Facility
Reid Hall is nestled in a dense residential area off the boulevard du Montparnasse in Paris. Named after Elisabeth Mills Reid in 1928, it was gifted to Columbia University in 1964 by her daughter-in-law Helen Rogers Reid, Barnard alum and president of the New York Herald-Tribune.
Reid Hall is composed of three sets of buildings: The Chevreuse building, the Grande Salle building, and the Institute building. Two small outbuildings, the "Maison verte" and the pavillon, complete the property.
These buildings house offices, conference rooms, classrooms, lounges, a library, a recording studio, and a café. WiFi is available throughout the premises. Persons with reduced mobility have access to all spaces on the ground floor and throughout the Institute building.
La Petite Caféothèque was inaugurated at Reid Hall in the Spring of 2022 and welcomes students, staff, and visitors alike. Now, all who come to our center may be properly caffeinated and happily enjoy freshly squeezed fruit juices, empanadas, quiches, soups, salads, and desserts.
The partnership between La Caféothèque, located in the Marais, and Reid Hall was a natural fit. Given their experience (in business since 2005) with fair-trade artisanal coffee roasting and brewing, as well as their refugee training program and regular barista workshops, their mission aligned perfectly with what we had envisioned – a high-quality café promoting humanitarian principles, and a unique experience for those who come to Reid Hall.
Reid Hall has six classrooms and two conference rooms. Our classrooms, which are accessible to persons with reduced mobility, can accommodate between sixteen to twenty people; our conference rooms accommodate between seventy and one-hundred twenty guests. Classrooms and conference rooms are equipped with video projectors, motorized screens, cameras, and speakers.
Reid Hall has two conference rooms, the Grande Salle Ginsberg-LeClerc and the Salle de Conférence.
The Grande Salle Ginsberg-LeClerc was built in 1912 and extensively renovated in 2023 with the generous support of Judith Ginsberg and Paul LeClerc.
Once Reid Hall's former dining room, the Salle de Conférence was upgraded in 2018.
The buildings surround two large courtyards and a back garden measuring a total of 9150 square feet. The iconic gates, which separate the first courtyard from the rest of the property, have borne witness to Reid Hall's every iteration.
A former classroom was repurposed in 2024 to create a "Green Room" to afford performers and speakers a quiet space adjoining the Grande Salle Ginsberg-LeClerc.
Our library is a quiet study space that overlooks the Grande Salle Ginsberg-LeClerc and seats a maximum of 19 people.
It houses the complete book collection of noted French philosopher, sociologist, writer, and photographer Jean Baudrillard. All told, it contains close to 1500 books, ranging from art to philosophy, fiction to essays. Baudrillard annotated over 300 of these books – marginalia that bear witness to how he constructed some of his most well-known theories.
His widow Marine Baudrillard received offers for the collection from many universities. However, she felt it would be best housed at 4, rue de Chevreuse, as Jean had previously been involved with Reid Hall, and the address remains, now as ever, a cross-cultural intellectual destination.
Those wishing to consult the collection on-site should reach out to [email protected]
The construction of Reid Hall's recording studio was completed in 2024. We celebrated its inauguration on March 8, International Women's Day, alongside the launch of the new Reid Hall podcast, Atelier.
Reid Hall houses a residential studio for visiting fellows, faculty, administrators, or alumni. It was fully renovated in c. 1916 thanks to the generosity of Paul LeClerc, former Director of the Paris Center.
The studio can host up to four guests, and has WiFi and telephone access.
For more information and fees, please contact [email protected]