View source for Hall of Fame for Great Americans

{{Short description|Sculpture gallery in the Bronx, New York}}
{{good article}}

{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Hall of Fame Complex
| nrhp_type = 
| image = HallofFameColumns.jpg
| caption = View of the Hall of Fame for Great Americans
| location = [[Bronx Community College]] campus, [[The Bronx]], New York
| coordinates = {{coord|40|51|31.7|N|73|54|50.9|W|region:US-NY_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| district_map = {{Maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=250|frame-height=250|zoom=14|type=point|marker=|title=Hall of Fame for Great Americans}}
| built = 1901
| architect = [[Stanford White]]
| architecture = [[Classical Revival architecture|Classical Revival]], [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]]
| added = {{nobr|September 7, 1979}}
| area = {{convert|2|acre}}
| refnum = 79001567<ref>{{NRISref|version=2009a}}</ref>
| designated_other2_name = New York City Landmark
| designated_other2_date = February 15, 1966
| designated_other2_abbr = NYCL
| designated_other2_link = New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
| designated_other2_number = 0113
| designated_other2_color = #ffe978
}}

The '''Hall of Fame for Great Americans''' is an outdoor sculpture gallery located on the grounds of [[Bronx Community College]] (BCC) in [[the Bronx]], [[New York City]]. Designed by [[Stanford White]] and built in 1901 as part of the [[University Heights, Bronx|University Heights]] campus of [[New York University]] (NYU), it was the first [[hall of fame]] in the United States.<ref name="nyt-2007-10-12" /> The hall commemorates 102 prominent Americans, selected by a board of electors and grouped into one of fifteen categories. The physical structure consists of a [[loggia]] with [[colonnade|colonnades]] measuring {{convert|630|ft}} long. The colonnades contain [[Niche (architecture)|niches]] with plaques and 96 bronze [[Bust (sculpture)|portrait busts]], and the structure itself conceals a retaining wall for the [[Gould Memorial Library]]. 

The philanthropist [[Helen Gould (philanthropist)|Helen Gould]] donated funds for the structure in 1900, and the Hall of Fame was formally dedicated on May 30, 1901. Soon after the Hall of Fame opened, it became a focal point for U.S. national pride. Originally, the hall only contained plaques honoring native-born U.S. citizens. The first bust was installed in 1907, and foreign-born citizens were inducted starting in 1915. The majority of the busts were sculpted between 1922 and 1930. Most of the busts dedicated between 1930 and 1970 were installed shortly after the elections of their respective honorees. 

The Hall of Fame became part of BCC after NYU sold its Bronx campus to the [[City University of New York]] in 1973. The last honorees were elected in 1976, and the Hall of Fame has largely fallen into obscurity since then. The busts of [[Louis Brandeis]], [[Clara Barton]], [[Luther Burbank]], and [[Andrew Carnegie]] were never sculpted due to a lack of funding, while the remaining 98 busts started to decay over the years. Following periods of deterioration, BCC renovated the Hall of Fame several times in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. BCC removed the busts of [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] generals [[Robert E. Lee]] and [[Stonewall Jackson]] in 2017 following a [[Unite the Right rally|white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia]], that led to a broader national outcry against Confederate monuments.

==Design==
The memorial structure is an open-air [[loggia]] flanked by [[colonnade|colonnades]]. Designed in the [[Neoclassical architecture|neoclassical]] style by architect [[Stanford White]] of the firm [[McKim, Mead & White]], it was built as part of [[New York University]]'s (NYU) [[The Bronx|Bronx]] campus. The loggia has space for 102 bronze [[Bust (sculpture)|sculptural busts]].<ref name="nyt-2007-10-12">{{Cite news |last=Ackman |first=Dan |date=October 12, 2007 |title=Fame's Fortune |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB119214788902156734 |access-date=June 7, 2022 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607162044/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB119214788902156734 |url-status=live}}</ref> The loggia runs to the west of the Hall of Languages, [[Gould Memorial Library]], and Hall of Philosophy from south to north.<ref name="NPS p. 3">{{harvnb|National Park Service|1979|ps=.|p=3}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Architects' and Builders' Magazine|1902|ps=.|p=172}}</ref> The section around the Gould Library is curved to the west.<ref name="p570817382" /><ref name="NPS p. 3" /> 

=== Dimensions and specifications ===
The loggia measures {{convert|630|ft}} long.<ref name="nyt-2007-10-12" /><ref name="NPS p. 4">{{harvnb|National Park Service|1979|ps=.|p=4}}</ref> The original section measured {{convert|500|ft}} long,<ref name="p570817382" /><ref name="Johnson p. 3">{{harvnb|Johnson|1935|p=3|ps=.}}</ref><ref name="AB p. 167">{{harvnb|Architects' and Builders' Magazine|1902|ps=.|p=167}}</ref> and the firm of [[Crow, Lewis and Wick]] designed a {{convert|130|ft|m|-long|adj=mid}} annex, with McKim, Mead & White as supervising architects.<ref name="Johnson p. 3" /> [[Sedgwick Avenue]], which runs directly west of the Hall of Fame, is about {{convert|40|to|60|ft}} beneath the hall.<ref name="MacCracken" /> The Hall of Fame's walkway measures {{convert|10|ft|3|in}} wide, flanked by [[Parapet|parapets]] measuring {{convert|4|ft}} high.<ref name="Johnson p. 3" />

The northern and southern entrances to the Hall of Fame both contain sculpted gates designed by [[Samuel Yellin]].<ref name="NPS p. 4" /><ref>{{harvnb|Johnson|1935|p=37|ps=.}}</ref> The gates were donated by Mrs. Charles Beatty Alexander in memory of her late husband.<ref name="nyt-1930-05-09" /><ref name="p1113163477" /><ref name="Johnson p. 5">{{harvnb|Johnson|1935|p=5|ps=.}}</ref> The words "Enter with Joy that those within have lived" are inscribed above the northern gates, while the words "Take counsel here of Beauty, Wisdom, Power" are inscribed above the southern gates.<ref name="Johnson p. 5" /> The parapets are made of Massachusetts granite, while the [[Pedestal|pedestals]] and columns are made of [[Indiana limestone]].<ref name="p570817382" /> The eight pedestals contain the inscriptions "The Hall of Fame / for Great Americans / by wealth of thought / or else by mighty deed / they served mankind / in noble character / in world-wide good / they live forevermore".<ref>{{harvnb|Johnson|1935|p=7|ps=.}}</ref> The ceiling of the loggia is made of [[Guastavino tile]], while the sloped roof above is clad with red Spanish tile.<ref name="p570817382" />

=== Busts and plaques ===
The Hall of Fame was originally planned to have space for 150 plaques, each measuring {{convert|2|by|8|ft}}.<ref name="p570817382" /><ref name="AB p. 167" /><ref name="nyt-1900-03-06" /> As designed, the plaques measure about {{convert|13|in}} tall and {{convert|7|ft}} wide.<ref name="Johnson p. 3" /> [[Louis Comfort Tiffany]] designed each plaque, which includes information about each honoree's name and lifespan, as well as a quote from each honoree.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /> The western walls of the Hall of Language and the Hall of Philosophy, which face the Hall of Fame, are also used for inscriptions.<ref name="p125822005">{{Cite magazine |date=October 25, 1900 |title=The Hall of Fame for Great Americans: Professors of History and Scientists Publicists, Editors, and Authors Supreme Court Judges, State or National |volume=75 |issue=43 |page=1724 |id={{proQuest|125822005}} |magazine=Christian Advocate}}</ref>

As of 2017, the hall contains 96 busts, which are placed on pedestals above the parapet walls. Beneath each bust is a bronze tablet bearing the name of the person commemorated, significant dates, achievements, and quotations.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /> The busts themselves were created by a variety of sculptors at various times.<ref name="nyt-1992-09-27" /> Each class of honorees is placed in a different portion of the hall; for example, authors' and editors' busts are placed at the north end, while inventors' busts are placed at the south end.<ref name="nyt-1991-01-27" />

Next to the Hall of Fame is a bust of [[Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette]], a French aristocrat and military officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War. Lafayette is the only non-American citizen in the complex, though he was given honorary U.S. citizenship.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Sheraton|first=Mimi|date=December 15, 2000|title=My Bronx; Yesterday's Heroes, Up on Pedestals|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/15/arts/my-bronx-yesterday-s-heroes-up-on-pedestals.html|access-date=June 11, 2022|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 11, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220611195621/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/15/arts/my-bronx-yesterday-s-heroes-up-on-pedestals.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Above his bust is the inscription "New York University to Lafayette 1932", while below is the inscription "I am an American citizen and an American officer."<ref>{{cite web | title=Lafayette bust and inscription (Front) | jstor=community.21918155 | url=https://jstor.org/stable/community.21918155 | access-date=June 11, 2022 | page= | journal= | archive-date=June 11, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220611200720/https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.21918155 | url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Museum of the Hall of Fame ===
There are storage rooms behind the foundation halls and below the walkway.<ref name="p965457308" /> This space was originally used as the Museum of the Hall of Fame, which contained exhibits and portraits of the hall's honorees. When the Hall of Fame opened, NYU used some of the museum space as classrooms. The museum consisted of six rooms and a corridor; one of the rooms was named the Washington Gallery, after honoree [[George Washington]].<ref name="p125822005" /><ref name="Johnson p. 18">{{harvnb|Johnson|1935|p=18|ps=.}}</ref>

==History==

===Origin and inspiration===
Dr. [[Henry Mitchell MacCracken]], chancellor of NYU, proposed the Hall of Fame in the late 1890s to conceal a retaining wall for the Gould Memorial Library, which was exposed because the site sloped steeply downward to the west.<ref>{{Cite NY1900|page=108}}</ref> According to MacCracken, the hall "owes its inception in large part to hard facts of physical geography".<ref name="AB p. 167" /><ref name="MacCracken" /> MacCracken took inspiration from the [[Ruhmeshalle (Munich)|Ruhmeshalle]] (Hall of Fame) in Munich, Germany, completed in 1853.<ref name="MacCracken">{{Cite magazine |last=MacCracken |first=Henry Mitchell |title=The Hall of Fame |magazine=The American Monthly Review of Reviews |volume=XXII |date=July–December 1900 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=McACAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA563 |page=563 |access-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-date=September 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220908163306/https://books.google.com/books?id=McACAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA563 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Johnson|1935|p=2|ps=.}}</ref> The Hall of Fame for Great Americans was the first [[hall of fame]] in the United States.<ref name="nyt-2007-10-12" /><ref name="nyt-2009-12-05" /> The word "fame" in the hall's name meant "renown", rather than the modern-day meaning of "[[celebrity]]".<ref name="Rubin p. 14">{{harvnb|Rubin|1997|ps=.|p=14}}</ref> Chancellor McCracken described the evolution of the Hall of Fame's design:<ref name="MacCracken" />

{{quote|While aesthetics compelled the architect to invent the terrace with its parapet of colonnade, the university's necessity compelled the discovery of an educational use for the architect's structure. Like most persons who have visited Germany, the chairman was acquainted with the "Ruhmes Halle," built near Munich by the King of Bavaria. Like all Americans, he admired the use made of Westminster Abbey, and of the Pantheon in Paris. But the American claims liberty to adopt new and broad rules to govern him, even when following on the track of his Old-World ancestors. Hence it was agreed that admission to this Hall of Fame should be controlled by a national body of electors, who might, as nearly as possible, represent the wisdom of the American people.<ref name="MacCracken" />}}

Plans for the Hall of Fame finally proceeded after Helen Gould donated $100,000 in March 1900.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 8, 1900 |title=Miss Gould's Gift to Hall of Fame; Will Not Deny She Presented $100,000 to the University |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1900/03/08/archives/miss-goulds-gift-to-hall-of-fame-will-not-deny-she-presented-100000.html |access-date=June 3, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603153703/https://www.nytimes.com/1900/03/08/archives/miss-goulds-gift-to-hall-of-fame-will-not-deny-she-presented-100000.html |url-status=live}}</ref>{{Efn|According to {{harvnb|Rubin|1997|p=14}}, her total gift to the university was $2 million.}} John J. Tucker received the general contract for the Hall of Fame.<ref name="p570817382">{{cite news |date=March 6, 1900 |title=To Build a Hall of Fame: New-York University's Council Accepts a Gift of $100,000 State Aid Asked for the New-York Veterinary College in a Memorial to the Legislature |page=7 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|570817382}}}}</ref> The hall was to contain commemorative plaques for 150 individuals, 50 of whom were to be selected in 1900. Every five years thereafter, the electors would select five additional names by majority vote, with the final selections being made in 2000.<ref name="nyt-1900-03-06" /><ref name="p125822005" /><ref>{{harvnb|Architects' and Builders' Magazine|1902|ps=.|p=168}}</ref> An individual was eligible only if they were born in the U.S. and had died at least ten years prior.<ref name="p570817382" /><ref name="nyt-1900-03-06">{{Cite news |date=March 6, 1900 |title=Gift for a Hall of Fame; New York University to Commemorate Great Americans. The Institution's Council Accepts $100,000 to Build a Great Colonnade. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1900/03/06/archives/gift-for-a-hall-of-fame-new-york-university-to-commemorate-great.html |access-date=June 3, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603175256/https://www.nytimes.com/1900/03/06/archives/gift-for-a-hall-of-fame-new-york-university-to-commemorate-great.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p125822005" /> NYU invited 100 people to serve as electors in late March 1900. At that point, the cost of the hall had nearly doubled to $200,000.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 27, 1900 |title=Hall of Fame Museum; To Use Foundation Structure for Portraits and Memorabilia. President Eliot of Harvard Named as the First of the 100 Judges -- Cost of the Colonnade. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1900/03/27/archives/hall-of-fame-museum-to-use-foundation-structure-for-portraits-and.html |access-date=June 3, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603175258/https://www.nytimes.com/1900/03/27/archives/hall-of-fame-museum-to-use-foundation-structure-for-portraits-and.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=March 27, 1900 |title=Hall of Fame to Cost $200,000: President Eliot to Be One of the-- Judges to Decide on Names |page=6 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|570802900}}}}</ref> Each U.S. state originally had one elector; in twenty states, the chief justice served as that state's elector.<ref name="nyt-1915-04-29" />

The electors received 252 nominations, only 30 of which received the required majority of fifty votes.<ref name="nyt-1900-10-13">{{Cite news |date=October 13, 1900 |title=Names for Hall of Fame; Senate of New York University Confirms the List |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1900/10/13/archives/names-for-hall-of-fame-senate-of-new-york-university-confirms-the.html |access-date=June 3, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603175257/https://www.nytimes.com/1900/10/13/archives/names-for-hall-of-fame-senate-of-new-york-university-confirms-the.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In October 1900, the NYU Senate approved the first inductees for inclusion. The Senate also approved the addition of a loggia for foreign-born inductees, with space for up to thirty names.<ref name="nyt-1900-10-13" /><ref name="p570872918">{{cite news |date=October 13, 1900 |title=Another Hall of Fame: Building to Be Devoted to Americans by Adoption George Washington |page=9 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|570872918}}}}</ref> The hall included 29 names when it was dedicated on May 30, 1901; the foreign inductees' loggia had not yet been built due to a lack of funds.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 31, 1901 |title=Hall of Fame Dedicated; Tablets of Great Men Unveiled with Appropriate Ceremony |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1901/05/31/archives/hall-of-fame-dedicated-tablets-of-great-men-unveiled-with.html |access-date=June 3, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603153702/https://www.nytimes.com/1901/05/31/archives/hall-of-fame-dedicated-tablets-of-great-men-unveiled-with.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=May 31, 1901 |title=Hall of Fame Opened: Great Crowd Attends the Ceremony on University Heights Senator Depew the Orator of the Day--the Twenty-nine Tablets Unveiled Agreeable for an Outdoor Affair Mr. Depew's Speech Incidents of the Day |page=7 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|570923935}}}}</ref> When the Hall of Fame was completed, it was so widely known that ''[[The New York Times]]'' regularly reported on nominations and elections, even detailing how many votes each nominee received.<ref name="nyt-2007-10-12" />

