Get to know COA’s campus from afar.
Arts & Sciences Building
The Arts & Sciences building is home to art studios, science labs, and a range of learning spaces and offices.
Arts & Sciences Building
Examining specimens.
Student at work in the drafting studio.
A photography class critique outside the darkroom.
Seedlings come to life each spring in the small greenhouse.
Chemistry lab.
Processing seaweed specimens in the zoology lab.
The painting studio hosts many of COA’s painting and drawing classes.
Inside the Amos Eno Greenhouse.
In the printmaking studio.
Jason P. Smith
Examining specimens in the zoology lab.
The Whale Skull on a sunny winter day.
Printmaking and drafting studio.
Jason P. Smith
In the GIS lab.
Jason P. Smith
Classrooms in the Arts & Sciences building include:
- Amos Eno Greenhouse
- Chemistry Lab
- Christensen Zoology Laboratory
- Drafting Studio
- Geographic Information Systems Lab
- Green Media Lab
- Greene Laboratory of Botany
- Painting/Portrait Studio
- Taxidermy Lab
- Writing Center
Beatrix Farrand Gardens
The formal sequence of rock walled “rooms” on the ocean side of Kaelber Hall was created by the celebrated garden designer, Beatrix Farrand, in 1928. These rooms are a remnant of one of the historic estates that now comprise the campus, offering spaces for quiet study and intimate conversation. The unique stone walls, staircases, and hedges defining these spaces provide a sense of the designer’s skill. Several of the original rose bushes survive and a perennial border gives a sampling of plants typically used by Farrand in her garden designs.
Seasonal blooms in the Beatrix Farrand Gardens. Spring ferns unfurling. Plantings within one of the stone-walled "rooms" of the Beatrix Farrand Gardens. Red trillium. Beatrix Farrand Gardens
Blair/Tyson Residence
Blair/Tyson (B/T) is a series of seven connected townhouses, each of which is home to eight residents. Rooms are a mix of singles and doubles, with the occasional triple. Each house has a shared kitchen/common room and exists as a smaller unit within the larger Blair/Tyson community. Shared coin-operated laundry facilities are available in the lower level of section C. With vibrant color schemes and an open courtyard in the middle, B/T is one of our liveliest residences.
Students relaxing in the Blair/Tyson courtyard. A shared meal in Blair/Tyson. A single room in Blair/Tyson. The arch connects Blair/Tyson sections C and D. A double room in Blair/Tyson. Blair/Tyson's central courtyard. Blair/Tyson from above.Blair/Tyson
Center for Human Ecology
College of the Atlantic’s Center for Human Ecology officially opens in 2021 as our newest, greenest academic space on campus. The Center for Human Ecology includes classrooms, labs, studios, faculty offices, and meeting spaces.
Center for Human Ecology
An aerial view of the Center for Human Ecology during its construction in 2020.
An interior rendering of COA's new Center for Human Ecology.
Aerial rendering of the north end of COA's campus, as reimagined with the Center for Human Ecology and additional future construction.
Interior rendering of the new Center for Human Ecology.
College Pier
COA’s pier is our gateway to Frenchman Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Here you’ll board our boats, including research vessel M/V Osprey, and you’ll also watch the sunrise, skip rocks across the bay, make music, bask in the sun, jump in the frigid waters, and learn to sail. The cobble beach is a great launching site for kayaks, and the rocky shorefront along campus is the perfect place for smelling the sea air and watching the tides come and go.
Pier
A class prepares to board the Osprey on COA's pier.
Winter twilight at the pier.
Music on the pier.
The sunrise club.
Photographing waves on the cobble beach next to COA's pier.
COA's pier.
Nikolai Fox for College of the Atlantic
Students preparing for a journey.
Blue dusk at the pier.
Studying - on the water.
