BUFFALO, NY – Canisius University will commemorate 100 years on Main Street during the 2012-2013 academic year. The centennial is marked by educational excellence, great tradition and ambition, and defining developments that shaped the institution into what it is today. Canisius will pay tribute to 100 of the college’s most historical moments over the past 100 years in a series of online and social media initiatives that will run from September 2012 through January 2013. For an abbreviated version of these historical moments, view “Milestones on Main Street” which appears in the summer 2012 issue of Canisius University Magazine.
Prior to its move to Main Street in 1912, Canisius University was located at 651 Washington Street near St. Michael’s Church. By 1908, Canisius University began to outgrow the Washington Street campus, which it shared with Canisius High School. A retreat site at Main Street and Jefferson Avenue, purchased from the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1874, became the desired location for the ‘new Canisius University.’ Rev. Augustine-Miller, the rector-president of Canisius University, formed a Building Fund Committee to raise $100,000 for the construction of a new building at the Main and Jefferson site. The 140-member committee canvassed the city for donations and in just 32 days, they raised $100,059. The donations gave rise to Old Main, the college’s primary academic building.
Canisius dedicated the “new Canisius University” at 2001 Main Street on December 30, 1912 and officially opened Old Main for classes in January 1913. Nearly 100 years later, the building continues to serve as the symbol of Canisius University and its golden dome is one of Buffalo’s most distinguished landmarks.
One of 28 Jesuit universities in the nation, Canisius is the premier university in Western New York.
