Allen Street Gates - Where Town Meets Gown

A stop on Penn State University Park Campus Walk, a free self-guided tour.

These stone gates at College Avenue mark the old front door of campus, where Allen Street, the main street of downtown State College, runs straight up toward Old Main. Look behind you for shops and restaurants, and ahead for the lawn and tower: town and university meet right here.

The gateway was a gift of the Class of 1916, and it replaced an earlier pair of pillars that came from the Pennsylvania exhibit at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. Those first pillars were topped with lion statues, which students nicknamed Ma and Pa. The lions stayed on the gateway until 1930, when an iron grille was added.

Gifts like this are a long Penn State habit. Senior classes have left something behind since the 1860s, and you will pass several more on this walk, including the Nittany Lion Shrine. Notice how the gates frame the view up the mall, then follow the walk back toward campus.

Getting here: Walk straight down the lawn from Old Main, about 3 minutes, to the gates at the corner of College Avenue and Allen Street.

Did you know?: Allen Street through the gates was closed to traffic in the 1920s, and this entrance to campus has been for walkers ever since.

Photo op: Stand on the Allen Street side of College Avenue and frame the gates with Old Main's tower rising behind them.

More on Wikipedia: State College, Pennsylvania · Louisiana Purchase Exposition

Allen Street Gates - Where Town Meets Gown

Stops on this tour