Founded in 1824 by Stephen van Rensselaer and Amos Eaton, RPI is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world — predating MIT and Caltech by decades. The campus occupies a dramatic hillside site above downtown Troy, with views over the Hudson Valley. The architecture ranges from 19th-century Gothic Revival buildings to the striking Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC), a glass-and-steel performance facility that opened in 2008.
EMPAC hosts a varied programme of concerts, theatre, and experimental performances open to the public — check their schedule if you're in town for a weekend. The campus is freely accessible to visitors; the Folsom Library and the older academic buildings are worth a look for anyone interested in American academic architecture.