10. Jam Out at Alfred Lerner Hall’s CU Records

Columbia University’s Alfred Lerner Hall was designed by deconstructivist architect Bernard Tschumi, and features a glass wall facing campus designed by Eiffel Constructions Metalliques, a descendant of the firm that designed the Eiffel Tower. With its convoluted, labyrinthine web of staircases, and frequently illuminated by fluorescent lights supporting one cause or another, the building is a remarkable and occasionally disorienting experience.

It was created to be a meeting place for students as well as a home for the mailroom, back in the days before mail came on paper instead of via email or instant messaging, but now its vast array of mailboxes is a kind of ghost town, a silent room broken only by the odd student wandering in to collect their Amazon package. In spite of this, Lerner Hall is still a vibrant hub of student life. It is home to several noteworthy venues, including the brand-new CU Records, a student-operated recording studio located on the fifth floor. The studio was founded by university students and is currently free to use for any musicians, including non-students.