=== Elections and heyday ===

==== 1900s and 1910s ====
[[File:NYU library2 crop.jpg|thumb|The [[Gould Memorial Library]] in 1904, with the Hall of Fame visible on either side]]The NYU Senate contemplated hosting a special election in 1902 to fill the 21 vacancies, but it reneged on this plan.<ref name="nyt-1905-10-12">{{Cite news |date=October 12, 1905 |title=The Hall of Fame; How the Names Are Chosen That Are to be Perpetuated Therein. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1905/10/12/archives/the-hall-of-fame-how-the-names-are-chosen-that-are-to-be.html |access-date=June 3, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603181109/https://www.nytimes.com/1905/10/12/archives/the-hall-of-fame-how-the-names-are-chosen-that-are-to-be.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Instead, the electors had to select 26 native-born men during the 1905 election, as well as 12 women and six foreign-born men.<ref name="nyt-1905-10-12" /> A women's hall of fame was announced in February 1904.<ref>{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|571519467}} |title=To Extend the Hall of Fame: an Addition for Women Is to Be Built and One for Foreign Born America Men |date=February 14, 1904 |page=B6 |work=New-York Tribune}}</ref> Separate elections were hosted for women and for foreign-born men.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 11, 1905 |title=Hall of Fame Ballot; New Vote Soon to be Taken -- Chance for Women Now. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1905/04/11/archives/hall-of-fame-ballot-new-vote-soon-to-be-taken-chance-for-women-now.html |access-date=June 3, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603175258/https://www.nytimes.com/1905/04/11/archives/hall-of-fame-ballot-new-vote-soon-to-be-taken-chance-for-women-now.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=April 11, 1905 |title=Hall of Fame Electors: List Completed--Ten Women to Be Voted for in Fall |page=2 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|571512834}}}}</ref> Every person who received at least ten votes in the 1900 election was re-nominated.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 10, 1905 |title=Whittier and Lowell for the Hall of Fame; Committee Counting the Votes at the New York University. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1905/10/10/archives/whittier-and-lowell-for-the-hall-of-fame-committee-counting-the.html |access-date=June 5, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603175312/https://www.nytimes.com/1905/10/10/archives/whittier-and-lowell-for-the-hall-of-fame-committee-counting-the.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Male nominees needed at least 51 votes; female nominees only required 47 votes because eight electors refused to vote for any woman.<ref name="p555337126">{{cite news |date=October 11, 1905 |title=Three Women Gain Place in Hall of Fame: Maria Mitchell, Mary Lyon and Emma Willard Honored |page=8 |work=The Hartford Courant |id={{ProQuest|555337126}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=October 8, 1905 |title=Will Canvass Hall of Fame Votes: Committee Will Open Ballots of Electors at New-York University to-morrow |page=7 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|571743543}}}}</ref> Five native-born men, three women, and three foreign-born men were selected that year; their plaques were dedicated in 1907. The Hall of Fame's first bust (depicting [[Horace Mann]], who had been elected in 1900) was also dedicated in 1907.<ref>{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|571898514}} |title=More Noted Americans: the Tablets Unveiled New York University Campus Scene -- Govs. Hughes and Guild Speak Beauty of the Hall's Site Exercises in Hall of Fame |date=May 31, 1907 |page=7 |work=New-York Tribune}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=May 31, 1907 |title=Day of Eulogy in Hall of Fame: Gov. Hughes at the Unveiling of Twelve New Tablets, Three to Women. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1907/05/31/archives/day-of-eulogy-in-hall-of-fame-gov-hughes-at-the-unveiling-of-twelve.html |access-date=June 3, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603181106/https://www.nytimes.com/1907/05/31/archives/day-of-eulogy-in-hall-of-fame-gov-hughes-at-the-unveiling-of-twelve.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The foreign-born honorees were not inducted at the time because MacCracken was planning a separate wing for them. Some electors protested that the foreign-born and native-born honorees should be honored together.<ref name="nyt-1914-11-15" />

Eleven additional names were selected in 1910.<ref name="nyt-1910-10-22">{{Cite news |date=October 22, 1910 |title=Poe Gets a Place in Hall of Fame; Receives 69 Votes Out of 100, Tying Oliver Wendell Holmes for Second Choice. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1910/10/22/archives/poe-gets-a-place-in-hall-of-fame-receives-69-votes-out-of-100-tying.html |access-date=June 3, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603181105/https://www.nytimes.com/1910/10/22/archives/poe-gets-a-place-in-hall-of-fame-receives-69-votes-out-of-100-tying.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|572351897}} |title=Hall of Fame Open to 11: Edgar Allan Poe Second in List With Oliver Wendell Holmes |date=October 22, 1910 |page=7 |work=New-York Tribune}}</ref> In the five years that followed, 20 electors either retired or died, and 25 electors were appointed in their place.<ref name="p575349606">{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|575349606}} |title=New Hall of Fame for Women Only: Fifty Tablets on University Heights to Honor Greatest of Their Sex Twenty-five New Electors Chosen Long List of Noted Americans Will Be Voted on for Admission to Roll This Year |date=April 29, 1915 |page=9 |work=New-York Tribune}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1915-04-29">{{Cite news |date=April 29, 1915 |title=To Fill 34 Places in Hall of Fame; Dr. Maccracken Issues a List From Which 23 Men and 11 Women Are to Be Chosen. New Electors Announced Preliminary Ballot Sent Out Yesterday and Final Election to Take Place From July 1 to Oct. 1. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1915/04/29/archives/to-fill-34-places-in-hall-of-fame-dr-maccracken-issues-a-list-from.html |access-date=June 5, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605190627/https://www.nytimes.com/1915/04/29/archives/to-fill-34-places-in-hall-of-fame-dr-maccracken-issues-a-list-from.html |url-status=live}}</ref> MacCracken changed the rules for electors ahead of the 1915 election, such that one elector was apportioned to every state or group of states with one million residents.<ref name="nyt-1915-04-29" /> As a result of the United States' population growth, each state again had its own elector in later years.<ref>{{harvnb|Johnson|1935|pp=43–44|ps=.}}</ref> MacCracken canceled plans for a separate wing for foreign-born honorees in 1914, allowing foreign-born citizens to be inducted into the existing Hall of Fame.<ref name="nyt-1914-11-15" /><ref name="Johnson p. 34" /> Four foreign-born men had been elected in 1905 and 1910, but they had never been inducted.<ref name="nyt-1914-11-15">{{Cite news |date=November 15, 1914 |title=Hall of Fame Now Admits Alien Born; Separate Building for Names of Americans of Foreign Birth Not Needed |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1914/11/15/archives/hall-of-fame-now-admits-alien-born-separate-building-for-names-of.html |access-date=June 5, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605190626/https://www.nytimes.com/1914/11/15/archives/hall-of-fame-now-admits-alien-born-separate-building-for-names-of.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p576235136">{{cite news |last=Vanamee |first=Mrs. William |date=May 9, 1920 |title=The Hall of Fame Is the American Westminster Abbey: It Is the Popular Will That Decides Upon the Busts To Be Placed in the Gallery |page=68 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|576235136}}}}</ref> In addition, the electors were allowed to select at least two women in every election.<ref name="p576235136" /> The planned northern extension of the Hall of Fame was never built.<ref name="Johnson p. 34" />

In early 1915, NYU announced plans for a separate women's wing after receiving $33,000 in donations.<ref name="p575349606" /> That year, the electors selected seven new names (including [[Charlotte Cushman]], the first performer to be elected) as well as two of the foreign-born honorees from the previous elections.<ref name="nyt-1915-10-07">{{Cite news |date=October 7, 1915 |title=Daniel Boone Gets Into Hall of Fame; Charlotte Cushman, Elias Howe, Parkman, and Rufus Choate Also Are Elected |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1915/10/07/archives/daniel-boone-gets-into-hall-of-fame-charlotte-cushman-elias-howe.html |access-date=June 5, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605201631/https://www.nytimes.com/1915/10/07/archives/daniel-boone-gets-into-hall-of-fame-charlotte-cushman-elias-howe.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|575495814}} |title=Bar Paul Jones in Hall of Fame: Hero of U. S. Navy and Roger Williams Fail of Place in Hall Charlotte Cushman One of Lucky Nine Stonewall Jackson Also Meets Defeat, Along With Sheridan and Nathaniel Greene |date=October 7, 1915 |page=3 |work=New-York Tribune}}</ref> An additional 21 electors either retired or died in the next five years, and only 34 of the original electors remained by 1920.<ref name="p576235136" /> The Hall of Fame was temporarily converted to a [[barracks]] in 1918, during World War I. The [[United States Army]] laid out beds for 600 soldiers in the museum underneath the colonnade.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 2, 1918 |title=New York University Hall of Fame Is Now Army Barracks |page=C3 |work=Courier-Journal |id={{ProQuest|1018742642}}}}</ref> The next year, writer [[Robert Underwood Johnson]] was appointed as the Hall of Fame's second director, following the death of MacCracken, his immediate predecessor.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 17, 1919 |title=Director of Hall of Fame; New York University Selects Robert Underwood Johnson for Office. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1919/09/17/archives/director-of-hall-of-fame-new-york-university-selects-robert.html |access-date=June 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220908163307/https://www.nytimes.com/1919/09/17/archives/director-of-hall-of-fame-new-york-university-selects-robert.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

==== 1920s and 1930s ====
Between the two world wars, the Hall of Fame saw up to 50,000 visitors annually.<ref name="p282472360">{{Cite news |last=Hampson |first=Rick |date=January 11, 1988 |title=A Hall of Fame Deteriorates to Shame |page=1 |work=Chicago Tribune |id={{proQuest|282472360}}}}</ref> Seven Americans were selected in 1920, including foreign-born theologian [[Roger Williams]], who had first been elected ten years prior.<ref name="nyt-1920-11-07">{{Cite news |date=November 7, 1920 |title=Elect Mark Twain to Hall of Fame; Five Other Men and Alice Freeman Palmer Placed Among American "Immortals." |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1920/11/07/archives/elect-mark-twain-to-hall-of-fame-five-other-men-and-alice-freeman.html |access-date=June 5, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605201632/https://www.nytimes.com/1920/11/07/archives/elect-mark-twain-to-hall-of-fame-five-other-men-and-alice-freeman.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |id={{ProQuest|1031615871}} |title=In the Hall of Fame |volume=32 |issue=46 |date=November 13, 1920 |pages=17 |magazine=The Billboard}}</ref> Five busts, depicting nominees from previous elections, were unveiled in May 1922; they were the first busts to be added since 1907.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 28, 1922 |title=Joffre and Grant Linked in Tributes; Marshal is Hailed as the Savior of Civilization by Anniversary Speaker |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1922/04/28/archives/joffre-and-grant-linked-in-tributes-marshal-is-hailed-as-the-savior.html |access-date=June 7, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607175123/https://www.nytimes.com/1922/04/28/archives/joffre-and-grant-linked-in-tributes-marshal-is-hailed-as-the-savior.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The same year, the Hall of Fame's board of electors decided to abolish separate elections for female nominees.<ref name="Johnson p. 34">{{harvnb|Johnson|1935|p=34|ps=.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=May 19, 1922 |title=Segregation Ended in the Hall of Fame |page=18 |work=Courier-Journal |id={{ProQuest|1023748517}}}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1922-05-17" /> The board also enacted stricter inclusion criteria: nominees were only considered if they had been dead for at least 25 years, and three-fifths of electors had to agree on induction.<ref name="nyt-1922-05-17">{{Cite news |date=May 17, 1922 |title=Drops All Sex Bars in N.Y.U. Hall of Fame; Senate Also Extends Period to 25 Years After Death Before Honoring a Person. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1922/05/17/archives/drops-all-sex-bars-in-nyu-hall-of-fame-senate-also-extends-period.html |access-date=June 7, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607175124/https://www.nytimes.com/1922/05/17/archives/drops-all-sex-bars-in-nyu-hall-of-fame-senate-also-extends-period.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Johnson|1935|pp=33, 35|ps=.}}</ref> The electors had been concerned that "zealous partisans and relatives" would attempt to nominate individuals of "temporary vogue" shortly after their deaths.<ref>{{harvnb|Johnson|1935|pp=44–45|ps=.}}</ref> The honorees' tablets, which had been segregated by gender, were subsequently rearranged. New tablets had to be created for each of the seven female honorees because the existing tablets were wedged so firmly into the hall's foundation.<ref>{{cite news |date=May 13, 1923 |title=Men and Women to Have Same Hall of Fame |page=15 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1114578731}}}}</ref>

[[File:Hall of Fame for Great Americans at Bronx Community College IMG 5259 HLG.jpg|thumb|Central section of the Hall of Fame for Great Americans, curving around Gould Memorial Library]]

