Barton Hall

Barton Hall isn’t a playground — it’s one of Cornell’s most iconic spaces, a massive drill hall that’s hosted everything from Grateful Dead concerts to commencement ceremonies over the years. If you’re coming with kids, the picnic tables outside give you a decent spot to decompress before or after whatever event brought you to campus. The scale of the place is genuinely impressive once you’re inside, especially if you’ve never been. Worth knowing ahead of time: parking and crowds can be a real headache on event days, so build in extra time.