Russell Sage Laboratory

Introduction

Russell Sage Laboratory, otherwise known to students and faculty as 'Sage Lab', was opened in 1909. Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage, known as Olivia Sage, was the second wife of industrialist Russell Sage. At his death in 1906, she inherited a fortune estimated at more than $63,000,000, to be used at her discretion. She gave RPI $1,000,000 as a memorial to her husband. The building was named after Russell Sage who, prior to his death, had been on the board of trustees at RPI. $300,000 of this money was set aside for building a lab that would be used for the Electrical and Mechanical Engineering departments, which had just been introduced at the school.

Early Days

Sage Lab began construction in 1907 and initially cost $405,000, around $12 million in today's money. The building was designed by Lawlor & Haase and constructed of Harvard brick with limestone trimmings. It included 3 main sections: one wing for the electrical engineering department, one wing for the mechanical engineering department and the in-between was used by both departments. This middle section contained a large lecture hall, which is still there today and many students have class in. It also contained a large drawing room and a laboratory which contained nearly 600,000 pounds of equipment designed to test construction materials. There were also hydraulic and internal combustion engine labs for the Mechanical Engineers and storage battery and transformer rooms, and an electrochemical laboratory for the Electrical Engineers. This would allow for engineering students to get hands-on experience. The first degrees for Electrical and Mechanical engineering were given out in 1911, 9 students and 3 students, respectively, thanks to the Sage Lab.

Expansion

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute only had 485 students when the building was funded in 1907. But RPI continued to grow and because of this growth, Sage Lab also had to grow. There was a four story addition added to the building in 1923 for a cost of 235,000, or about $4 million today. This section of the building is thought to be in an awkward spot because to enter it, one has to walk through a lecture hall. This can be difficult when there is a class in session.

Modern Day

Sage lab was renovated in 1985 and currently is the home to the school of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS). HASS is home to the Department of Arts, Economics, Cognitive Science, Communication and Media, and Science and Technology Studies, along with an award-winning program in Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences. Russell Sage Laboratory houses a writing center, multimedia computer labs, and video production and sound editing equipment.

References

https://archives.rpi.edu/blog/2019/06/26/continuing-up-the-hill-russell-sage-laboratory https://archives.rpi.edu/institute-history/building-histories/russell-sage-laboratory