NYU continued to unveil busts of honorees from previous elections in May of each year. Seven additional busts were dedicated in 1923,<ref name="nyt-1923-05-23">{{Cite news |date=May 23, 1923 |title=Busts Are Unveiled in Hall of Fame; Seven Great Americans Praised by Speakers at New York University |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1923/05/23/archives/busts-are-unveiled-in-hall-of-fame-seven-great-americans-praised-by.html |access-date=June 7, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607175125/https://www.nytimes.com/1923/05/23/archives/busts-are-unveiled-in-hall-of-fame-seven-great-americans-praised-by.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=May 24, 1923 |title=World Court Idea Credited to Grant: Praised by Harbord, in Speech at New York University Hall of Fame |page=13 |newspaper=The Washington Post |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|149273246}}}}</ref> ten in 1924,<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 14, 1924 |title=Unveil Ten Busts for Hall of Fame; Nine Men and One Woman Further Honored at Ceremonies at New York University. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1924/05/14/archives/unveil-ten-busts-for-hall-of-fame-nine-men-and-one-woman-further.html |access-date=June 7, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607175120/https://www.nytimes.com/1924/05/14/archives/unveil-ten-busts-for-hall-of-fame-nine-men-and-one-woman-further.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p1112970752">{{cite news |date=May 14, 1924 |title=Ten Immortals Added to Roster In Hall of Fame: Bronze Sculptures of Great Americans Unveiled With Impressive Ceremonies |page=13 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1112970752}}}}</ref> and five in 1925.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 22, 1925 |title=Unveil Five Busts for Hall of Fame; Gen. Pershing Pays Tribute to Sherman, and Taft Lauds John Marshall at Exercises |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1925/05/22/archives/unveil-five-busts-for-hall-of-fame-gen-pershing-pays-tribute-to.html |access-date=June 7, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607184841/https://www.nytimes.com/1925/05/22/archives/unveil-five-busts-for-hall-of-fame-gen-pershing-pays-tribute-to.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p1113593079">{{cite news |date=May 22, 1925 |title=Five Americans, Busts Unveiled in Hall of Fame: Harriet Beecher Stowe, Charlotte Cushman, Asa Gray, John Marshall and Gen. Sherman Are Honored Pershing Among Speakers Chief Justice Taft, Otis Skinner, Dr. Eliot, J. W. Davis, Pay Tribute to Notables |page=14 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1113593079}}}}</ref>  Only two men were picked in the 1925 election, the first held under the new rules; one of them was foreign-born naval officer [[John Paul Jones]], who had first been elected twenty years prior.<ref name="nyt-1925-10-27">{{Cite news |date=October 27, 1925 |title=John Paul Jones and Edwin Booth to Enter Hall of Fame; 25 Nominations Rejected |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1925/10/27/archives/john-paul-jones-and-edwin-booth-to-enter-hall-of-fame-25.html |access-date=June 7, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607184847/https://www.nytimes.com/1925/10/27/archives/john-paul-jones-and-edwin-booth-to-enter-hall-of-fame-25.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p1112841654">{{cite news |date=October 27, 1925 |title=John Paul Jones And Edw. Booth In Hall of Fame: Only Two of 27 Candidates to Receive Needed Three-Fifths Vote in Recent Election; Samuel Adams Third |page=21 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1112841654}}}}</ref>  The university dedicated nine busts in 1926,<ref name="nyt-1926-05-13">{{Cite news |date=May 13, 1926 |title=Unveil Nine Busts of Nation's Great; Distinguished Guests at Hall of Fame Ceremony Pay Honor to Country's Noted Men. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1926/05/13/archives/unveil-nine-busts-of-nations-great-distinguished-guests-at-hall-of.html |access-date=June 7, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607184840/https://www.nytimes.com/1926/05/13/archives/unveil-nine-busts-of-nations-great-distinguished-guests-at-hall-of.html |url-status=live}}</ref> six in 1927,<ref name="nyt-1927-05-06">{{Cite news |date=May 6, 1927 |title=Six Busts Unveiled at Hall of Fame; Audubon, Channing, Farragut, Franklin, Irving and Mary Lyon Honored at N.Y.U. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1927/05/06/archives/six-bustsunveiled-at-hall-of-fame-audubon-channing-farragut.html |access-date=June 7, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607184842/https://www.nytimes.com/1927/05/06/archives/six-bustsunveiled-at-hall-of-fame-audubon-channing-farragut.html |url-status=live}}</ref> five in 1928,<ref name="nyt-1928-05-11">{{Cite news |date=May 11, 1928 |title=Unveil Five Busts at Hall of Fame; Colorful Ceremonies Mark-Tributes to Memories of Great Americans |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1928/05/11/archives/unveil-five-busts-at-hall-of-fame-colorful-ceremonies-marktributes.html |access-date=June 7, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607184847/https://www.nytimes.com/1928/05/11/archives/unveil-five-busts-at-hall-of-fame-colorful-ceremonies-marktributes.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and eight in 1929.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 10, 1929 |title=Unveil Eight Busts for Hall of Fame; 1,000 Attend Ceremony on the Campus of New York University. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1929/05/10/archives/unveil-eight-busts-for-hall-of-fame-1000-attend-ceremony-on-the.html |access-date=June 7, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607184841/https://www.nytimes.com/1929/05/10/archives/unveil-eight-busts-for-hall-of-fame-1000-attend-ceremony-on-the.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Nine busts were dedicated in May 1930, as well as two sets of new gates.<ref name="nyt-1930-05-09">{{Cite news |date=May 9, 1930 |title=9 Busts Unveiled at Hall of Fame; Adams, Bancroft, Cooper, Mann, Lowell, Henry, Motley, Howe and Story Honored Professor Erskine Speaks. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/05/09/archives/9-busts-unveiled-at-hall-of-fame-adams-bancroft-cooper-mann-lowell.html |access-date=June 7, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607184849/https://www.nytimes.com/1930/05/09/archives/9-busts-unveiled-at-hall-of-fame-adams-bancroft-cooper-mann-lowell.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p1113163477">{{cite news |date=May 9, 1923 |title=Hall of Fame Unveils Busts Honoring Nine: Bancraft, Howko, J. Q. Adams, Mann, Lowell, Henry, Motley, Cooper, Story in List Descendants in Ceremony Visitors Pay Tribute in Huge Tent Swept by the Storm |page=23 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1113163477}}}}</ref> At that point, all 65 previous honorees had busts.<ref name="p1113163477" /> Four men were elected to the Hall of Fame later the same year,<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 26, 1930 |title=Four Names Added to the Hall of Fame; Whistler, James Monroe, M.F. Maury and Walt Whitman Elected From Among 101 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/10/26/archives/four-names-added-to-the-hall-of-fame-whistler-james-monroe-mf-maury.html |access-date=June 7, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607184844/https://www.nytimes.com/1930/10/26/archives/four-names-added-to-the-hall-of-fame-whistler-james-monroe-mf-maury.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=October 26, 1930 |title=Four Are Elected To Hall Of Fame At New York U.: Whitman, MacNeil, Maury and Monroe Honored by Body |page=2 |work=The Hartford Courant |id={{ProQuest|557902444}}}}</ref> and their busts were unveiled the next May.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 15, 1931 |title=Hoover Hails Honor for Monroe at N.Y.U. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1931/05/15/archives/hoover-hails-honor-for-monroe-at-nyu-message-read-at-hall-of-fame.html |access-date=June 7, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607184845/https://www.nytimes.com/1931/05/15/archives/hoover-hails-honor-for-monroe-at-nyu-message-read-at-hall-of-fame.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

By 1935, the Hall of Fame retained 11 of its original electors.<ref name="Johnson p. 44">{{harvnb|Johnson|1935|p=44|ps=.}}</ref> That year, the electors voted to induct three men.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 3, 1935 |title=Three Are Elected to Hall of Fame; Penn, Newcomb and Cleveland Receive Highest Votes in Quinquennial Selections |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/11/03/archives/three-are-elected-to-hall-of-fame-penn-newcomb-and-cleveland.html |access-date=June 7, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607184848/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/11/03/archives/three-are-elected-to-hall-of-fame-penn-newcomb-and-cleveland.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=November 3, 1935 |title=Hall of Fame Elects Penn, Cleveland and Newcomb: 8th Quinquennial Poll Selects Them From 76; 72 Figures Now Have Places in Honor Ranks |page=A1 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1318081582}}}}</ref> The busts of two of these men were unveiled in May 1936,<ref name="nyt-1936-05-29">{{Cite news |date=May 29, 1936 |title=Busts of Newcomb and Penn Unveiled; Astronomer and Statesman Assume Their Places in the Hall of Fame |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/05/29/archives/busts-of-newcomb-and-penn-unveiled-astronomer-and-statesman-assume.html |access-date=June 7, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607184843/https://www.nytimes.com/1936/05/29/archives/busts-of-newcomb-and-penn-unveiled-astronomer-and-statesman-assume.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=May 29, 1936 |title=Penn a Radical, Earle Asserts In Hall of Fame: Governor, Speaking as Bust Is Presented, Calls Colonizer Fine Advertiser Newcomb Also Honored Daughter of Astronomer Unveils Bronze of Him 4 Niche in the Hall of Fame Receives William Penn Bust |page=15 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1237473138}}}}</ref> but the bust of [[Grover Cleveland]] was dedicated almost a year later in March 1937, coinciding with what would have been his 100th birthday.<ref>{{cite news |date=March 19, 1937 |title=Cleveland Bust Is Unveiled on 100th Birthday: Grandson Takes Part in Hall of Fame Ceremony Marking Anniversary 2 Sons in Family Party O'Brien Lands His Stand as Free Trade Advocate Bust of Grover Cleveland Enters Hall of Fame at N. Y. U |page=9 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1243018933}}}}</ref> The Hall of Fame's electors leased offices at the [[International Building (Rockefeller Center)|International Building]] in [[Rockefeller Center]] in mid-1937.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 8, 1937 |title=Quarters Leased for Hall of Fame; New York University Signs for Offices in Building at Rockefeller Center |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1937/06/08/archives/quarters-leased-for-hall-of-fame-new-york-university-signs-for.html |access-date=June 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608010513/https://www.nytimes.com/1937/06/08/archives/quarters-leased-for-hall-of-fame-new-york-university-signs-for.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Following Johnson's death later that year, journalist [[John Huston Finley]] was appointed as the Hall of Fame's director.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 13, 1937 |title=Dr. Finley Accepts Hall of Fame Post; An Elector Since 1920, He Will Succeed Late Dr. Johnson in N. Y. U. Institution |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1937/12/13/archives/dr-finley-accepts-hall-of-fame-post-an-elector-since-1920-he-will.html |access-date=June 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608010508/https://www.nytimes.com/1937/12/13/archives/dr-finley-accepts-hall-of-fame-post-an-elector-since-1920-he-will.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=December 13, 1937 |title=Dr. John Finley Made Director Of Hall of Fame |page=16 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1243609026}}}}</ref>

==== 1940s to 1960s ====
Of 141 candidates nominated in 1940, composer [[Stephen Collins Foster]] was the only person selected;<ref name="nyt-1940-11-15">{{Cite news |date=November 15, 1940 |title=Foster Is Elected to Hall of Fame; Composer Is Only One Named to Honor in Unprecedented Action of Electors |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1940/11/15/archives/foster-is-elected-to-hall-of-fame-composer-is-only-one-named-to.html |access-date=June 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608010510/https://www.nytimes.com/1940/11/15/archives/foster-is-elected-to-hall-of-fame-composer-is-only-one-named-to.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p559385685">{{cite news |date=November 15, 1940 |title=Stephen Foster Alone Is Named To Hall of Fame: First Musician Honored; Election Is Only One to Choose Single Nominee |page=13 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1264078847}}}}</ref> his bust was dedicated the next May.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 28, 1941 |title=Foster Bust Put in Hall of Fame; Unveiled in Group of Great Americans at Ceremony Before Throng at N.Y.U. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1941/05/28/archives/foster-bust-put-in-hall-of-fame-unveiled-in-group-of-great.html |access-date=June 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608010511/https://www.nytimes.com/1941/05/28/archives/foster-bust-put-in-hall-of-fame-unveiled-in-group-of-great.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p1257141369">{{cite news |date=May 28, 1941 |title=Stephen Foster Bust Is Placed In Hall of Fame: Bronze Portrait Unveiled by Composer's Descendant; 800 at N.Y.U. Ceremony |page=23 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1257141369}}}}</ref> This was the first time a musician was elected to the Hall of Fame, as well as the first election in which a single honoree was selected.<ref name="p559385685" /> Radio host [[William Lyon Phelps]] was also appointed as the hall's director in early 1941.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 28, 1941 |title=Dr. Phelps Named Hall of Fame Head; Becomes Fourth Director of 41-Year-Old Shrine on the N.Y.U. Campus |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1941/01/28/archives/dr-phelps-named-hall-of-fame-head-becomes-fourth-director-of.html |access-date=June 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608010511/https://www.nytimes.com/1941/01/28/archives/dr-phelps-named-hall-of-fame-head-becomes-fourth-director-of.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Phelps died less than three years later, and educator [[James Rowland Angell]] became the hall's fifth director in 1944.<ref>{{cite news |date=January 4, 1944 |title=Hall of Fame Director |page=18 |work=The Hartford Courant |id={{ProQuest|559893021}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=January 4, 1944 |title=Appointed as Director Of the Hall of Fame |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1944/01/04/archives/appointed-as-director-of-the-hall-of-fame.html |access-date=June 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608021532/https://www.nytimes.com/1944/01/04/archives/appointed-as-director-of-the-hall-of-fame.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The Hall of Fame's electors switched back to a majority vote for the 1945 election, when four men were selected: [[Booker T. Washington]], [[Sidney Lanier]], [[Walter Reed]], and [[Thomas Paine]].<ref name="p1291143291">{{cite news |date=November 1, 1945 |title=Booker T. Washington Among 4 Elected to the Hall of Fame |page=1 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1291143291}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=November 1, 1945 |title=Booker Washington Joins Hall of Fame |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1945/11/01/archives/booker-washington-joins-hall-of-fame.html |access-date=June 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608180443/https://www.nytimes.com/1945/11/01/archives/booker-washington-joins-hall-of-fame.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The bust of Washington, the hall's first Black honoree, was dedicated in May 1946.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 24, 1946 |title=Booker Washington Honored Here As Bust Is Added to Hall of Fame |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1946/05/24/archives/booker-washington-honored-here-as-bust-is-added-to-hall-of-fame-the.html |access-date=June 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608174939/https://www.nytimes.com/1946/05/24/archives/booker-washington-honored-here-as-bust-is-added-to-hall-of-fame-the.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p1284524895">{{cite news |date=May 24, 1946 |title=Bust of Booker T. Washington Unveiled at N. Y. U. Ceremony: Bust of Booker T. Washington Is Unveiled at N. Y. U. |page=19 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1284524895}}}}</ref> Busts of the other honorees were delayed;<ref name="p1284524895" /> Lanier's bust was dedicated in October 1946,<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 4, 1946 |title=Honoring the Memory of a Southern Poet and Musician |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1946/10/04/archives/honoring-the-memory-of-a-southern-poet-and-musician.html |access-date=June 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608181949/https://www.nytimes.com/1946/10/04/archives/honoring-the-memory-of-a-southern-poet-and-musician.html |url-status=live}}</ref> while Reed's was dedicated in May 1948.<ref name="nyt-1948-05-21">{{Cite news |date=May 21, 1948 |title=Achievements of Walter Reed Are Hailed As Bust Is Placed in N.Y.U. Hall of Fame |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1948/05/21/archives/achievements-of-walter-reed-are-hailed-as-bust-is-placed-in-nyu.html |access-date=June 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608174940/https://www.nytimes.com/1948/05/21/archives/achievements-of-walter-reed-are-hailed-as-bust-is-placed-in-nyu.html |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Ralph Washington Sockman]], the pastor of Christ Church United Methodist in Manhattan, became the hall's sixth director after Angell died in 1949.<ref>{{cite news |date=April 27, 1949 |title=Dr. Sockman Named Hall of Fame Head: He Becomes Sixth Director; Succeeds Dr. Angell |page=19 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1335321819}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=April 27, 1949 |title=Succeeds Late Dr. Angell As Hall of Fame Director |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/04/27/archives/succeeds-late-dr-angell-as-hall-of-fame-director.html |access-date=June 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608171427/https://www.nytimes.com/1949/04/27/archives/succeeds-late-dr-angell-as-hall-of-fame-director.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Sockman served in that position until his death two decades later.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 30, 1970 |title=Dr. Ralph W. Sockman Is Dead; Preached on Air for 34 Years |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/08/30/archives/dr-ralph-w-sockman-is-dead-preached-on-air-for-34-years-methodist.html |access-date=June 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609202942/https://www.nytimes.com/1970/08/30/archives/dr-ralph-w-sockman-is-dead-preached-on-air-for-34-years-methodist.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