Nikolai Fox for College of the Atlantic
Community Gardens
On the north side of campus, the community garden is a large expanse of garden beds and pathways, a place where students, staff, faculty, and community members can tend their own organic garden plots. The community gardens include a small mixed orchard with peach, pear, apple, and other fruit trees. Gardening and agriculture classes often use space in these gardens to practice techniques, conduct experiments, and develop garden designs. Community gardeners share responsibilities for maintaining common parts of the garden, as well as shared tools and compost systems.
Cottage House
Cottage is an old gatehouse that was converted to student housing. It has a cozy living room and kitchen, and its small size gives housemates good opportunities to build deep relationships with one another. Cottage was fully renovated in 2019 with new appliances, bathrooms, flooring, and energy efficiency features.
Cottage House
Cottage House
Cottage House
Cottage House
Davis Carriage House
Davis Carriage has a rustic, cabin-like feel with wood paneling and a large common room and kitchen.
Davis Carriage House
Davis Carriage House
Davis Carriage House
Davis Carriage House
Davis Carriage House
Deering Common Community Center
With comfy chairs, a fireplace, and ocean views, the Deering Common Community Center is a living room for the COA community. On the first floor you’ll find the student lounge, cafe, and offices for the college nurse and mental health counselors. The offices of student life staff, the meditation room, a student organization meeting space, and an additional classroom are on the upper floors. While Deering Common has its roots as a storied oceanfront estate, it’s at the forefront of sustainable design. It’s heated with a wood pellet boiler and has composting toilets and recycled newsprint insulation.
Meeting with a faculty advisor in Deering. Fireside Friday! Deering is a cozy gathering place. Jason Paige Smith Deering Common Community Center in snow. Deering has a porch and decks looking out on the ocean. The Sea Urchin Cafe in Deering, a source of smoothies, sandwiches, soups, and personal pizzas. www.jasonpsmithphotography.com Music in the gardens outside Deering. Deering Common
George B. Dorr Museum of Natural History
The George B. Dorr Museum of Natural History investigates, interprets, and displays the natural world of Maine. All exhibits are designed and produced by College of the Atlantic. It is housed in the original headquarters of Acadia National Park, renovated and expanded to provide a unique site for exhibits, programs, and activities.
A skunk defends itself from the talons of a predating owl, in an exhibit at COA's Dorr Museum. Hands-on intertidal touch tank at the Dorr Museum of Natural History. Looking into the Dorr Museum's main exhibit space. A beaver gets the job done. All of the exhibits at the Dorr Museum are designed and built by COA students. Exhibits at the Dorr Museum. A student educator during an event at the Dorr Museum. A watchful eye. The Dorr Museum welcomes visitors of all ages!George B. Dorr Museum of Natural History
Kaelber Hall
Kaelber Hall is at the heart of COA’s campus. The red bricks of Newlin Gardens, the distinctive archway underneath Thorndike Library’s reading room, and the cozy booths in TAB (the Blair Dining Hall) are much-loved gathering places for students, faculty, and staff alike. Kaelber Hall is also home to the Admission Office, Financial Aid, student mailboxes, classroom space, and the computer lab.
Kaelber Hall
Afternoon light through the arch at Kaelber Hall.
Blair Dining Hall (known as TAB) is a much-loved gathering place.
The Thorndike Library reading room is a beacon at the center of campus after dark.
www.jasonpsmithphotography.com
Preparing food in the kitchen.
Kaelber Hall.
Commencement and the 2017 graduating class at College of the Atlantic.
©2017 Brian Fitzgerald
Kaelber Hall and the red bricks of Newlin Gardens are central locations for demonstrations, performances, and outdoor gatherings.
Kaelber Hall.
www.jasonpsmithphotography.com
The library classroom in Thorndike Library.
Jason P. Smith
The reading room's beautiful deck.
In class in the library classroom.
The reading room at Thorndike Library.
In the lobby of Thorndike Library.
Trip leaders prepare to depart for OOPs - COA's Outdoor Orientation Program.
Music on the red bricks, under the Kaelber arch.
