Celebrating 60 Years of Columbia at Reid Hall in Paris
2024 marks the 60th anniversary of the gift of Reid Hall to Columbia University by Helen Rogers Reid. Reid Hall is an 18th-century building located between 4 rue de Chevreuse and 5 rue de la Grande Chaumière, in the heart of the Montparnasse district of Paris. Neither quite American nor quite French, nor even the conjunction of the two, it has always been a third space that has facilitated journeys of self-discovery and intellectual transformations. This holds true even today.
Molded by many residents and students, and influenced by more than two centuries of exchange between the United States and France, Reid Hall was fashioned by the will and vision of a succession of pioneering individuals. It bears the name of Elisabeth Mills Reid, an American philanthropist who purchased the property in 1911. Her daughter-in-law Helen Rogers Reid, president of the International Herald Tribune and Barnard alumna and Trustee, gifted Reid Hall to Columbia University in 1964.
The year 2024 marks the 60th anniversary of this remarkable gift. Today, we celebrate this milestone as a symbol of cross-cultural diplomacy, the advancement of research and innovation, and the seamless fusion of Reid Hall’s rich history and promising future.
Today, Columbia’s initiatives at Reid Hall include: the longstanding undergraduate programs (est. 1972); the university’s only master’s program run entirely in Paris, the M.A. in History and Literature (est. 1993); a Global Center (est. 2010); and the Institute for Ideas and Imagination (est. 2018).
In celebration of its 60th anniversary as a Columbia University satellite, Reid Hall will host a series of events highlighting its rich history and ongoing contributions to cultural and academic exchange.
On November 5, Columbia Professor Frank Guridy will discuss his new book The Stadium with Financial Times columnist Simon Kuper, exploring the role of American stadiums in shaping the nation's life.
The series continues with two chamber music concerts, to be held in Reid Hall’s Grande Salle Ginsberg-LeClerc, built in 1912 and extensively renovated in 2023 thanks to the generous support of Judith Ginsberg and Paul LeClerc.
On November 13, the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) and Paris-based L’itinéraire will perform works by Afrodiasporic composers. The concert is made possible by Columbia Professor George Lewis, the artistic director of ICE, and a current Fellow at the Institute for Ideas and Imagination.
On November 17, the 1991 Project will present Ukrainian Resonance, a cello and piano concert of Ukrainian and other European classical music. Founded by Anna Stavychenko, the 1991 Project supports Ukrainian musicians and organizes concerts and events to showcase the Ukrainian musical repertoire. Anna was an artist in residence for the 2023 – 2024 Displaced Artists Initiative at Reid Hall.
On November 19, contemporary artists Fabiola Jean-Louis and Andrew LaMar Hopkins will discuss Louisiana’s antebellum free people of color, focusing on the influence of Haitian culture on this little-known francophone population of the 18th and 19th centuries.
The celebrations conclude with a November 26 presentation on Reid Hall’s history by Paris Global Center Director Brunhilde Biebuyck, honoring the leadership of Elisabeth Mills Reid and Helen Rogers Reid from 1893 to 1964, when the property was gifted to Columbia University. Those first 70 years established the foundations for what Reid Hall is today: a center for study abroad, research, and cultural exchange.
To further celebrate the anniversary, Reid Hall’s Atelier podcast will launch a history miniseries on November 21, titled "Women of Reid Hall," spotlighting two dozen artists and scholars who resided at Reid Hall between 1893 and 1939.
To read all of the chapters of Reid Hall's rich history, visit the Reid Hall History website. For a first introduction, listen to an Atelier podcast episode featuring Brunhilde Biebuyck.