Six people were selected in 1950: [[Susan B. Anthony]], [[Alexander Graham Bell]], [[Josiah Willard Gibbs]], [[William C. Gorgas]], [[Theodore Roosevelt]], and [[Woodrow Wilson]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 2, 1950 |title=Six Are Elected to Hall of Fame; T. Roosevelt, Wilson, Gorgas, Bell, Gibbs, Susan Anthony Chosen From Field of 186 Keeping Freedom "Under Arms" |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1950/11/02/archives/six-are-elected-to-hall-of-fame-t-roosevelt-wilson-gorgas-bell.html |access-date=June 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608180444/https://www.nytimes.com/1950/11/02/archives/six-are-elected-to-hall-of-fame-t-roosevelt-wilson-gorgas-bell.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p1335482792">{{cite news |date=November 2, 1950 |title=Susan B. Anthony Is Elected With 5 Others to Hall of Fame: Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, Gorgas, Josiah Gibbs and Alexander Graham Bell Chosen |page=53 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1335482792}}}}</ref> Bell's and Gorgas's busts were dedicated in 1951,<ref>{{cite news |date=May 25, 1951 |title=Board Orders Extra Duties For Teachers: Those Who Refuse May Face Charges Teachers' Groups Plan to Seek Injunctions; Raise Voted Amid Jeers Bell and Gorgas Busts Unveiled at Hall of Fame |page=1 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1318506336}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=May 25, 1951 |title=2 Busts Unveiled for Hall of Fame; Daughters of Bell and Gorgas Display Bronzes as Inventor, Sanitarian Are Extolled |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1951/05/25/archives/2-busts-unveiled-for-hall-of-fame-daughters-of-bell-and-gorgas.html |access-date=June 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608180446/https://www.nytimes.com/1951/05/25/archives/2-busts-unveiled-for-hall-of-fame-daughters-of-bell-and-gorgas.html |url-status=live}}</ref> followed by those of Anthony and Payne in 1952<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 19, 1952 |title=N. Y. U. Unveils Busts of 2 for Hall of Fame |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1952/05/19/archives/n-y-u-unveils-busts-of-2-for-hall-of-fame.html |access-date=June 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608174938/https://www.nytimes.com/1952/05/19/archives/n-y-u-unveils-busts-of-2-for-hall-of-fame.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=May 19, 1952 |title=2 Busts Unveiled For Hall of Fame: Susan Anthony and Paine Honored at Ceremony |page=10 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1323041476}}}}</ref> and Theodore Roosevelt in 1954.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 10, 1954 |title=Theodore Roosevelt Bust Unveiled For the Hall of Fame at N. Y. U. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/05/10/archives/theodore-roosevelt-bust-unveiled-for-the-hall-of-fame-at-n-y-u.html |access-date=June 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608184341/https://www.nytimes.com/1954/05/10/archives/theodore-roosevelt-bust-unveiled-for-the-hall-of-fame-at-n-y-u.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=May 10, 1954 |title=Bust of Theodore Roosevelt Is Given to Hall of Fame |page=2 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1322381185}}}}</ref> [[Wilbur Wright]], [[George Westinghouse]], and [[Stonewall Jackson]] were selected during the 1955 election.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 1, 1955 |title=3 Are Elected to Hall of Fame: Wright, Jackson, Westinghouse; Busts of Confederate Hero and Inventors of Airplane and Airbrake Will Be Added to Collection at N. Y. U. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1955/11/01/archives/3-are-elected-to-hall-of-fame-wright-jackson-westinghouse-busts-of.html |access-date=June 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608184338/https://www.nytimes.com/1955/11/01/archives/3-are-elected-to-hall-of-fame-wright-jackson-westinghouse-busts-of.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=November 1, 1955 |title=Wright, Westinghouse I Enter Hall of Fame |page=A1 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1325587366}}}}</ref> By then, the renown of some of the nominees had begun to decline, and many nominees tended to be from lesser-known fields.<ref name="nyt-1955-05-15">{{Cite news |last=Yarmon |first=Morton |date=May 15, 1955 |title=Changing Fashions In Our Heroes; Changing Styles In Our Heroes |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1955/05/15/archives/changing-fashions-in-our-heroes-changing-styles-in-our-heroes.html |access-date=June 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608184342/https://www.nytimes.com/1955/05/15/archives/changing-fashions-in-our-heroes-changing-styles-in-our-heroes.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The bust of Wilson, who had been honored in the previous election, was dedicated in May 1956.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bracker |first=Milton |date=May 21, 1956 |title=Wilson Honored for Hall of Fame; Widow and Daughter Unveil Bust |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/05/21/archives/wilson-honored-for-hall-of-fame-widow-and-daughter-unveil.html |access-date=June 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608184340/https://www.nytimes.com/1956/05/21/archives/wilson-honored-for-hall-of-fame-widow-and-daughter-unveil.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p1327001222">{{cite news |last=Seldin |first=Joe |date=May 21, 1956 |title=Unveil Woodrow Wilson Bust at Hall of Fame: U.N. Chief Hammarskjold Hails 28th President as Top Peace Pioneer |page=5 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1327001222}}}}</ref> Stonewall Jackson's bust was dedicated one year later in May 1957,<ref name="nyt-1957-05-20">{{Cite news |date=May 20, 1957 |title=Bust of Jackson Is Given to N.Y.U.; Will Stand in Hall of Fame --North and South Join in Tribute to 'Stonewall' |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1957/05/20/archives/bust-of-jackson-is-given-to-nyu-will-stand-in-hall-of-fame-north.html |access-date=June 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608184340/https://www.nytimes.com/1957/05/20/archives/bust-of-jackson-is-given-to-nyu-will-stand-in-hall-of-fame-north.html |url-status=live}}</ref> followed that December by the busts of Westinghouse and Gibbs.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Times |first=The New York |date=December 2, 1957 |title=Hoover Praises 2 in Hall of Fame; Gibbs and Westinghouse Linked at Unveiling of Their Busts at N.Y.U. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1957/12/02/archives/hoover-praises-2-in-hall-of-fame-gibbs-and-westinghouse-linked-at.html |access-date=June 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608184339/https://www.nytimes.com/1957/12/02/archives/hoover-praises-2-in-hall-of-fame-gibbs-and-westinghouse-linked-at.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p1327278431">{{cite news |date=December 2, 1957 |title=Hall of Fame Busts Honor Dr. Gibbs, Westinghouse |page=3 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1327278431}}}}</ref> NYU wished to unveil Wilbur Wright's bust alongside that of his brother [[Orville Wright]], who had died in 1948 and was thus ineligible for nomination until the 1970s. NYU's senate waived the 25-year requirement for Orville Wright, allowing him to be nominated during the 1960 election.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 15, 1958 |title=N. Y. U. Lifts Rule for Air Pioneer; Orville Wright Set for Hall of Fame Prior to the 25th Anniversary of Death |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1958/06/15/archives/n-y-u-lifts-rule-for-air-pioneer-orville-wright-set-for-hall-of.html |access-date=June 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608184336/https://www.nytimes.com/1958/06/15/archives/n-y-u-lifts-rule-for-air-pioneer-orville-wright-set-for-hall-of.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Thomas Edison]], [[Henry David Thoreau]], and [[Edward MacDowell]] were elected to the Hall of Fame in 1960.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 28, 1960 |title=The Hall of Fame Elects Three Men: Busts of Edison, Thoreau and MacDowell to Join N.Y.U. Colonnade |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/10/28/archives/the-hall-of-fame-elects-three-men-busts-of-edison-thoreau-and.html |access-date=June 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609163859/https://www.nytimes.com/1960/10/28/archives/the-hall-of-fame-elects-three-men-busts-of-edison-thoreau-and.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p1325512280">{{cite news |date=October 28, 1960 |title=Hall of Fame: Edison, Thoreau, M'Dowell |page=19 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1325512280}}}}</ref> Ten people, including Orville Wright, failed to get a sufficient number of votes and were automatically re-nominated for the next election.<ref name="p1325512280" /> Edison's bust was unveiled in June 1961,<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 5, 1961 |title=Edison Bust Enters Hall of Fame As Sarnoff Delivers a Eulogy |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/06/05/archives/edison-bust-enters-hall-of-fame-as-sarnoff-delivers-a-eulogy.html |access-date=June 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609163902/https://www.nytimes.com/1961/06/05/archives/edison-bust-enters-hall-of-fame-as-sarnoff-delivers-a-eulogy.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p1475978184">{{cite magazine |date=June 12, 1961 |title=Thomas Edison Installed In NYU Hall of Fame |magazine=Boxoffice |volume=79 |issue=8 |pages=10 |id={{ProQuest|1475978184}}}}</ref> while Thoreau's was unveiled the following May, the hundredth anniversary of his death.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 7, 1962 |title=City and Concord Salute Thoreau; Hall of Fame Unveils Bust a Century After Death |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/05/07/archives/city-and-concord-salute-thoreau-hall-of-fame-unveils-bust-a-century.html |access-date=June 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609163900/https://www.nytimes.com/1962/05/07/archives/city-and-concord-salute-thoreau-hall-of-fame-unveils-bust-a-century.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=May 7, 1962 |title=Thoreau Bust Unveiled At N. Y. U. Hall of Fame |page=3 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1325544455}}}}</ref> MacDowell's bust was not unveiled until October 1964.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 26, 1964 |title=M'Dowell Added to Hall of Fame; Orchestra Plays His Music at N.Y.U. Ceremony |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/10/26/archives/mdowell-added-to-hall-of-fame-orchestra-plays-his-music-at-nyu.html |access-date=June 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609163901/https://www.nytimes.com/1964/10/26/archives/mdowell-added-to-hall-of-fame-orchestra-plays-his-music-at-nyu.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p962968475">{{cite magazine |date=October 28, 1964 |title=Music: Unveil MacDowell Bust In NYU's Hall of Fame |magazine=Variety |volume=236 |issue=10 |pages=50 |id={{ProQuest|962968475}}}}</ref> In addition, the Hall of Fame hired the Medallic Arts Company in 1963 to create bronze and silver medals for each of the honorees. The company created 99 different designs of medals.<ref name="nyt-1978-04-16">{{Cite news |date=April 16, 1978 |title=Numismatics |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/16/archives/numismatics-last-of-the-longfellows-art-of-the-west-coming-events.html |access-date=June 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609192138/https://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/16/archives/numismatics-last-of-the-longfellows-art-of-the-west-coming-events.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Orville Wright was finally selected for the Hall of Fame in 1965, along with [[Jane Addams]], [[Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.]], and [[Sylvanus Thayer]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Blumenthal |first=Ralph |date=October 29, 1965 |title=Four Are Elected to Hall of Fame; Hester Lauds Orville Wright, Jane Addams, Holmes and Thayer as Pioneers |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/10/29/archives/four-are-elected-to-hall-of-fame-hester-lauds-orville-wright-jane.html |access-date=June 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609163904/https://www.nytimes.com/1965/10/29/archives/four-are-elected-to-hall-of-fame-hester-lauds-orville-wright-jane.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=November 14, 1965 |title=Hall of Fame Adds 4 More |pages=1245 |work=Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103450320/hall-of-fame-adds-4-more/ |access-date=June 9, 2022 |archive-date=June 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609163859/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103450320/hall-of-fame-adds-4-more/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Four of the five remaining busts were dedicated in each of the three subsequent years. The first was Thayer's bust in 1966,<ref name="nyt-1966-05-16">{{Cite news |date=May 16, 1966 |title=Bust of Thayer Put in the Hall of Fame |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/05/16/archives/bust-of-thayer-put-in-the-hall-of-fame.html |access-date=June 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609192137/https://www.nytimes.com/1966/05/16/archives/bust-of-thayer-put-in-the-hall-of-fame.html |url-status=live}}</ref> followed by the Wright brothers' busts<ref>{{cite news |date=May 8, 1967 |title=Wright Brothers' Busts Unveiled |page=16A |work=The Hartford Courant |id={{ProQuest|549476388}}}}</ref> and then Addams's bust.<ref name="nyt-1968-05-20">{{Cite news |date=May 20, 1968 |title=Addams Bust Is Unveiled |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/05/20/archives/addams-bust-is-unveiled.html |access-date=June 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609192136/https://www.nytimes.com/1968/05/20/archives/addams-bust-is-unveiled.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The Hall of Fame did not dedicate Holmes's bust until 1970, five years after his election.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Farrell |first=William E. |date=May 11, 1970 |title=Burger, Honoring Holmes, Outlines Role of Judges |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/05/11/archives/burger-honoring-holmes-outlines-role-of-judges.html |access-date=June 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609192141/https://www.nytimes.com/1970/05/11/archives/burger-honoring-holmes-outlines-role-of-judges.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Sale of campus and final elections ===
[[File:Hofsouthjeh.jpg|thumb|South entrance]]
The Hall of Fame remained prominent through the 1960s, when the hall and its honorees were covered in the ''[[World Book Encyclopedia]]''.<ref name="p282472360" /> Only two individuals were elected to the Hall of Fame in 1970: [[Albert A. Michelson]] and [[Lillian Wald]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 30, 1970 |title=Michelson and Miss Wald Elected to the Hall of Fame |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/10/30/archives/michelson-and-miss-wald-elected-to-the-hall-of-fame.html |access-date=June 6, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Subsequently, elections for the Hall of Fame were hosted every three years.<ref name="n103262542">{{Cite news |date=June 20, 1976 |title=The Hall of Fame in a Fiscal Shadow |pages=816 |work=Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103262542/the-hall-of-fame-in-a-fiscal-shadow/ |access-date=June 6, 2022 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607173657/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103262542/the-hall-of-fame-in-a-fiscal-shadow/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p922616643">{{cite news |last=Richterman |first=Anita |date=October 1, 1976 |title=Problem Line |page=26A |work=Newsday |id={{ProQuest|922616643}}}}</ref> Wald's bust was installed in September 1971.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 13, 1971 |title=Lillian Wald Enters NYU's Hall of Fame |pages=220 |work=Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103459154/lillian-wald-enters-nyus-hall-of-fame/ |access-date=June 9, 2022 |archive-date=June 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609190523/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103459154/lillian-wald-enters-nyus-hall-of-fame/ |url-status=live}}</ref> By then, the hall's renown had started to decline. Urban planner [[Robert Moses]] wrote in 1971 that the previous election had happened largely without fanfare and that the [[American Revolution Bicentennial Commission]] did not even mention the Hall of Fame in its reports.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Moses |first=Robert |date=January 9, 1971 |title=Hall of Fame: A Neglected Pantheon |pages=33 |work=Newsday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103458469/hall-of-fame-a-neglected/ |access-date=June 9, 2022 |archive-date=June 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609190633/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103458469/hall-of-fame-a-neglected/ |url-status=live}}</ref> According to Charles Parks, leader of the [[National Sculpture Society]], the Hall of Fame's decline could be attributed to the fact that modern halls of fame commemorated living people, honoring "lots of celebrities and very few heroes".<ref name="n103459400">{{Cite news |date=July 5, 1978 |title=Forgotten Shrine for Enduring Heroes |pages=21 |work=Newsday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103459400/forgotten-shrine-for-enduring-heroes/ |access-date=June 9, 2022 |archive-date=June 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609190523/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103459400/forgotten-shrine-for-enduring-heroes/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1973, NYU sold its Bronx campus to the [[City University of New York]] (CUNY), which operated the campus as part of the [[Bronx Community College]] (BCC).<ref>{{cite web |author=Cricco, Nancy |author2=Bunde, Janet |title=Closing a Campus &#124; The College on a Hill |url=http://www.nyuuniversityheights.com/legacy-2/ |access-date=April 6, 2014 |work=A history of New York University's Bronx Campus through its architecture |publisher=New York University Archives |archive-date=March 2, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302072805/http://www.nyuuniversityheights.com/legacy-2/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Peterson |first=Iver |date=September 19, 1973 |title=N.Y.U. Says It Has Recovered From Brink of Bankruptcy |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/09/19/archives/n-y-u-says-it-has-recoveredfrom-brink-of-bankruptcy-helpful-trends.html |access-date=June 6, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220606191757/https://www.nytimes.com/1973/09/19/archives/n-y-u-says-it-has-recoveredfrom-brink-of-bankruptcy-helpful-trends.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The sale specifically excluded the Hall of Fame, which CUNY officials believed had no value.<ref name="p965457308">{{cite news |last=Wallach |first=Amei |date=January 5, 1981 |title=Forgotten Hall of Fame: The once-great tourist attraction of the Bronx has fallen into disuse and disrepair |page=B1 |work=Newsday |id={{ProQuest|965457308}}}}</ref> Following the sale, there was uncertainty as to whether NYU, CUNY, or another organization would operate the Hall of Fame.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Matthews |first=Steven |date=April 15, 1973 |title=The New-Found Fame of the Hall of Fame |pages=101 |work=Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103248510/the-new-found-fame-of-the-hall-of/ |access-date=June 6, 2022 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607172222/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103248510/the-new-found-fame-of-the-hall-of/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p491407095">{{Cite news |date=November 4, 1973 |title=Dr.Carver Named To Hall Of Fame |page=1 |work=Atlanta Daily World |id={{proQuest|491407095}}}}</ref> The Trustees of the Hall of Fame was established in 1974, and NYU and CUNY jointly provided $125,000 a year for the hall's upkeep.<ref name="nyt-1977-01-06">{{Cite news |date=January 6, 1977 |title=Future Shaky at Hall of Fame |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/01/06/archives/future-shaky-at-hall-of-fame.html |access-date=June 6, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220908163307/https://www.nytimes.com/1977/01/06/archives/future-shaky-at-hall-of-fame.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The agreement lasted three years.<ref name="p965457308" /> Four additional honorees ([[Louis D. Brandeis]], [[George Washington Carver]], [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], and [[John Philip Sousa]]) were elected in November 1973, bringing the total number of inductees to 99.<ref name="p491407095" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Krebs |first=Albin |date=November 2, 1973 |title=Notes on People |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/11/02/archives/churchill-back-in-parlment-sq-notes-on-people.html |access-date=June 6, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220908163307/https://www.nytimes.com/1973/11/02/archives/churchill-back-in-parlment-sq-notes-on-people.html |url-status=live}}</ref> 

