4. Columbia University Was Never on Land that Became Rockefeller Center
As King’s College, Columbia University began in the vestry hall at Trinity Church, then moved to a campus near present-day City Hall. From 1847 to 1897 the campus was located in Midtown from 49th and 50th Streets, between Madison and Park Avenue. A common misconception is that Columbia’s Midtown campus became part of Rockefeller Center, but this was a separate piece of land known as the “Upper Estate.” Though Columbia considered moving the campus there, the land was sold to the Rockefellers and the proceeds started the university’s endowment. It is said however that “the townhouse that first housed Barnard College may have been located at the corner of the future site Rockefeller Center.”