Walk Through a Campus Shaped by Generations 

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) will be featured as a tour site in What’s Out There Weekend Upper Hudson Valley, a regional celebration of historic and designed landscapes organized by The Cultural Landscape Foundation's (TCLF). The free, expert-led walking tour of the RPI campus is scheduled for Saturday, June 6, from 2 to 3:30 p.m., alongside more than two dozen tours of parks, cemeteries, estates, and campuses throughout the region. 

Balancing Preservation and Progress 

Founded in 1824, RPI’s campus reflects generations of growth in engineering, science, architecture, and the humanities. From historic academic buildings and public spaces to evolving campus planning and design, the tour will highlight how the campus developed alongside the city of Troy and how RPI has balanced preservation with growth and innovation throughout its history. Participants will learn about the campus’ architectural and landscape history, its evolution over nearly two centuries, and the stewardship of its grounds today.  

The tour will be led by John Kolb, vice president and head of the Future of Computing Institute; Robert Carney, director of campus planning and facilities; and Andrew White, director of library services. 

“RPI’s campus tells a story not only about innovation and education, but also about the relationship between landscape, architecture, and community over the course of 200 years,” said Kolb. 

A Regional Celebration of Cultural Landscapes  

Organized by TCLF, What’s Out There Weekend Upper Hudson Valley will feature a variety of free tours led by scholars, designers, preservationists, historians, and community leaders. The program is part of TCLF’s nationwide initiative to connect people with the cultural landscapes that shape everyday life. 

The event places RPI alongside significant cultural and historic sites featured throughout the weekend, including Oakwood Cemetery, Prospect Park, Washington Park, Olana State Historic Site, and the Thomas Cole National Historic Site. 

All tours are free, but registration is required and attendance is limited. For more information and to register for the RPI campus tour and other What’s Out There Weekend events, visit TCLF’s What’s Out There Weekend Upper Hudson Valley program page.