POTSDAM -- Demolition on Dunn Hall at SUNY Potsdam began this week and by mid week half the building was down and rubble was being cleared away by the truck load. 

In November 2023, the SUNY Construction Fund notified SUNY Potsdam that Dunn Hall would be fast-tracked for demolition, due to the deteriorating state of the building, said a statement from the college. 

The project will reduce utility costs and allow the campus workforce to be utilized elsewhere. Otherwise, Dunn would require extensive renovation in order to be sustainable, including an entirely new roof, the college said. 

Over the past year, offices and services that were located in Dunn Hall have been moved to other appropriate locations across campus. Following Commencement in May 2025, work began on the demolition process. The controlled demolition phase is currently underway, and the project is anticipated to be complete this summer.

According to the College Archives, Dunn Hall (then known as Crane Hall) was originally completed in 1957 to house The Crane School of Music on the new Pierrepont Avenue campus, moving from the old location in the former Potsdam Normal School building downtown. Crane quickly outgrew the space, and when the new Crane Complex was completed in 1973, the building was renamed Dunn Hall and converted for other uses.

 It most recently housed the departments of computer science and business administration, and other faculty offices and classrooms, as well as the dean’s suite for The School of Arts and Sciences.