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Redbud Woods was located at the edge of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York until July, 2005 when construction began on a new parking lot to serve the educational needs of Cornell University. It was known as Redbud Woods because of the many Redbud trees that grew there and whose blossoms gave the woods a pink tint in the springtime.
Redbud Woods was part of the landscaping of Robert H. Treman's historic estate. In the late 1800's Warren Manning designed the landscape of the Treman family estate (now Von Cramm Hall, 660, and the Kahin Center) so that it would grow into natural woodlands and beautify the campus. The woods, if left to grow untouched, might eventually reach the stage of a climax forest. Over time, Redbud Woods became perceived as a buffer between the University and the surrounding community. In 2001, the Ithaca Common Council named Redbud Woods a historic district.
History
Early in Cornell's history, at the turn of the 20th century, banker and hardware magnate Robert H. Treman, Class of 1878, built his family estate on University Hill, just west of today's West Campus. Treman hired his friend Warren Manning, a pioneer of American landscape architecture, to design the site. The Ithaca Daily News of November 2, 1901 reported that the west lawn would be "left to nature as the best gardener." Upon his death in 1937, Treman, who preserved all of the Ithaca area's gorges, donated $5000 to the University specifically for the beautification of the campus. Much of his west lawn grew into beautiful Redbud Woods, which retains many original Manning design elements and boasts locally rare yellow oak and hackberry trees as well as an unusually dense stand of redbuds.
Two Roads Diverge in Redbud Woods
In the fall of 2004, then University President Jeffrey Lehman presented three challenges to the University, the third of which was sustainability. Lehman went on to more fully articulate Cornell's "institutional commitment to sustainability." Some, including Cornell faculty, students and Ithaca community members, argued that paving a beloved, historic urban green space for a surface parking lot is unsustainable. They suggested that parking needs might be satisfied elsewhere on campus and further mitigated through demand management, promotion of public transit, and planning.
Disagreement between the Univeristy administration and opposing groups (the Redbud protesters) led to a series of contentious events, culminating in the occupation of the woods by some of the Redbud protesters in June, 2005, just as construction for the new parking lot began. The occupation prevented construction work from continuing in the woods.
Final Agreement
On July 18, 2005 Cornell University interim president Hunter Rawlings visited Redbud Woods and signed an agreement between the Univeristy and many of the Redbud protesters that effectively ended the protests, although a number of protesters did not sign and some protests continued. Details of the agreement included a pledge by Cornell to offer free bus passes to all new students entering the Univeristy in the fall of 2005 who do not receive parking permits. By August of 2005 several thousand new students had chosen this option.
The agreement was reported on July 19 in the New York Times under the headline "After Protest, Cornell and Students Reach Accord in Parking Lot Dispute" By BARBARA WHITAKER and PETER NORLANDER.
Media Documentation
The New York Times published three articles about the Redbud Woods controversy in June and July, 2005. The Ithaca Journal published many articles during the summer of 2005 about Redbud Woods.
Links
Redbud Woods Homepage
President Rawlings Statement on West Campus Replacement Lot