College Hall, Grecourt Gate & Downtown Northampton

Welcome! Enter the Grécourt Gates, a portal between the Smith campus and the outside world, to gaze upon stately College Hall—Smith’s first building, dating from 1874, and now home to the president’s office and other major administrative offices. Installed in 1924 to honor the Smith College Relief Unit who traveled to France to help rebuild areas destroyed in World War I, the gates remain an important symbol of the founder’s intention that the college be “a perennial blessing to the country and the world.” Just steps away is downtown Northampton, bustling with shops, restaurants, salons, music and art venues. Coupled with the city's great natural beauty and setting, it's easy to see how, for more than a century, Northampton has earned the moniker "Paradise City."