'm partial to Cambridge... both of the Oxbridge campuses have beautiful architecture not found anywhere else in the world, but Cambridge has a bit more "green" space to go along with it. </p>
<p>Harvard does have a very nice dining hall, but of course it does make the folks at Oxford and Cambridge chuckle a bit... Harvard says on it's website that it was designed to mimic those at Oxbridge and of course it goes without saying that the Harvard hall is very modern wheras the 'real thing' at Oxford and Cambridge has essentially remain unchanged since the middle ages. </p>
<p>So if you every have the chance and are in the UK... defiently check out one of those these two schools. Better yet, if you know someone or have some connections try to go to a formal hall! You'll get to see everyone eat at the long tables in gowns... yes they actually wear gowns to dinner! A friend told me about it once and said it was like being in the movie ;-)</p>
<p>Of course in Harry Potter the train to Hogwarts leaves from platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross Station in London. In real life, the trains to Oxford leave Paddington Station, in a different part of London. </p>
<p>Although there is no real platform 9 3/4 (but there is now a sign on the wall where it would be) the trains that go to Cambridge from London usually leave King's Cross from platforms 9 and 10. Interesting ;-)</p>
<p>Dude, the Cornell library looks just like the part in the harry potter video game (yes, I am a total and complete loser) where you have to sneak by Filch</p>