Overview of the Newcomb College Washington Avenue Campus: A Brief History

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After the 1889 purchase of the Burnside Place in the Garden District of the city, Mrs. Newcomb donated another $25,000 for repairs needed to make a home into a classroom building.

By June 1890, renovations had progressed enough that the transfer of furniture and equipment from the DeLord Street Campus was well underway.

However, as the first year scheduled to be held on Washington Avenue drew near, Dixon realized that renovations would not meet school deadlines. Thus, that fall, Newcomb College classes were held in the basement of Trinity Church on Jackson Avenue.

By January 1891, however, Newcomb College students were securely in their new home, where they and their followers would stay stay until 1918.

As early as 1906, Dixon and Tulane administrators had realized that the College was growing and that costs to renovate the Washington Avenue campus would be prohibitive.

By the time the United States joined the Allies and declared war on Germany in 1917 the campus had been sold and was destined to become the Baptist Bible Institute.

In 1918, Newcomb students moved to their new home on Broadway to accommodate the rising numbers of new students, thus ending their stay at the Washington Avenue campus.