NYU was considering eliminating its $61,000 annual subsidy for the Hall of Fame by 1976. The hall's remote location, far from the [[New York City Subway]], attracted few visitors compared to other tourist attractions in New York City.<ref name="n103262542" /> At the time, it still had 10,000 annual visitors.<ref name="nyt-1977-01-06" /> That year, the Hall of Fame started electing honorees based on how many points they received from electors, rather than based on a majority vote.<ref name="WW p. 1056">{{harvnb|ps=.|Wallechinsky|Wallace|1978|p=1056}}</ref> [[Clara Barton]], [[Luther Burbank]], and [[Andrew Carnegie]] were elected to the Hall of Fame the same year.<ref name="nyt-1976-11-15">{{Cite news |date=November 15, 1976 |title=Three Are Elected To the Hall of Fame |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/11/15/archives/three-are-elected-to-the-hall-of-fame.html |access-date=June 6, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220908163308/https://www.nytimes.com/1976/11/15/archives/three-are-elected-to-the-hall-of-fame.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=November 15, 1976 |title=3 Named to Hall of Fame |pages=319 |work=Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103262770/3-named-to-hall-of-fame/ |access-date=June 6, 2022 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607173657/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103262770/3-named-to-hall-of-fame/ |url-status=live}}</ref> This was the Hall of Fame's last election.<ref name="nyt-1977-01-06" /> Carver's bust was installed in 1977, four years after he had been elected,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Johnston |first=Laurie |date=April 23, 1977 |title=The Enshrinement of George Washington Carver... |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/04/23/archives/the-enshrinement-of-george-washington-carver-hall-of-fame-is-slated.html |access-date=June 6, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220908163309/https://www.nytimes.com/1977/04/23/archives/the-enshrinement-of-george-washington-carver-hall-of-fame-is-slated.html |url-status=live}}</ref> while Roosevelt's bust was not installed for another fifteen years.<ref name="nyt-1992-09-27">{{Cite news |last=Gray |first=Christopher |date=September 27, 1992 |title=Streetscapes: The Busts in the Hall of Fame; Crusty Green Yields To a Uniform Brown |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/27/realestate/streetscapes-busts-hall-fame-crusty-green-yields-uniform-brown.html |access-date=June 3, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603035206/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/27/realestate/streetscapes-busts-hall-fame-crusty-green-yields-uniform-brown.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p278503922">{{cite news |last=Schneider |first=Steve |date=July 22, 1992 |title=Closeup; FDR Joins The Giants At Hall of Fame Feted after 19-year delay |page=25 |work=Newsday |id={{ProQuest|278503922}}}}</ref> The busts of Brandeis, Barton, Burbank, and Carnegie were never executed due to a lack of funds.<ref name="Clarke 2017">{{cite web |last=Clarke |first=Erin |date=November 16, 2017 |title=Bust-filled Bronx Hall of Fame was nation's first |url=https://www.ny1.com/nyc/bronx/news/2017/11/16/bronx-hall-of-fame- |access-date=June 6, 2022 |website=Spectrum News NY1 New York City |archive-date=November 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117110209/http://www.ny1.com/nyc/bronx/news/2017/11/16/bronx-hall-of-fame- |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=April 20, 2022 |title=Hall of Fame for Great Americans – Bronx Community College |url=https://www.bcc.cuny.edu/about-bcc/history-architecture/hall-of-fame-for-great-americans/ |access-date=June 6, 2022 |website=Bronx Community College |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607175240/https://www.bcc.cuny.edu/about-bcc/history-architecture/hall-of-fame-for-great-americans/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Maintenance and upkeep ===

==== 1970s to 1990s ====
Funding for the Hall of Fame ceased nearly entirely after the [[United States Bicentennial]] in 1976, and the agreement between NYU and CUNY expired around the same time. All of the hall's guides were fired and the hall's information booth was closed.<ref name="n103459400" /> Sightseeing buses stopped visiting the Hall of Fame the next year as its popularity declined.<ref name="nyt-1988-03-21">{{Cite news |last=Verhovek |first=Sam Howe |date=March 21, 1988 |title=Neglect Dulls the Glory Of a Once Famous Hall |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/21/nyregion/neglect-dulls-the-glory-of-a-once-famous-hall.html |access-date=June 6, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220606191753/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/21/nyregion/neglect-dulls-the-glory-of-a-once-famous-hall.html |url-status=live}}</ref> This was at least partially attributed to fears of high crime in the surrounding area.<ref name="p282472360" /><ref name="nyt-1988-03-21" /> The ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' said in 1978 that "its dignity and grandeur are viewed by almost no one today".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Goldman |first=John J. |date=May 24, 1978 |title=Hall of Heroes Forgotten in Celebrity Age |page=1 |work=Los Angeles Times |id={{ProQuest|158579346}}}}</ref> That year, officials in [[New Jersey]] rejected a plan to relocate the Hall of Fame to [[Liberty State Park]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 28, 1978 |title=Hall of Fame Plans Dropped |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/02/28/archives/hall-of-fame-plans-dropped.html |access-date=June 3, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603035207/https://www.nytimes.com/1978/02/28/archives/hall-of-fame-plans-dropped.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Responsibility for the Hall of Fame was split between NYU, which owned the busts; the [[Dormitory Authority of the State of New York]] (DASNY), which owned the colonnade; and CUNY, which provided security and maintenance. In 1979, there was one staff member and no funds for maintenance.<ref name="nyt-1981-11-29">{{Cite news |last=Haitch |first=Richard |date=November 29, 1981 |title=Follow-Up on the News; Fragile Fame |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/29/nyregion/follow-up-on-the-news-fragile-fame.html |access-date=June 6, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220606191751/https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/29/nyregion/follow-up-on-the-news-fragile-fame.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Many of the busts corroded in the following years.<ref name="p965457308" /><ref name="Rubin p. 18">{{harvnb|Rubin|1997|ps=.|p=18}}</ref> Some busts were also vandalized, such as that of [[Andrew Jackson]], which was knocked out of its niche and pushed down a hill.<ref name="Rubin p. 18" /> The remaining silver medals of honorees were melted down. Johnson & Jensen bought the remaining bronze medals, which they planned to sell at a deep discount.<ref name="nyt-1978-04-16" />

DASNY had allocated $2 million to fix the leaking roof and the walkway in 1981, though the [[National Endowment for the Arts]] rejected BCC's request for a $37,000 grant to repair the Hall of Fame.<ref name="p965457308" /> The hall was closed for repairs that year,<ref name="p282472360" /><ref name="nyt-1981-11-29" /> reopening in 1985.<ref name="p278503922" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lewis |first=John |date=June 30, 1985 |title=Hall of Fame reopens |pages=540 |work=Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103276824/hall-of-fame-reopensjohn-lewis/ |access-date=June 6, 2022 |archive-date=June 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220606191332/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103276824/hall-of-fame-reopensjohn-lewis/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Afterward, BCC created a promotional videotape and trained several tour guides.<ref name="p282472360" /><ref name="nyt-1988-03-21" /> The state government also provided $165,000 to fund educational programs and new directors at the Hall of Fame.<ref name="nyt-1988-03-21" /> The surrounding neighborhood had started to improve by the late 1980s, though the Hall of Fame remained relatively obscure.<ref>{{cite news |last=Mandell |first=Jonathan |date=October 27, 1989 |title=Neighborhoods University Heights, the Bronx |page=2 |work=Newsday |id={{ProQuest|278154123}}}}</ref> The hall had only 1,000 visitors in 1987, excluding students on field trips, even though admission was free.<ref name="nyt-1988-03-21" /> In 1991, CUNY hired Ralph M. Rourke as the Hall of Fame's first director in more than a decade. Five busts remained to be installed because of a lack of funds, but Rourke hoped to install Barton's and Franklin D. Roosevelt's busts within a year.<ref name="nyt-1991-01-27">{{Cite news |date=January 27, 1991 |title=Sunday Outing; A Scenic Overlook on Great Americans |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/27/news/sunday-outing-a-scenic-overlook-on-great-americans.html |access-date=June 7, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607162045/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/27/news/sunday-outing-a-scenic-overlook-on-great-americans.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Roosevelt's bust was finally installed in July 1992.<ref name="p278503922" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Moritz |first=Owen |date=July 22, 1992 |title=For FDR, one more term begins |pages=336 |work=Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103324693/for-fdr-one-more-term-beginsowen/ |access-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607163235/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103324693/for-fdr-one-more-term-beginsowen/ |url-status=live}}</ref> 

The [[William A. Hall Partnership]] was hired to restore the ceiling in 1992, and the [[Cavalier Renaissance Foundry]] restored 90 of the busts for about $40,000. Several conservators criticized the fact that the original finishes of these busts had been removed.<ref name="nyt-1992-09-27" /> The state provided $200,000 for the renovation; at the time, public contributions toward the hall's upkeep had ceased nearly entirely.<ref name="Rubin p. 18" /> The hall ultimately cost $1.3 million to restore; the project was completed in 1997.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ortega |first=Ralph R. |date=April 5, 1999 |title=Hall of Fame Getting Restoration Award |page=1 |work=New York Daily News |id={{ProQuest|313688915}}}}</ref> The next year, the [[Municipal Art Society]] gave BCC a preservation award for "outstanding building restoration".<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 29, 1998 |title=Honor for Hall of Fame |pages=77 |work=Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103324808/honor-for-hall-of-fame/ |access-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607163237/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103324808/honor-for-hall-of-fame/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=December 13, 1998 |title=Postings: Municipal Art Society Awards; Preservation Honors for Five |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/13/realestate/postings-municipal-art-society-awards-preservation-honors-for-five.html |access-date=June 7, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607162047/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/13/realestate/postings-municipal-art-society-awards-preservation-honors-for-five.html |url-status=live}}</ref> By the late 1990s, Rourke hoped to restart elections for the Hall of Fame. To accommodate additional honorees, Rourke proposed expanding the Hall of Fame into the Gould Library, as well as displaying short video clips instead of busts.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Schneider |first=Daniel B. |date=April 11, 1999 |title=F.Y.I. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/11/nyregion/fyi-145491.html |access-date=June 6, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220606200831/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/11/nyregion/fyi-145491.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Meanwhile, Rourke asked [[Brandeis University]], the [[American Red Cross]], and the [[Carnegie Corporation of New York|Carnegie Foundation]] if they would respectively fund the busts of Brandeis, Barton, and Carnegie. All three organizations declined to donate $25,000 for each bust.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ortega |first=Ralph R. |date=June 11, 2000 |title=American legends on hold |pages=85 |work=Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103326523/american-legends-on-holdralph-r-ortega/ |access-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607163236/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103326523/american-legends-on-holdralph-r-ortega/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

==== 2000s to present ====
[[File:Hall of Fame for Great Americans at Bronx Community College IMG 5252 HLG.jpg|thumb|Interior of the hall as seen in 2019]]
In 2000, Bronx borough president [[Fernando Ferrer]] offered a [[matching grant]] of $500,000 to fund further renovations, as well as the four unexecuted busts.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kappstatter |first=Bob |date=June 14, 2000 |title=Hall of Fame Grant Offer Has a Catch |pages=227 |work=Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103318040/hall-of-fame-grant-offer-has-a/ |access-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607164459/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103318040/hall-of-fame-grant-offer-has-a/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="nyt-2003-03-30">{{Cite news |last=Fried |first=Joseph P. |date=March 30, 2003 |title=Following Up |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/30/nyregion/following-up.html |access-date=June 7, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607162049/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/30/nyregion/following-up.html |url-status=live}}</ref> To raise money for the hall's renovation and expansion, BCC organized a $1 million fundraiser in 2001.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sedensky |first=Matt |date=November 25, 2001 |title=Neighborhood Report: University Heights; The Original Hall of Fame Tries to Get Back on Its Feet |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/25/nyregion/neighborhood-report-university-heights-original-hall-fame-tries-get-back-its.html |access-date=June 3, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602163337/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/25/nyregion/neighborhood-report-university-heights-original-hall-fame-tries-get-back-its.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Nearly two years later, BCC had raised only $2,000, all of it from NYU alumni.<ref name="nyt-2003-03-30" /> By 2009, the Hall of Fame was largely being maintained by two local historians, Art and Susan Zuckerman, who said the hall had 5,000 visitors per year. Many of the honorees had fallen into obscurity, leading Susan Zuckerman to say: "If you know 70 percent of the names, you’re doing well."<ref name="nyt-2009-12-05">{{Cite news |last=Dolnick |first=Sam |date=December 5, 2009 |title=A Hall of Fame, Forgotten and Forlorn |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/05/nyregion/05metjournal.html |access-date=June 3, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220617114430/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/05/nyregion/05metjournal.html |url-status=live}}</ref> 

BCC announced plans in 2015 to raise $25 to $50 million for a renovation of the Gould Library, including an expansion of the Hall of Fame into the library.<ref>{{cite web |last=Small |first=Eddie |date=September 30, 2015 |title=Bronx Community College Hoping to Expand Hall of Fame for Great Americans |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20150930/university-heights/bronx-community-college-hoping-expand-hall-of-fame-for-great-americans |access-date=June 6, 2022 |website=DNAinfo New York |archive-date=November 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171118213002/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20150930/university-heights/bronx-community-college-hoping-expand-hall-of-fame-for-great-americans |url-status=dead}}</ref> In August 2017, following a [[Unite the Right rally|white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia]], New York governor [[Andrew Cuomo]] ordered that the busts of [[Confederate States Army]] generals [[Robert E. Lee]] and [[Stonewall Jackson]] be removed.<ref name="CuomoRemoval">{{cite web |last=Cusano |first=Arthur |date=August 25, 2017 |title=HoF Confederacy busts removed/Rebel generals vanquished by Gov. Cuomo – Bronx Times |url=https://www.bxtimes.com/hof-confederacy-busts-removed-rebel-generals-vanquished-by-gov-cuomo/ |access-date=January 24, 2022 |website=Bronx Times |archive-date=January 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124132020/https://www.bxtimes.com/hof-confederacy-busts-removed-rebel-generals-vanquished-by-gov-cuomo/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Nicholas |first=JB |date=August 16, 2017 |title=&#91;UPDATED&#93; Robert E. Lee & Stonewall Jackson Are Part Of Bronx Community College's 'Hall Of Fame' |url=https://gothamist.com/news/updated-robert-e-lee-stonewall-jackson-are-part-of-bronx-community-colleges-hall-of-fame |access-date=January 24, 2022 |website=Gothamist |archive-date=January 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124132013/https://gothamist.com/news/updated-robert-e-lee-stonewall-jackson-are-part-of-bronx-community-colleges-hall-of-fame |url-status=live}}</ref> Following the removals, the Hall of Fame had 96 busts and space for six additional busts. CUNY planned to host an election to fill the two remaining spots, but there were still no funds for these elections.<ref name="Clarke 2017" /> The Hall of Fame was deteriorating by 2018, with cracked masonry in many places and bird droppings on some of the busts.<ref name="nyt-2018-11-05">{{Cite news |last=Barron |first=James |date=November 5, 2018 |title=Why the Hall of Fame for Great Americans Is 'At Risk' |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/05/nyregion/hall-of-fame-bronx-sculptures.html |access-date=June 3, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603013230/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/05/nyregion/hall-of-fame-bronx-sculptures.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Cultural Landscape Foundation]] described the Hall of Fame as being one of several historic sites across the United States that were "at risk".<ref name="nyt-2018-11-05" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Budds |first=Diana |title=Landscape preservation's urgent challenge: Civil rights historic sites |website=Curbed |date=November 12, 2018 |url=https://archive.curbed.com/2018/11/12/18078834/cultural-landscape-foundation-landslide-preservation-2018 |access-date=June 3, 2022 |archive-date=October 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020094726/https://archive.curbed.com/2018/11/12/18078834/cultural-landscape-foundation-landslide-preservation-2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Nominations==
All nominees had to be [[Citizenship of the United States|citizens of the United States]], whether [[naturalized]] or [[Natural-born-citizen clause|native-born]], and they were required to have died at least 25 years prior to nomination.<ref name="nyt-1922-05-17" /><ref name="Johnson p. 16" /><ref name="WW p. 1050">{{harvnb|ps=.|Wallechinsky|Wallace|1978|p=1050}}</ref> Originally, inductees were required to have died at least 10 years before their nomination,<ref name="nyt-1922-05-17" /><ref name="Johnson p. 16">{{harvnb|Johnson|1935|p=16|ps=.}}</ref> but this was increased in 1922.<ref name="nyt-1922-05-17" /><ref>{{harvnb|Johnson|1935|p=33|ps=.}}</ref>{{Efn|Constance Woolson, nominated in 1900, had been dead for only six years at the time. Orville Wright was elected in 1965, even though he had died only 17 years prior.}} In addition, only people who had made a "major contribution to the economic, political, or cultural life of the nation" were considered for nomination.<ref name="NYU Hall of Fame Records">{{cite web |title=Records of the Hall of Fame for Great Americans RG 42.2 |website=Digital Library Technology Services – A unit of NYU Libraries and NYU IT |date=May 30, 1901 |url=http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/archives/halloffame/bioghist.html |access-date=June 5, 2022 |archive-date=February 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200210224837/http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/archives/halloffame/bioghist.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Voting process ===
Originally, the public could make nominations during March and April of each election year; no nominations were accepted after May 1.<ref name="p576235136" /><ref name="Johnson p. 16" /> By the 1950s, the nomination period lasted for an entire year.<ref name="nyt-1955-05-15" /> If a nominee received a substantial number of votes in a previous election, they were automatically re-nominated for the next election. For example, all nominees who had received more than five votes in 1910 or 1915 were also considered in 1920.<ref name="p576235136" /> The threshold for re-nomination was increased to 20 votes starting in 1935.<ref name="Johnson p. 50">{{harvnb|Johnson|1935|p=50|ps=.}}</ref> 

