Seven to Save Spotlight: Wells College
Aerial image showing a few buildings on the Wells College campus, with Cayuga Lake in the background.
After suddenly closing in 2024, local stakeholders banded together to advocate for Wells College. The League is pleased to join this group by including the campus on our 2025-2026 Seven to Save list.
“Our hope is that by recognizing the campus as a Seven to Save, the Preservation League can help PACNY bring together stakeholders to find a path forward through consensus,” said PACNY President Andrew Roblee. “This spirit of working together is captured by the Wells motto Habere et Dispertire, ‘to have and to share.’”
All photos below by Ken Larson.
“Wells College is a cornerstone of Aurora, NY, and its closure puts not just its buildings and landscape at risk, but also the sense of place it has helped foster in the wider community,” said Caitlin Meives, Director of Preservation for the Preservation League of NYS. “But its significance goes beyond the local. As the state of higher education continues to change, other small liberal arts colleges may shutter as well. In the long term, a sensitive adaptive reuse of this storied college campus would positively impact the local community while providing an example for other similar campuses across the state and beyond. In the meantime, it is imperative that the College protect the viability of its buildings by heating them through the winter and conducting regular monitoring.”
The Louis Jefferson Long Library was designed by Walter Netsch of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). Learn more about Netsch’s architectural legacy at Wells College in this article from MAS Context.
Wells College, founded in 1868 as a women’s college, is a historically significant institution that embodies the educational and architectural legacy of 19th-century liberal arts education. Its campus features notable historic buildings and landscapes that contribute to its designation as part of the Aurora Village Historic District (NR-listed 1980). Just outside the district boundaries are three modern architectural masterpieces designed by Walter Netsch of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), which were each less than 15 years old at the time of the original listing.
Currently, Wells College faces threats resulting from its sudden closure in the spring of 2024. The closure of Wells College holds significance that extends beyond the immediate Aurora community, warranting statewide recognition. The closure threatens the preservation of the campus’s historic structures and the cultural continuity they represent. Beyond the architectural loss, the college's closing seriously affects the local economy and community identity, which are closely intertwined with the institution. Recognizing this moment on a statewide level underscores the importance of safeguarding New York's educational and architectural heritage, while raising awareness about the broader challenges small liberal arts colleges face. Proper preservation planning and strategizing adaptive reuse of the campus could inspire solutions for other struggling institutions, providing both economic and cultural benefits.
Through the work of a partnership group including PACNY, Historic Ithaca, the Landmark Society of Western New York (Wells was also added to Landmark’s 2025 Five to Revive List), and the Preservation League, outreach has already begun to the community, college administration, and the state government to ensure protection and continued use of this incredible property.