East Campus

Georgetown's campus has extended past the main gates for over a century. This part of campus, known as East Campus, has historically been the site of experimentation and innovation where Georgetown undertook new ventures to respond to the changing academic needs of the university and the country. East Campus was the geographic birthplace of two of Georgetown's four undergraduate schools and was the site of major growth for the SFS.

While the Georgetown Medical School was founded in 1851, it wasn't until the very end of the nineteenth century that a hospital was built in the Georgetown neighborhood at the corner of 35th & N Streets. In 1903, Georgetown opened a training school for nurses as a three-year certification program. While not a typical degree program, this was the first time that women were on campus to take classes.

In the 1940s, the government assisted Georgetown in constructing a new hospital on the northern end of campus. Upon its completion, the old hospital was converted into student housing. During this time, Fr. Edward Bunn, president of Georgetown from 1952 to 1964, upgraded the nursing program into a full four-year undergraduate degree program. Today, the School of Nursing and Health Studies, more commonly referred to as the NHS, is housed in St. Mary's Hall which opened in 1956 near the newer hospital.

During the Cold War, the U.S. government decided to invest in higher education in order to compete on the global stage. The architecture of East Campus was heavily influenced by the Hill-Burton Act which provided federal funds for construction. In order to receive these funds, religiously affiliated schools had to express their identities in less explicit ways. The plain and dull brick architecture of these government funded buildings became known as the Hill-Burton style. Several buildings on Georgetown's campus were built in "no frills" Hill-Burton style including St. Mary's Hall, New South Hall, the Kober-Cogan Building, and the Walsh Building which is connected to the old hospital.

The Walsh Building, opening in 1958, was the home of the SFS for over two decades. Out of the SFS came the Business School which eventually became the McDonough School of Business, now housed on campus in the Hariri Building. The School for Continuing Studies and the now defunct School of Language and Linguistics were also housed in East Campus.

The simple brick architecture of the buildings constructed in the 1950s stands in sharp contrast to the ornate buildings of the 1930s and the spectacle of Healy Hall. The university's relationship with the government affected the appearance of its buildings.

GEORGETOWN TODAY

Learn more about the School of Nursing and Health Studies (NHS) here.

Learn more about the School of Medicine here.

Learn more about the McDonough School of Business (MSB) here.

Learn more about the School of Continuing Studies (SCS) here.