The board of electors then decided on each nomination from June to October.<ref name="p576235136" /><ref name="Johnson p. 44" /> All electors were required to send in their ballots by October 1; to accommodate electors who lived further away, the Hall of Fame accepted ballots until October 15.<ref name="Johnson p. 51">{{harvnb|Johnson|1935|p=51|ps=.}}</ref> Each elector obtained ballots from the Hall of Fame's curator, upon which they could vote for up to seven individuals. The electors could only vote on nominations from the public or nominees from previous years.<ref name="nyt-1955-05-15" /> An elector could then mark a nominee as being either eligible, ineligible, or out of that elector's field of expertise.<ref name="Johnson p. 51" /> Electors included "the most respected writers, historians, and educators of their day, along with scores of congressmen, a dozen Supreme Court justices, and six Presidents".<ref>Rubin (1997), pp.14–15.</ref> The Hall of Fame had at least one elector from every U.S. state.<ref name="p1335482792" /><ref name="WW p. 1050" /> To avoid a conflict of interest, NYU officials were barred from serving on the board of electors.<ref name="p1335482792" /><ref name="nyt-1955-05-15" /> Each elector was picked by NYU's faculty senate; if an elector were to die or resign, the NYU senate would vote to select new electors.<ref name="WW p. 1050" />

The board of electors originally selected candidates by a simple majority vote,<ref name="NYU Hall of Fame Records" /><ref name="Eisenstadt 2005 p. 686">{{cite book |last=Ultan |first=Lloyd |chapter=Hall of Fame for Great Americans |title=The Encyclopedia of New York State |publisher=Syracuse University Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-8156-0808-0 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tmHEm5ohoCUC&pg=PA686 |page=686 |access-date=June 5, 2022 |archive-date=June 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605040648/https://books.google.com/books?id=tmHEm5ohoCUC&pg=PA686 |url-status=live}}</ref> although three-fifths of electors had to agree on nominations from 1925 to 1940.<ref name="NYU Hall of Fame Records" /> After the board of electors voted in favor of a nominee, a majority of NYU's senate (including its "honorary members") had to approve the board of electors' choice.<ref name="p125822005" /><ref name="Johnson p. 16" /><ref name="WW p. 1050" /> The NYU senate could theoretically veto any selection, although this never happened during the hall's history.<ref name="WW p. 1050" /> For the 1976 election, the majority vote was replaced with a point system.<ref name="WW p. 1056" /><ref name="NYU Hall of Fame Records" /> During that election, candidates were nominated to one of three categories (arts/humanities, sciences, and government/business/labor), and the highest-ranking candidate in each category was elected.<ref name="WW p. 1056" /><ref name="NYU Hall of Fame Records" /> Although no elections have taken place since then, the rules were changed in 1979 so that art, business and labor, government, humanities, and science were all split into their own categories.<ref name="p922616643" />

The following table summarizes each election:<ref>{{harvnb|Wallechinsky|Wallace|1978|ps=.|pp=1050–1056}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!width=10%|Year
!width=10%|Total electors
!width=10%|Votes required
!width=10%|{{abbr|Pct.|Percentage}} required
!width=10%|{{abbr|No.|Number}} elected
!Notes
|-
!colspan=6|Percentage-based vote system
|-
|1900
|100
|51
|50%
|29
|Only 97 electors cast ballots.<ref>{{harvnb|Wallechinsky|Wallace|1978|ps=.|pp=1050–1051}}</ref>
|-
|1905
|95
|48
|50%
|8
|3 foreign-born men were also selected but were ineligible.<ref>{{harvnb|Wallechinsky|Wallace|1978|ps=.|pp=1051–1052}}</ref>
|-
|1910
|97
|49
|50%
|10
|1 foreign-born man was also selected but was ineligible.<ref name="WW p. 1052" />
|-
|1915
|99
|50
|50%
|9
|<ref>{{harvnb|Wallechinsky|Wallace|1978|ps=.|pp=1052–1053}}</ref>
|-
|1920
|101
|51
|60%
|7
|<ref name="WW p. 1053" />
|-
|1925
|105
|63
|60%
|2
|<ref name="WW p. 1053" />
|-
|1930
|107
|64
|60%
|4
|<ref name="WW pp. 1053-1054" />
|-
|1935
|101
|61
|60%
|3
|<ref name="WW p. 1054" />
|-
|1940
|108
|65
|60%
|1
|<ref name="WW p. 1054" />
|-
|1945
|93
|47
|50%
|4
|<ref name="WW p. 1054" />
|-
|1950
|120
|61
|50%
|6
|<ref name="WW pp. 1054-1055" />
|-
|1955
|121
|61
|50%
|3
|<ref name="WW p. 1055" />
|-
|1960
|141
|71
|50%
|3
|<ref name="WW p. 1055" />
|-
|1965
|124
|63
|50%
|4
|<ref name="WW p. 1055" />
|-
|1970
|109
|55
|50%
|2
|<ref name="WW p. 1055" />
|-
|1973
|134
|68
|50%
|4
|<ref name="WW pp. 1055-1056" />
|-
!colspan=6|Point system
|-
|1976
|158
| colspan="2" {{N/A}}
|3
|The winners in each category had the following scores:<ref name="WW p. 1056" />
* Arts and Humanities: 942 points
* Sciences: 740 points
* Government, Business and Labor: 1,103 points
|}

===Classification of honorees===
[[File:Hall of Fame Teachers Tile.jpg|thumb|right|280px|A floor tile at the Hall of Fame denoting the section set aside for busts of teachers]]
The first 50 names were supposed to represent "a majority" of people from 15 classes:<ref name="p125822005" /><ref name="Johnson p. 18" /> 
* authors and editors
* business men
* inventors
* missionaries and explorers
* philanthropists and reformers
* clergymen and theologians
* scientists
* engineers and architects
* lawyers and judges
* musicians, painters, and sculptors
* physicians and surgeons
* politicians and statesmen
* soldiers and sailors
* teachers
* distinguished men and women outside of these classes

These classifications have not been followed because the hall's electors only selected 29 people in the first election. Furthermore, the requirement could not be enforced after the 1900 election.<ref>{{harvnb|Johnson|1935|p=35|ps=.}}</ref> In practice, most of the honorees in 1900 were politicians and statesmen. More than three decades later, politicians and statesmen comprised a plurality of the hall's honorees.<ref>{{harvnb|Johnson|1935|pp=54–55|ps=.}}</ref>

===Honorees===
As of 1976, when the last election was held, the Hall of Fame had 102 honorees. At least one-quarter of honorees are from New York state or have ties to the state.<ref name="Eisenstadt 2005 p. 686" /> Seven members of the Hall of Fame's board of electors were themselves elected.<ref name="Rubin p. 14" />