Nikolai Fox for College of the Atlantic
View of the ocean from Kaelber Hall and the Newlin Gardens.
When it's not too cold or stormy, we eat outdoors.
Study session in TAB (Blair Dining Hall).
Blair Dining Hall, COA's living room.
Kaelber Hall with fall foliage.
Kathryn W. Davis Center for International & Regional Studies
The Davis Center for International and Regional Studies has a grassy lawn that ends at the shore of Frenchman Bay. Inside you’ll find a small classroom, a community kitchen used for classes and events, a lounge and study area, as well as faculty and staff offices. Offices include:
- Center for Applied Human Ecology (CAHE)
- International Center
- Island Research Center
Kathryn W. Davis Residence Village
The Kathryn W. Davis Village is COA’s “greenest” housing complex. The houses in the village are heated by a biomass pellet boiler system and are incredibly energy efficient. All six houses have a living room, kitchen, and dining area on the ground floor, replete with vibrant color schemes and comfy furniture. Upstairs, two floors house eight residents in large student rooms with communal bathrooms boasting composting toilets.
More information on the story and sustainable efforts behind Kathryn W. Davis Village is available here.
Kathryn W. Davis Residence Village
Houses in the Kathryn W. Davis Residence Village.
Nikolai Fox for College of the Atlantic
Porch in the Kathryn W. Davis Residence Village.
Nikolai Fox for College of the Atlantic
Rainspout art.
The pellet boiler heats the Kathryn W. Davis Residence Village, Deering Common, and Seafox.
(c) Eager Eye, ph.+1.207.244.4473vanbakel@gmail.com
A tidy and sun-filled room in the Kathryn W. Davis Residence Village.
A single room in the Kathryn W. Davis Residence Village
Common area in the Kathryn W. Davis Residence Village
A village double at night.
Kathryn W. Davis Residence Village
Nikolai Fox for College of the Atlantic
Room decorations in a village single.
This little pumpkin wants you to recycle!
A cozy bedroom in the Kathryn W. Davis Residence Village
Peach House
Peach is a small and cozy house, home to approximately eight students. It has a spacious kitchen with excellent storage and also boasts a storied history as the birthplace of COA: the first college employees (including Ann Peach, after whom the house was named) worked here together for a year before another building was made ready. Peach House was most recently renovated in 2019 with new appliances, bathrooms, flooring, and energy efficiency features.
Cozy room in Peach House. Peach House residents. Playing guitar in Peach House. Peach House common room at night with twinkle lights. Dinner with friends in Peach House.Peach House
Pottery Studio
Our ever-popular ceramics courses take place in the pottery studio, a small structure with a rooftop solar array on the north end of campus.
Pottery Studio
Ceramics class.
At work in the pottery studio.
At work in the pottery studio.
At work in the pottery studio.
At work in the pottery studio.
At work in the pottery studio.
Seafox Residence
Seafox is a charming old home with lots of quirky nooks and a fantastic seaside porch. The size of the house (26-28 students) and the central common spaces offer great opportunities for an engaged community in a peaceful and homey atmosphere. Seafox has its own coin-operated laundry facilities.
Seafox
Seafox Residence
Seafox Residence
Seafox Residence
Seafox Residence
Seafox Residence
Seafox Residence
Seafox Residence
Seafox Residence
Seafox Residence
Seafox Residence
The Turrets
The Turrets is one of the grandest of the surviving Gilded Age “cottages” along the Bar Harbor shore. Built in 1895 for J.J. Emery, a financier based in Cincinnati and New York, and designed by New York architect Bruce Price, one of the most distinguished designers of that time, it represents one of the finest examples of the French Chateauesque style for which Price was known. The building has been part of College of the Atlantic since 1973 and currently serves as both academic and administrative space.
The Turrets
An aerial view of The Turrets in autumn
Open Mic in the Les C. Brewer Great Hall
Porte cochere outside The Turrets.
