Recent news of the opening of the new Binghamton University Downtown Center has been heralded by many as a big step in the revitalization of that city’s downtown area.

This isn’t the first time Binghamton’s downtown area has had a presence of a college within its environs. What we know today as Broome Community College (BCC) got its start downtown 60 years ago this autumn.

As our soldiers returned to the U.S. after World War II, state legislators recognized the need to create greater educational opportunities that would provide training and support. In our region, a new technical institute was created by the Legislature in 1946. It was simply called the Binghamton Institute.

The institute admitted its first class in September 1947 in its first home, the former New York State Armory on Washington Street. At that time, 215 students were registered, 65 of those being WW II veterans.

The first board of trustees appointed Cecil C. Tyrrell as the institute’s president. The institute worked to identify itself with the community through advisory committees composed of representatives of area industries, businesses and the professions. Tyrrell hired 22 faculty to teach classes in electrical, mechanical, chemical and medical technology.

The institute proved itself with the first graduating class in 1949. High school graduates, many of whom could not afford an out-of-town, four-year college, were developing skills and finding them readily marketable.

At the same time that graduates were demonstrating their capabilities, the institute was gaining recognition academically. It became one of the then-33 units of the newly established State University of New York system. In 1951, the institute was given permission by the State Education Department to award associate degrees in applied sciences.

Things were looking up for the Binghamton Institute as its downtown presence was growing, as they leased space in a nearby building to accommodate laboratories in expanding curriculums.

Disaster struck on Labor Day 1951, just days before the opening of fall classes. A spectacular fire severely damaged the armory and its valuable equipment.

A spirit of cooperation by many and from near and far got the institute back to its feet rather quickly. Classes resumed on Oct. 3 in the nearby Kalurah Temple building, now the Assembly of God, on Washington Street. Colleges from across the state gathered books and supplies and sent them in trucks labeled "Bundles for Binghamton." Life at the institute gradually returned to normal.

In 1953, it became part of the state community college system and was renamed Broome County Technical Institute. Local residents simply called it "Broome Tech." About this time there had been discussion of locating Broome Tech on a campus with another new college, Harpur College, today’s Binghamton University. The idea was eventually abandoned because of a lack of enthusiasm. Harpur then located in Vestal, previously having been in Endicott.

By the end of 1953, the Broome County Board of Supervisors gave consent to locate Broome Tech on 25 acres of county-owned land in the town of Dickinson, along Upper Front Street. The tract was part of a large section once used by the Broome County Poor Farm.

In 1957, the first classes were held on the new campus, which opened with five buildings. The name was changed to Broome Technical Community College. In 1971, the name was changed to Broome Community College.

When classes began in the fall of 2006, there were 3,993 full-time and 2,289 part-time students at BCC.

Interestingly, BCC now is included in part of the space in the new Binghamton University downtown center, found near the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena.

This weekend: The village "green" has been in Bainbridge since 1829.

{"Body Text Edit"/}City Historian Mark Simonson’s column appears twice weekly. On Saturdays, his column focuses on the area during the Depression and before. His Monday columns address local history after the Depression. If you have feedback or ideas about the column, write to him at The Daily Star, or e-mail him at simmark@stny.rr.com. His website is www.oneontahistorian.com.