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+Honorees of the Hall of Fame for Great Americans
|-
! scope="col" | Honoree
! scope="col" | Classification
! scope="col" | Lifetime
! scope="col" | Year inducted
! scope="col" | Votes received
! scope="col" | {{abbr|Pct.|Percentage}} vote
! scope="col" | Sculptor
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes
! scope="col" class="unsortable" |{{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|- 
! scope="row" | {{sortname|John|Adams}}
|politicians and statesmen
|1735–1826
|1900
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|61|100}}
|{{sortname|John Francis|Paramino|nolink=1}}<ref name="p1112970752" />
|
|<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900">{{cite book |title=The World Almanac and Encyclopedia |publisher=Press Publishing Company (The New York World) |year=1901 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C01TAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA300 |page=300 |access-date=June 5, 2022 |archive-date=June 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605184213/https://books.google.com/books?id=C01TAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA300 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|John Quincy|Adams}}
|politicians and statesmen
|1767–1848
|1905
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|58|95}}
|{{sortname|Edmond Thomas|Quinn}}<ref name="p1113163477" />
|
|<ref name="The World Almanac and Encyclopedia 1906 p. 335" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Jane|Addams}} 
|authors and editors
|1860–1935
|1965
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|94|124}}
|{{sortname|Granville|Carter}}<ref name="nyt-1968-05-20" />
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1055" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Louis|Agassiz}}
|scientists
|1807–1873
|1915
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|59|97}}
|{{sortname|Anna Hyatt|Huntington}}<ref name="nyt-1928-05-11" />
|
* Initially elected in 1905 with 83 votes ({{pct|83|95}})<ref name="The World Almanac and Encyclopedia 1906 p. 335" />
* Born outside the United States, so ineligible for induction until 1914<ref name="nyt-1914-11-15" />
|<ref name="nyt-1915-10-07" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Susan B.|Anthony}}
|philanthropists and reformers
|1820–1906
|1950
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|72|120}}
|{{sortname|Brenda|Putnam}}<ref name="nyt-1952-04-06">{{Cite news |date=April 6, 1952 |title=2 Busts Ordered by Hall of Fame; Sculptors Commissioned to Do Statues of Thomas Paine and Susan B. Anthony |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1952/04/06/archives/2-busts-ordered-by-hall-of-fame-sculptors-commissioned-to-do.html |access-date=June 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608180445/https://www.nytimes.com/1952/04/06/archives/2-busts-ordered-by-hall-of-fame-sculptors-commissioned-to-do.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
|
|<ref name="WW pp. 1054-1055">{{harvnb|ps=.|Wallechinsky|Wallace|1978|pp=1054–1055}}</ref>
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|John James|Audubon}}
|musicians, painters and sculptors
|1785–1851
|1900
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|57|100}}
|{{sortname|A. Stirling|Calder}}<ref name="nyt-1927-05-06" />
|
|<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|George|Bancroft}} 
|authors and editors
|1800–1891
|1910
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|53|97}}
|{{sortname|Rudulph|Evans}}<ref name="p1113163477" />
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1052" /><ref name="nyt-1910-10-22" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Clara|Barton}}
|nurse, founder of the<br />[[American Red Cross]]
|1821–1912
|1976
|colspan=2 data-sort-value="" style="background: #ececec; color: #2C2C2C; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-na" |Point system used
|data-sort-value="" style="background: #ececec; color: #2C2C2C; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-na" <!--
-->| Bust unexecuted<ref name="Clarke 2017" />
|Scored highest in arts/humanities category (942 points)<ref name="WW p. 1056" />
|<ref name="nyt-1976-11-15" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Henry Ward|Beecher}} 
|clergymen and theologians
|1813–1887
|1900
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|66|100}}
|{{sortname|J. Massey|Rhind}}<ref name="nyt-1923-05-23" />
|
|<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Alexander Graham|Bell}} 
|inventors
|1847–1922
|1950
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|70|120}}
|{{sortname|Stanley|Martineau|nolink=1}}
|
|<ref name="WW pp. 1054-1055" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Daniel|Boone}} 
|missionaries and explorers
|1734–1820
|1915
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|52|97}}
|{{sortname|Albin|Polasek}}<ref name="nyt-1926-05-13" />
|
|<ref name="nyt-1915-10-07" />
|-
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Edwin|Booth}} 
|actor
|1833–1893
|1925
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|85|105}}
|{{sortname|Edmond Thomas|Quinn}}<ref name="nyt-1926-05-13" />
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1053" /><ref name="nyt-1925-10-27" /><ref name="p1112841654" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Louis|Brandeis}}
|lawyers and judges
|1856–1941
|1973
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|98|134}}
|data-sort-value="" style="background: #ececec; color: #2C2C2C; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-na" <!--
-->| Bust unexecuted<ref name="Clarke 2017" />
|
|<ref name="WW pp. 1055-1056" /><ref name="p491407095" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Phillips|Brooks}}
|clergymen and theologians
|1835–1893
|1910
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|64|97}}
|{{sortname|Daniel Chester|French}}<ref name="p1112970752" />
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1052" /><ref name="nyt-1910-10-22" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|William Cullen|Bryant}} 
|authors and editors
|1794–1878
|1910
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|59|97}}
|{{sortname|Herbert|Adams|Herbert Adams (sculptor)}}<ref name="nyt-1929-04-07">{{Cite news |date=April 7, 1929 |title=Busts of 7 to Go Into Hall of Fame; Annual Ceremony Will Be Held in New York University Stadium May 9 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1929/04/07/archives/busts-of-7-to-go-into-hall-of-fame-annual-ceremony-will-be-held-in.html |access-date=June 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608010514/https://www.nytimes.com/1929/04/07/archives/busts-of-7-to-go-into-hall-of-fame-annual-ceremony-will-be-held-in.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1052" /><ref name="nyt-1910-10-22" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Luther|Burbank}}
|scientists
|1849–1926
|1976
|colspan=2 data-sort-value="" style="background: #ececec; color: #2C2C2C; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-na" |Point system used
|data-sort-value="" style="background: #ececec; color: #2C2C2C; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-na" <!--
-->| Bust unexecuted<ref name="Clarke 2017" />
|Scored highest in sciences category (740 points)<ref name="WW p. 1056" />
|<ref name="nyt-1976-11-15" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Andrew|Carnegie}}
|philanthropists and reformers
|1835–1919
|1976
|colspan=2 data-sort-value="" style="background: #ececec; color: #2C2C2C; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-na" |Point system used
|data-sort-value="" style="background: #ececec; color: #2C2C2C; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-na" <!--
-->| Bust unexecuted<ref name="Clarke 2017" />
|Scored highest in government/business/labor category (1,103 points)<ref name="WW p. 1056" />
|<ref name="nyt-1976-11-15" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|George Washington|Carver}} 
|inventors
|1860s–1943
|1973
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|104|134}}
|{{sortname|Richmond|Barthé}}
|
|<ref name="WW pp. 1055-1056" /><ref name="p491407095" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|William Ellery|Channing}} 
|clergymen and theologians
|1780–1842
|1900
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|58|100}}
|{{sortname|Herbert|Adams|Herbert Adams (sculptor)}}<ref name="nyt-1927-05-06" />
|
|<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Rufus|Choate}}
|teachers
|1799–1859
|1915
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|52|97}}
|{{sortname|Hermon|MacNeil}}<ref name="nyt-1928-05-11" />
|
|<ref name="nyt-1915-10-07" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Henry|Clay}} 
|politicians and statesmen
|1777–1852
|1900
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|74|100}}
|{{sortname|Robert Ingersoll|Aitken}}<ref name="nyt-1929-04-07" />
|
|<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Samuel Langhorne|Clemens|nolink=1}} (a.k.a. [[Mark Twain]])
|authors and editors
|1835–1910
|1920
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|72|101}}
|{{sortname|Albert|Humphreys}}<ref name="p1112970752" />
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1053" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Grover|Cleveland}}
|politicians and statesmen
|1837–1908
|1935
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|77|101}}
|{{sortname|Rudulph|Evans}}<ref>{{cite news |date=March 11, 1937 |title=Grover Cleveland Bust Ready for Hall of Fame: Grover Cleveland To Be Added to Hall of Fame |page=7 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1245365559}}}}</ref>
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1054">{{harvnb|ps=.|Wallechinsky|Wallace|1978|p=1054}}</ref>
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|James Fenimore|Cooper}}
|authors and editors
|1789–1851
|1910
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|62|97}}
|{{sortname|Victor|Salvatore|nolink=1}}<ref name="p1113163477" />
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1052" /><ref name="nyt-1910-10-22" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Peter|Cooper}} 
|inventors
|1791–1883
|1900
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|69|100}}
|{{sortname|Chester|Beach}}<ref name="p1112970752" />
|
|<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Charlotte|Cushman}}
|actress
|1816–1876
|1915
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|53|97}}
|{{sortname|Frances|Grimes}}<ref name="p1113593079" />
|
|<ref name="nyt-1915-10-07" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|James Buchanan|Eads}}
|engineers and architects
|1820–1887
|1920
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|51|101}}
|{{sortname|Charles|Grafly}}<ref name="p1112970752" />
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1053" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Thomas|Edison}}
|inventors
|1847–1931
|1960
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|108|141}}
|{{sortname|Bryant|Baker}}<ref name="p1475978184" />
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1055" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Jonathan|Edwards|Jonathan Edwards (theologian)}}
|clergymen and theologians
|1703–1758
|1900
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|82|100}}
|{{sortname|Charles|Grafly}}<ref name="nyt-1926-05-13" />
|
|<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Ralph Waldo|Emerson}} 
|authors and editors
|1803–1882
|1900
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|86|100}}
|{{sortname|Daniel Chester|French}}<ref name="nyt-1923-05-23" />
|
|<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|David|Farragut}} 
|soldiers and sailors
|1801–1870
|1900
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|79|100}}
|{{sortname|Charles|Grafly}}<ref name="nyt-1927-05-06" />
|
|<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Stephen|Foster}}
|musicians, painters and sculptors
|1826–1864
|1940
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|86|108}}
|{{sortname|Walker|Hancock}}<ref name="p1257141369" />
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1054" /><ref name="nyt-1940-11-15" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Benjamin|Franklin}}
|politicians and statesmen
|1706–1790
|1900
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|94|100}}
|{{sortname|Robert Ingersoll|Aitken}}<ref name="nyt-1927-05-06" />
|
|<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Robert|Fulton}}
|inventors
|1765–1815
|1900
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|84|100}}
|{{sortname|Jean-Antoine|Houdon}}<ref name="p1112970752" />
|
|<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Josiah Willard|Gibbs}}
|scientists
|1839–1903
|1950
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|64|120}}
|{{sortname|Stanley|Martineau|nolink=1}}<ref name="p1327278431" />
|
|<ref name="WW pp. 1054-1055" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|William C.|Gorgas}}
|physicians and surgeons
|1854–1920
|1950
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|81|120}}
|{{sortname|Bryant|Baker}}
|
|<ref name="WW pp. 1054-1055" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Ulysses S.|Grant}} 
|soldiers and sailors<br />rulers and statesmen
|1822–1885
|1900
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|92|100}}
|{{sortname|James Earle|Fraser|James Earle Fraser (sculptor)}} &<br />[[Thomas Hudson Jones]]<ref name="nyt-1923-05-23" />
|
|<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Asa|Gray}} 
|scientists
|1810–1888
|1900
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|51|100}}
|{{sortname|Chester|Beach}}<ref name="p1113593079" />
|
|<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Alexander|Hamilton}}
|politicians and statesmen
|1755 or 1757–1804
|1915
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|70|97}}
|{{sortname|Giuseppe|Ceracchi}}<ref name="nyt-1923-05-23" />
|
* Initially elected in 1905 with 88 votes ({{pct|88|95}})<ref name="The World Almanac and Encyclopedia 1906 p. 335" />
* Born outside the United States, so ineligible for induction until 1914<ref name="nyt-1914-11-15" />
|<ref name="nyt-1915-10-07" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Nathaniel|Hawthorne}} 
|authors and editors
|1804–1864
|1900
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|72|100}}
|{{sortname|Daniel Chester|French}}<ref name="nyt-1929-04-07" />
|
|<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Joseph|Henry}} 
|scientists
|1797–1878
|1915
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|56|97}}
|{{sortname|John|Flanagan|John Flanagan (sculptor)}}<ref name="p1112970752" />
|
|<ref name="nyt-1915-10-07" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Patrick|Henry}}
|politicians and statesmen
|1736–1799
|1920
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|57|101}}
|{{sortname|Charles|Keck}}<ref name="p1113163477" />
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1053" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Oliver Wendell|Holmes Sr.}}
|lawyers and judges
|1809–1894
|1910
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|69|97}}
|{{sortname|Edmond Thomas|Quinn}}
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1052" /><ref name="nyt-1910-10-22" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Oliver Wendell|Holmes Jr.}}
|lawyers and judges
|1841–1935
|1965
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|79|124}}
|{{sortname|Joseph|Kiselewski}}<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 6, 1970 |title=Holmes Bust to Join Hall |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/05/06/archives/holmes-bust-to-join-hall.html |access-date=June 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609192135/https://www.nytimes.com/1970/05/06/archives/holmes-bust-to-join-hall.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1055" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Mark|Hopkins|Mark Hopkins (educator)}}
|teachers
|1802–1887
|1915
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|69|97}}
|{{sortname|Hans|Hoerbst|nolink=1}}<ref name="nyt-1922-05-07">{{Cite news |date=May 7, 1922 |title=Busts of 5 Americans for Hall of Fame; New York University to Unveil Effigies of Washington, Hopkins, Poe, Stuart and Maria Mitchel. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1922/05/07/archives/busts-of-5-americans-for-hall-of-fame-new-york-university-to-unveil.html |access-date=June 7, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607175124/https://www.nytimes.com/1922/05/07/archives/busts-of-5-americans-for-hall-of-fame-new-york-university-to-unveil.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
|
|<ref name="nyt-1915-10-07" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Elias|Howe}} 
|inventors
|1819–1867
|1915
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|61|97}}
|{{sortname|Charles|Keck}}<ref name="p1113163477" />
|previously selected in 1900 with 53 of 100 votes<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900" />
|<ref name="nyt-1915-10-07" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Washington|Irving}} 
|authors and editors
|1783–1859
|1900
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|82|100}}
|{{sortname|Edward|McCartan}}<ref name="p1112970752" />
|
|<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Andrew|Jackson}}
|politicians and statesmen
|1767–1845
|1910
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|53|97}}
|{{sortname|Belle|Kinney}}
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1052" /><ref name="nyt-1910-10-22" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Thomas J. "Stonewall"|Jackson|Stonewall Jackson}} 
|soldiers and sailors
|1824–1863
|1955
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|72|121}}
|{{sortname|Bryant|Baker}}<ref name="nyt-1957-05-20" />
|removed 2017<ref name="CuomoRemoval" />
|<ref name="WW p. 1055" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Thomas|Jefferson}} 
|politicians and statesmen
|1743–1826
|1900
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|90|100}}
|{{sortname|Robert Ingersoll|Aitken}}<ref name="p1112970752" />
|
|<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|John Paul|Jones}} 
|soldiers and sailors
|1747–1792
|1925
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|68|105}}
|{{sortname|Charles|Grafly}}<ref name="nyt-1928-05-11" />
|
* Initially elected in 1905 with 54 votes ({{pct|55|95}})<ref name="The World Almanac and Encyclopedia 1906 p. 335">{{cite book |title=The World Almanac and Encyclopedia |publisher=Press Publishing Company (The New York World) |year=1906 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LvUBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA335 |page=335 |access-date=June 5, 2022 |archive-date=June 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605184213/https://books.google.com/books?id=LvUBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA335 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* Born outside the United States, so ineligible for induction until 1914<ref name="nyt-1914-11-15" />
* Rejected upon renomination in 1915<ref name="nyt-1915-10-07" /> and 1920<ref name="nyt-1920-11-07" />
|<ref name="WW p. 1053" /><ref name="nyt-1925-10-27" /><ref name="p1112841654" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|James|Kent|James Kent (jurist)}} 
|lawyers and judges
|1763–1847
|1900
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|65|100}}
|{{sortname|Edmond Thomas|Quinn}}<ref name="nyt-1926-05-13" />
|
|<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Sidney|Lanier}}
|authors and editors
|1842–1881
|1945
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|48|93}}
|{{sortname|Hans|Schuler}}<ref name="nyt-1946-02-05">{{Cite news |date=February 5, 1946 |title=Sculptors Selected; Artists to Execute Busts for N.Y.U. Hall of Fame |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1946/02/05/archives/sculptors-selected-artists-to-execute-busts-for-nyu-hall-of-fame.html |access-date=June 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608180445/https://www.nytimes.com/1946/02/05/archives/sculptors-selected-artists-to-execute-busts-for-nyu-hall-of-fame.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1054" /><ref name="p1291143291" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Robert E.|Lee}}
|soldiers and sailors
|1807–1870
|1900
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|69|100}}
|{{sortname|George T.|Brewster|George Brewster (sculptor)}}<ref name="nyt-1923-05-23" />
|removed 2017<ref name="CuomoRemoval" />
|<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Abraham|Lincoln}}
|politicians and statesmen
|1809–1865
|1900
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|96|100}}
|{{sortname|Augustus|Saint-Gaudens}}<ref name="nyt-1923-05-23" />
|
|<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Henry Wadsworth|Longfellow}} 
|authors and editors
|1807–1882
|1900
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|84|100}}
|{{sortname|Rudulph|Evans}}<ref name="nyt-1929-04-07" />
|
|<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|James Russell|Lowell}} 
|authors and editors
|1819–1891
|1905
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|58|95}}
|{{sortname|Allan|Clark|dab=sculptor}}<ref name="p1113163477" />
|
|<ref name="The World Almanac and Encyclopedia 1906 p. 335" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Mary|Lyon}}
|teachers
|1797–1849
|1905
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|58|87}}
|{{sortname|Laura Gardin|Fraser}}<ref name="nyt-1927-05-06" />
|One of the first three female inductees<ref name="p555337126" />
|<ref name="The World Almanac and Encyclopedia 1906 p. 335" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Edward A.|Macdowell|Edward MacDowell|}}
|musicians, painters and sculptors
|1860–1908
|1960
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|72|141}}
|{{sortname|C. Paul|Jennewein}}<ref name="p962968475" />
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1055" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|James|Madison}}
|politicians and statesmen
|1751–1836
|1905
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|56|95}}
|{{sortname|Charles|Keck}}<ref name="nyt-1929-04-07" />
|
|<ref name="The World Almanac and Encyclopedia 1906 p. 335" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Horace|Mann}}
|teachers
|1796–1859
|1900
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|67|100}}
|{{sortname|Adolph Alexander|Weinman}}<ref name="p1113163477" />
|
|<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|John|Marshall}}
|lawyers and judges
|1755–1835
|1900
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|91|100}}
|{{sortname|Herbert|Adams|Herbert Adams (sculptor)}}<ref name="p1113593079" />
|
|<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Matthew Fontaine|Maury}}
|scientists
|1806–1873
|1930
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|66|107}}
|{{sortname|Frederick William|Sievers}}<ref name="nyt-1931-05-10">{{Cite news |date=May 10, 1931 |title=Hall of Fame Gets 4 Busts Thursday; Memorials to Monroe, Maury, Whitman and Whistler to Be Unveiled at Services |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1931/05/10/archives/hall-of-fame-gets-4-busts-thursday-memorials-to-monroe-maury.html |access-date=June 7, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607184848/https://www.nytimes.com/1931/05/10/archives/hall-of-fame-gets-4-busts-thursday-memorials-to-monroe-maury.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
|
|<ref name="WW pp. 1053-1054">{{harvnb|ps=.|Wallechinsky|Wallace|1978|pp=1053–1054}}</ref>
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Albert A.|Michelson}} 
|scientists
|1852–1931
|1970
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|82|109}}
|{{sortname|Elisabeth Gordon|Chandler}}
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1055" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Maria|Mitchell}} 
|scientists
|1818–1889
|1905
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|48|87}}
|{{sortname|Emma F. |Brigham|nolink=1}}<ref name="nyt-1922-05-07" />
|One of the first three female inductees<ref name="p555337126" />
|<ref name="The World Almanac and Encyclopedia 1906 p. 335" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|James|Monroe}}
|politicians and statesmen
|1758–1831
|1930
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|66|107}}
|{{sortname|Hermon|MacNeil}}<ref name="nyt-1931-05-10" />
|
|<ref name="WW pp. 1053-1054" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Samuel|Morse}}
|inventors
|1791–1872
|1900
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|79|100}}
|{{sortname|Chester|Beach}}<ref name="nyt-1928-05-11" />
|
|<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|William Thomas|Morton|William T. G. Morton}}
|physicians and surgeons
|1819–1868
|1920
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|72|101}}
|{{sortname|Helen Farnsworth|Mears}}<ref name="p1112970752" />
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1053">{{harvnb|ps=.|Wallechinsky|Wallace|1978|p=1053}}</ref>
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|John Lothrop|Motley}} 
|authors and editors
|1814–1877
|1910
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|51|97}}
|{{sortname|Frederick|MacMonnies}}<ref name="p1113163477" />
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1052" /><ref name="nyt-1910-10-22" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Simon|Newcomb}}
|scientists
|1835–1909
|1935
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|78|101}}
|{{sortname|Frederick|MacMonnies}}<ref name="nyt-1936-05-29" />
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1054" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Thomas|Paine}}
|authors and editors
|1737–1809
|1945
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|51|93}}
|{{sortname|Malvina|Hoffman}}<ref name="nyt-1952-04-06" />
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1054" /><ref name="p1291143291" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Alice Freeman|Palmer}}
|teachers
|1855–1902
|1920
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|53|101}}
|{{sortname|Evelyn Beatrice|Longman}}<ref name="nyt-1927-05-06" />
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1053" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Francis|Parkman}}
|authors and editors
|1823–1893
|1915
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|68|97}}
|{{sortname|Hermon|MacNeil}}<ref name="nyt-1929-04-07" />
|
|<ref name="nyt-1915-10-07" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|George|Peabody}} 
|philanthropists and reformers
|1795–1869
|1900
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|72|100}}
|{{sortname|Hans|Schuler}}<ref name="nyt-1926-05-13" />
|
|<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|William|Penn}} 
|politicians and statesmen
|1644–1718
|1935
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|83|101}}
|{{sortname|A. Stirling|Calder}}<ref name="nyt-1936-05-29" />
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1054" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Edgar Allan|Poe}}
|authors and editors
|1809–1849
|1910
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|69|97}}
|{{sortname|Daniel Chester|French}}<ref name="nyt-1922-05-07" />
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1052" /><ref name="nyt-1910-10-22" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Walter|Reed}} 
|physicians and surgeons
|1851–1902
|1945
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|49|93}}
|{{sortname|Cecil|Howard|nolink=1}}<ref name="nyt-1948-05-21" />
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1054" /><ref name="p1291143291" />
|-
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Franklin D.|Roosevelt}}
|politicians and statesmen
|1882–1945
|1973
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|86|134}}
|{{sortname|Jo|Davidson}}
|
|<ref name="WW pp. 1055-1056">{{harvnb|ps=.|Wallechinsky|Wallace|1978|pp=1055–1056}}</ref><ref name="p491407095" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Theodore|Roosevelt}}
|politicians and statesmen
|1858–1919
|1950
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|70|120}}
|{{sortname|Georg J.|Lober}}
|
|<ref name="WW pp. 1054-1055" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Augustus|Saint-Gaudens}} 
|musicians, painters and sculptors
|1848–1907
|1920
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|72|101}}
|{{sortname|James Earle|Fraser|James Earle Fraser (sculptor)}}<ref name="nyt-1926-05-13" />
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1053" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|William Tecumseh|Sherman}} 
|soldiers and sailors
|1820–1891
|1905
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|58|95}}
|{{sortname|Augustus|Saint-Gaudens}}<ref name="p1113593079" />
|
|<ref name="The World Almanac and Encyclopedia 1906 p. 335" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|John Philip|Sousa}} 
|musicians, painters and sculptors
|1854–1932
|1973
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|78|134}}
|{{sortname|Karl H.|Gruppe|nolink=1}}
|
|<ref name="WW pp. 1055-1056" /><ref name="p491407095" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Joseph|Story}}
|lawyers and judges
|1779–1845
|1900
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|64|100}}
|{{sortname|Herbert|Adams|Herbert Adams (sculptor)}}<ref name="p1113163477" />
|
|<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Harriet Beecher|Stowe}}
|authors and editors
|1811–1896
|1910
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|74|97}}
|{{sortname|Brenda|Putnam}}<ref name="p1113593079" />
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1052" /><ref name="nyt-1910-10-22" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Gilbert|Stuart}} 
|musicians, painters and sculptors
|1755–1828
|1900
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|52|100}}
|{{sortname|Laura Gardin|Fraser}}<ref name="nyt-1922-05-07" />
|
|<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Sylvanus|Thayer}}
|soldiers and sailors
|1785–1872
|1965
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|77|124}}
|{{sortname|Joseph|Kiselewski}}<ref name="nyt-1966-05-16" />
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1055" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Henry David|Thoreau}}
|authors and editors
|1817–1862
|1960
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|83|141}}
|{{sortname|Malvina|Hoffman}}<ref>{{Cite news |last=Atkinson |first=Brooks |date=January 19, 1962 |title=Critic at Large; Spirit of Frugal Thoreau Resists Efforts to Get His Bust Installed in Hall of Fame |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/01/19/archives/critic-at-large-spirit-of-frugal-thoreau-resists-efforts-to-get-his.html |access-date=June 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609163900/https://www.nytimes.com/1962/01/19/archives/critic-at-large-spirit-of-frugal-thoreau-resists-efforts-to-get-his.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1055" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Lillian|Wald}}
|nurse and author
|1867–1940
|1970
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|68|109}}
|{{sortname|Eleanor|Platt}}
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1055" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Booker T.|Washington}}
|teachers
|1856–1915
|1945
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|57|93}}
|{{sortname|Richmond|Barthé}}<ref name="nyt-1946-02-05" />
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1054" /><ref name="p1291143291" />
|-
! scope="row" |{{sortname|George|Washington}}
|politicians and statesmen
|1732–1799
|1900
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|97|100}}
|{{sortname|Jean-Antoine|Houdon}}<ref name="nyt-1922-05-07" />
|Unanimously inducted<ref name="p570872918" />
|<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Daniel|Webster}}
|politicians and statesmen
|1782–1852
|1900
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|96|100}}
|{{sortname|Robert Ingersoll|Aitken}}<ref name="nyt-1926-05-13" />
|
|<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|George|Westinghouse}}
|inventors
|1846–1914
|1955
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|62|121}}
|{{sortname|Edmondo|Quattrocchio|nolink=1}}<ref name="p1327278431" />
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1055">{{harvnb|ps=.|Wallechinsky|Wallace|1978|p=1055}}</ref>
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|James Abbott McNeill|Whistler}} 
|musicians, painters and sculptors
|1834–1903
|1930
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|74|107}}
|{{sortname|Frederick|MacMonnies}}<ref name="nyt-1931-05-10" />
|
|<ref name="WW pp. 1053-1054" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Walt|Whitman}} 
|authors and editors
|1819–1892
|1930
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|64|107}}
|{{sortname|Chester|Beach}}<ref name="nyt-1931-05-10" />
|
|<ref name="WW pp. 1053-1054" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Eli|Whitney}}
|inventors
|1765–1825
|1900
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|66|100}}
|{{sortname|Chester|Beach}}<ref name="nyt-1926-05-13" />
|
|<ref name="p570872918" /><ref name="TWA1900" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|John Greenleaf|Whittier}} 
|authors and editors
|1807–1892
|1905
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|53|95}}
|{{sortname|Rudulph|Evans}}<ref name="nyt-1928-05-11" />
|
|<ref name="The World Almanac and Encyclopedia 1906 p. 335" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Roger|Williams}} 
|clergymen and theologians
|1603–1683
|1920
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|66|101}}
|{{sortname|Hermon|MacNeil}}<ref name="nyt-1926-05-13" />
|
* Initially elected in 1910 with 64 votes ({{pct|64|97}})<ref name="nyt-1910-10-22" /> 
* Born outside the United States, so ineligible for induction until 1914<ref name="nyt-1914-11-15" />
* Rejected upon renomination in 1915<ref name="nyt-1915-10-07" />
|<ref name="WW p. 1053" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Emma|Willard}}
|teachers
|1787–1870
|1905
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|50|87}}
|{{sortname|Frances|Grimes}}<ref name="nyt-1929-04-07" />
|One of the first three female inductees<ref name="p555337126" />
|<ref name="The World Almanac and Encyclopedia 1906 p. 335" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Frances|Willard}} 
|teachers
|1839–1898
|1910
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|56|97}}
|{{sortname|Lorado|Taft}}<ref name="nyt-1923-05-23" />
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1052">{{harvnb|ps=.|Wallechinsky|Wallace|1978|p=1052}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1910-10-22" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Woodrow|Wilson}}
|politicians and statesmen
|1856–1924
|1950
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|77|120}}
|{{sortname|Walker Kirtland|Hancock}}<ref name="p1327001222" />
|
|<ref name="WW pp. 1054-1055" />
|- 
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Orville|Wright|Wright brothers}} 
|inventors
|1871–1948
|1965
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|74|124}}
|{{sortname|Paul|Fjelde}}<ref name="p143159337">{{cite news |date=May 14, 1967 |title=The Coin Changer |page=L10 |newspaper=The Washington Post |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|143159337}}}}</ref>
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1055" />
|-
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Wilbur|Wright|Wright brothers}}
|inventors
|1867–1912
|1955
|{{Number and percent|disp=table|82|121}}
|{{sortname|Vincent|Glinsky}}<ref name="p143159337" />
|
|<ref name="WW p. 1055" />
|}