Barbara Meyers
A class meets in the Straus Seminar Room
Jason P. Smith
Students on the Turrets porch, looking out over Frenchman Bay
A class meets in the Gower Classroom.
Jason P. Smith
A class meets in the Putnam Classroom.
Jason P. Smith
Early spring blooms.
In addition to classrooms and faculty offices, the Turrets is also home to:
- Academic Services
- Allied Whale
- Business Office
- Development Office
- Internships & Career Services
- Lou Rabineau Education Studies Center
- Leslie C. Brewer Great Hall
- Office of the President
- Registrar’s Office
- Summer Programs
In 2014, restoration of the Turret’s masonry, roof, and windows received a Maine Preservation Honor Award.
Thomas S. Gates Jr. Community Center
The Thomas S. Gates Jr. Community Center (“Gates”) is a central gathering place at COA. The meeting hall is home to our weekly All College Meeting, and also a central place for theatrical and musical productions, lectures, as well as classes in music, performance, and movement. The Gates Center building is also home to the Ethel H. Blum Gallery, the McCormick Lecture Hall, and a series of music practice rooms.
Thomas S. Gates Jr. Community Center
All College Meeting in the Gates meeting hall.
An alumna lectures on her research in the McCormick Lecture Hall.
The Gates meeting hall is a popular venue for dances, concerts, and shows.
COA's choir performs in Gates.
A theater class practices in Gates.
A student art exhibition at the Ethel H. Blum Gallery.
A student art installation in the Ethel H. Blum Gallery.
COA's orchestra performs in the Gates meeting hall.
A class meets in Gates.
Jason P. Smith
An outside view of the Blum Gallery and Gates.
The Thomas S. Gates Jr. Community Center.
Nikolai Fox for College of the Atlantic
Students perform in the community show.
Turrets Seaside Garden
“A large granite bench overlooks the Turrets Seaside Garden at College of the Atlantic. In the distance a string of islands stretch across Frenchman Bay to Schoodic Peninsula. Above the garden stands the historic The Turrets. The campus extends uphill, but the garden, concealed behind The Turrets, has a sunken, secluded atmosphere.” So writes Eamonn Hutton ’05, who took on the restoration of the 4000-square-foot garden as his senior project . Hutton recreated the formal bedded out pattern of the garden but chose plant material that would require less maintenance and be unappealing to the deer that frequent the campus. Using the subtle, contemplative pinks, purples and blue-grey tones of lavender, astilbe, fairy roses, nepeta and Siberian iris, Hutton followed a color scheme typical of the blue-grey gardens described by noted garden designer Gertrude Jekyll.
In 2009 a central fountain, created by COA alumnus Dan Farrenkopf ’95 of Lunaform Pottery, was installed in the space where a long-lost fountain once stood.
Turrets Seaside Garden
Turrets Seaside Garden
Turrets Seaside Garden
Turrets Seaside Garden
Turrets Seaside Garden
Turrets Seaside Garden
Turrets Seaside Garden
Turrets Seaside Garden
Turrets Seaside Garden
Turrets Seaside Garden
Turrets Seaside Garden
Witchcliff
Witchcliff is a small seaside cottage that houses faculty offices, classroom space, and the Drury Reading Room, focused on natural history texts. The Witchcliff property is the southern terminus of COA’s campus.
Learn more about locations on campus:
- Arts & Sciences Building
- Beatrix Farrand Gardens
- Blair/Tyson Residence
- Center for Human Ecology
- College Pier
- Community Gardens
- Cottage House
- Davis Carriage House
- Deering Common Community Center
- George B. Dorr Museum of Natural History
- Kaelber Hall
- Kathryn W. Davis Center for International & Regional Studies
- Kathryn W. Davis Residence Village
- Peach House
- Pottery Studio
- Seafox Residence
- The Turrets
- Thomas S. Gates Jr. Community Center
- Turrets Seaside Garden
- Witchcliff