This is Cornell's first true gymnasium -- if you don't count basements, the great outdoors and the student-built gymnasium that burned to the ground in 1891. McWethy Hall was also used for student dances until the building was deemed not quite safe. Cornell women used the facility after the men got the Field House in 1953.

McWethy Hall was renovated in 2002, becoming a spectacular new home for the art department while earnings honors from the Iowa Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. The building now features spacious studio art classrooms on the ground floor, and senior art students enjoy 24-hour, secure access to private studios on the fourth floor.

Faculty studios and classroom space reside in the two middle floors, and the building also features the Peter Paul Luce Gallery. An addition provides computerized kilns for firing pottery.