===Nominees not elected===
The following people were among those nominated at least once but not elected:<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Wallechinsky|Wallace|1978|pp=1051–1056}}</ref>
{{Div col|colwidth=15em}}
* [[Samuel Adams]]
* [[Louisa May Alcott]]
* [[Johnny Appleseed]]
* [[Chester A. Arthur]]
* [[Sarah Franklin Bache]]
* [[Henry Barnard]]
* [[William Beaumont]]
* [[John Shaw Billings]]
* [[George Caleb Bingham]]
* [[Elizabeth Blackwell]]
* [[Elena Petrovna Blavatsky]]
* [[Borden Parker Bowne]]
* [[William Brewster (pilgrim)|William Brewster]]
* [[William Austin Burt]]
* [[Horace Bushnell]]
* [[John C. Calhoun]]
* [[Alice Cary]]
* [[Frederick Edwin Church]]
* [[George Rogers Clark]]
* [[George M. Cohan]]
* [[Calvin Coolidge]]
* [[John Singleton Copley]]
* [[Jefferson Davis]]
* [[Dorothea Dix]]
* [[Paul Laurence Dunbar|Paul Dunbar]]
* [[Amelia Earhart]]
* [[Wyatt Earp]]
* [[John Eliot (missionary)|John Eliot]]
* [[Henry Ford]]
* [[James A. Garfield]]
* [[William Lloyd Garrison]]
* [[Lou Gehrig]]
* [[Henry George]]
* [[Horace Greeley]]
* [[Sarah Josepha Buell Hale]]
* [[Warren G. Harding]]
* [[Benjamin Harrison]]
* [[William Henry Harrison]]
* [[Charles Evans Hughes]]
* [[Richard M. Hoe]]
* [[John Ireland (archbishop)|John Ireland]]
* [[Helen Hunt Jackson]]
* [[William James]]
* [[John Jay]]
* [[Andrew Johnson]]
* [[Al Jolson]]
* [[Chief Joseph]]
* [[Adoniram Judson]]
* [[Francis Scott Key]]
* [[Joyce Kilmer]]
* [[Fiorello La Guardia]]
* [[Karl Landsteiner]]
* [[Gilbert N. Lewis]]
* [[Crawford Long]]
* [[Huey Long]]
* [[Cyrus McCormick]]
* [[Robert McCormick (Virginia inventor)|Robert McCormick]]
* [[Ephraim McDowell]]
* [[Charles Follen McKim]]
* [[William McKinley]]
* [[Ottmar Mergenthaler]]
* [[S. Weir Mitchell]]
* [[Lucretia Mott]]
* [[Benjamin Peirce]]
* [[Wendell Phillips]]
* [[Hiram Powers]]
* [[Will Rogers]]
* [[Babe Ruth]]
* [[Sacagawea]]
* [[Jacob Schiff]]
* [[Elizabeth Seton]]
* [[Lydia Huntley Sigourney]]
* [[Matthew Simpson]]
* [[Elizabeth Cady Stanton]]
* [[John Stevens (inventor, born 1749)|John Stevens]]
* [[Robert L. Stevens]]
* [[Nikola Tesla]]
* [[Roger B. Taney]]
* [[Benjamin Thompson]]
* [[Judah Touro]]
* [[Paul M. Warburg]]
* [[Martha Washington]]
* [[Mary Ball Washington]]
* [[Francis Wayland]]
* [[Noah Webster]]
* [[William Henry Welch]]
* [[Henry Wheaton]]
* [[Theodore Dwight Woolsey]]
* [[Constance Woolson]]
{{Div col end}}

Some of the nominees who were rejected never received any votes, including American Revolution militia officer [[Paul Revere]].<ref name="p282472360" /> Several nominees have been rejected multiple times, including Roman Catholic saint [[Elizabeth Seton]], poet [[Joyce Kilmer]],<ref name="p282472360" /> and politician [[Horace Greeley]].<ref name="Johnson p. 50" /> Many unsuccessful nominees received at least thirty votes in one election, and some surpassed this threshold in several elections.<ref>{{harvnb|Johnson|1935|pp=56–57|ps=.}}</ref> Some of the eventual honorees were rejected several times before they were selected, including [[Edgar Allan Poe]], [[Walt Whitman]], and [[James Monroe]].<ref name="Johnson p. 50" />

== Impact ==
Soon after the Hall of Fame opened, it became a focal point for U.S. national pride. As one writer, Richard Rubin, said:

{{quote|It was a truly democratic institution&nbsp;— anyone could nominate a candidate, admission would be free, and although NYU served as a steward, raising funds and running the elections, the whole thing was technically the property of the American people.<ref name="Rubin p. 15" />}}

''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' wrote that the Hall of Fame was "a window on early 20th-century ideas of greatness".<ref name="nyt-2007-10-12" /> The hall's acting director had described the Hall of Fame in 1920 as the "American Westminster Abbey",<ref name="p576235136" /> and urban planner [[Robert Moses]] said that the Hall of Fame carried "no bust of an unworthy or second-rate person".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Asbury |first=Edith Evans |date=May 31, 1969 |title=Moses Cites Ideal of Hall of Fame; Warns of Lower Standards at Memorial in Bronx |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/05/31/archives/moses-cites-ideal-of-hall-of-fame-warns-of-lower-standards-at.html |access-date=June 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609163903/https://www.nytimes.com/1969/05/31/archives/moses-cites-ideal-of-hall-of-fame-warns-of-lower-standards-at.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The critic [[Paul Goldberger]] described the hall's architecture in 1984 as making it "one of the most remarkable places in New York".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Goldberger |first=Paul |date=November 4, 1984 |title=Utopia in the Outer Boroughs |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/04/magazine/utopia-in-the-outer-boroughs.html |access-date=June 6, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220606191757/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/04/magazine/utopia-in-the-outer-boroughs.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In the years after the Hall of Fame for Great Americans opened, more than 700 halls of fame were opened across the United States.<ref name="n103459400" /> By the late 20th century, many of these halls of fame honored people in a specific field, such as a sport.<ref name="n103459400" /><ref name="Rubin p. 15">{{harvnb|Rubin|1997|ps=.|p=15}}</ref> As Richard Rubin of ''[[The Atlantic Monthly]]'' wrote in 1997: "Now achievement alone was enough, even achievement within a narrow context."<ref name="Rubin p. 15" /> 

Starting in the late 20th century, there was some controversy over the demographic breakdown of the Hall of Fame's honorees. A major issue was that, although a majority of BCC's students were Hispanic, few of the Hall of Fame's inductees were people of color or women.<ref name="nyt-2009-12-05" /> Though BCC president [[Roscoe C. Brown Jr.]] expressed pride for the hall's architecture, he said in 1993: "In terms of who is in and who is not, I'm ashamed to be associated with it."<ref name="nyt-1993-04-03" /> He said many of the figures in the hall were "truly great people who led inspirational lives," but "quite a number make you wonder how they got in."<ref name="nyt-1993-04-03">{{Cite news |last=Kaufman |first=Michael T. |date=April 3, 1993 |title=About New York; Fame's Fleeting Nature Is on Display in This Hall |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/03/nyregion/about-new-york-fame-s-fleeting-nature-is-on-display-in-this-hall.html |access-date=June 3, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603013234/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/03/nyregion/about-new-york-fame-s-fleeting-nature-is-on-display-in-this-hall.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

The Hall of Fame has also been referenced in works of popular culture, such as the 1939 film ''[[The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz]]''.<ref name="nyt-2007-10-12" /> The Hall of Fame, along with other structures on the BCC campus, have frequently been used as a filming location.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pollak |first=Michael |date=July 25, 2004 |title=F.Y.I. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/25/nyregion/fyi-409197.html |access-date=June 6, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220606200836/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/25/nyregion/fyi-409197.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of New York City Designated Landmarks in the Bronx]]
*[[National Register of Historic Places listings in the Bronx]]
*[[National Garden of American Heroes]]
*[[National Statuary Hall]]
**[[National Statuary Hall Collection]]

==References==
'''Explanatory notes'''
{{Notelist}}

'''Citations'''
{{reflist}}

'''Works cited'''
* {{cite report |url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/79001567.pdf |title=Hall of Fame Complex |date=September 7, 1979 |publisher=[[National Register of Historic Places]], [[National Park Service]] |ref={{harvid|National Park Service|1979}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Johnson |first=Robert Underwood |year=1935 |title=Your Hall of Fame: Being an Account of the Origin, Establishment, and History of This Division of New York University, from 1900 to 1935 Inclusive |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$b60219&view=2up&seq=6 |location=New York |publisher=New York University |oclc=269781}}
* {{cite magazine |year=1902 |title=The New York University and Hall of Fame |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yQsaAQAAMAAJ |magazine=Architects' and Builders' Magazine |publisher=W.T. Comstock |volume=34 |ref={{Harvid|Architects' and Builders' Magazine|1902}}}}
* {{Cite magazine |last=Rubin |first=Richard |date=July 1997 |title=The Mall of Fame |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1997/07/the-mall-of-fame/376903/ |magazine=[[The Atlantic Monthly]] |volume=280 |issue=1 |pages=14–18 |id={{ProQuest|223102065}}}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Wallechinsky |first=David |first2=Irving |last2=Wallace |year=1978 |chapter=The Hall of Fame for Great Americans |title=The People's Almanac #2 |location=New York |publisher=Bantam |isbn=9780553011371 |oclc=872351514 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/peoplesalmanac200wall/page/1050 1050–1056] |chapter-url-access=registration |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/peoplesalmanac200wall/page/1050}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |last=Gerami |first=Sheila |title=The Hall of Fame for Great Americans: A Biography of Stanford White's Forgotten Memorial |year=2024 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |location=Knoxville |isbn=9781621908654 |lccn=2023056322}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{official}}
** [https://www.bcc.cuny.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/virtual-hall-of-fame-website.pdf "Virtual Hall of Fame" website]

{{Hall of Fame for Great Americans|state=expanded}}
{{New York City Historic Sites}}
{{National Register of Historic Places listings in the Bronx}}
{{McKim, Mead & White}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall Of Fame For Great Americans}}

[[Category:Hall of Fame for Great Americans| ]]
[[Category:1901 establishments in New York City]]
[[Category:Beaux-Arts architecture in New York City]]
[[Category:Biographical museums in New York City]]
[[Category:Bronx Community College]]
[[Category:Bronze sculptures in New York City]]
[[Category:Busts in New York City]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials completed in the 1900s]]
[[Category:Museums established in 1901]]
[[Category:Halls of fame in New York City]]
[[Category:McKim, Mead & White buildings]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City]]
[[Category:Museums in the Bronx]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in the Bronx]]
[[Category:New York City Designated Landmarks in the Bronx]]
[[Category:Outdoor sculptures in New York City]]
[[Category:Sculpture galleries in the United States]]
[[Category:University Heights, Bronx]]