Campus Maps Over Time | Part I: Post-War Development (1945 to 1967)

By Aakarsh Mamawala

Map of Georgetown University in 2025

Just as you pass through Georgetown’s campus gates, you’ll see the definitive guide to Georgetown’s campus: the Campus Map. Its most recent iteration reflects Georgetown’s newest campus development, the Byrnes and Hayden dorm complex, built over the old Henle Village. For years, Georgetown’s campus maps have told the story of post-war expansion, shifting architectural decisions, and the university’s growth into a national institution.

Georgetown’s maps are the standard visual representation of how our campus has changed and developed over time. They provide us with extensive, bird's-eye-level views of the Hilltop and illustrate how quads and baseball fields of the past have evolved into dorms and dining halls. I want to walk through how Georgetown’s campus maps have changed over the years and with it, the university as a whole. 

Map of Georgetown University in 1945 –  Booth Center for Special Collections, Georgetown University

Georgetown’s campus map at the close of World War II isn’t a random starting point. It shows the campus before the Post-War building boom when enrollment massively expanded, necessitating the overhaul of the campus.

The Hilltop in the first half of the 20th century saw developments centered around the Healy Quad. Copley and White-Gravenor were key components of the unfinished “Greater Georgetown” building plan, which sought to construct a collegiate Gothic quad on all sides (O’Neill and Smith). New North, built in the early 1920s, was initially used as a dormitory and was the farthest building from the original campus center (Georgetown University Archives)

“Aerial View of Greater Georgetown,” showing the proposed Andrew White Memorial Quadrangle, by Emile G. Perrot, 1929 – Booth Center for Special Collections, Georgetown University

Ryan Gymnasium — the Davis Arts Center, today — can be seen behind Copley with handball courts behind. An interesting aspect of the pre-war campus was the coexistence of athletic spaces with academic and residential buildings. Tennis courts can be seen just across the old Jesuit Residence and in the current location of Lauinger Library. 

The campus west of New North was largely untouched, featuring a baseball field and walking trails that connected to the Astronomical Observatory. Over the next 80 years, some of these bucolic components of campus would disappear with the development of McDonough Arena, the Leavey Center, and the hospital. 

Map of Georgetown University from Georgetown University In the Mid-Twentieth Century (1956) –  Booth Center for Special Collections, Georgetown University

The above map is from a November 1956 historical sketch of the University, showcasing the largely wooded nature of the campus at the time. The construction of McDonough Arena and St. Mary’s Hall in 1951 and 1956,  respectively, addressed the University’s athletic and academic needs. St. Mary’s initially operated as the home of the all-female nursing school, separated from the rest of the campus by forest. Building #14 — the School of Foreign Service Annex — served as temporary housing for GI Bill recipients, as Georgetown began to tackle the housing crunch caused by an enrollment spike (O’Neill and Smith).

Map of Georgetown University from Visiting Georgetown University In the Mid-Twentieth Century (1959) –  Booth Center for Special Collections, Georgetown University

This map displays the 1959 construction of New South, which featured a cafeteria (now the Healy Family Student Center) along with a dormitory component. It was the first new dormitory construction on the main campus since Copley Hall nearly 30 years earlier (O’Neill and Smith). 

Another piece of construction that dates this map is the presence an unnamed science building (#59), which would become the modern-day Reiss. In the lower right corner, the “East Campus” also receives its first separate labeling. An interesting nuance of Georgetown was the physical separation of Georgetown College and the School of Foreign Service until the construction of the Intercultural Center (ICC) in the 80s. 

Map of Georgetown University from Visiting Georgetown University In the Mid-Twentieth Century (1967) –  Booth Center for Special Collections, Georgetown University

This map, dating back to 1966, showcases the rapid campus construction as the university attempts to address housing needs during the enrollment boom. Harbin and Darnall Hall, freshman dorms today, were both built using federal grants to accommodate hundreds of new students (O’Neill and Smith). Along the intersection of Prospect and 37th, a new library site was finalized, where tennis courts once stood just ten years earlier. 

Looking ahead, the story of Georgetown’s campus development continues well beyond the 1960s. The decades that followed — from the 1970s through today — brought transformative growth, including the construction of the iconic campus spaces such as Lauinger Library, the ICC, and the Leavey Center. In the next installment of this series, we’ll explore how later maps capture Georgetown’s evolution into a modern, nationally known university as it began developing its first unified campus plans. 

Works Referenced

Rufino, Stephanie J., and Alexis Nollet. Georgetown University: An Architectural History. With StudioMB (Firm). Georgetown University Press, 2025.