In 1887 Cornell University commissioned William Henry Miller, already a noted Ithaca architect, to design the new University [Uris] Library. It's landmark tower has become the icon of the university.

Other buildings designed by Miller include the Andrew Dickson White House, Barnes Hall, Stimson Hall, and Risley Hall, all on the campus, as well as a number of churches and homes in Ithaca. All told, he designed more than seventy buildings in Ithica. Miller also designed an improved south entrance to the University at Cascadilla Gorge, laid out a new roadway closer to the gorge bank, an entrance gate at the end of Eddy Street, and a new stone-arched bridge across the gorge.

Miller entered Cornell's new the School of Architecture in 1871. He was the first student in one of the nation's oldst architectural schools.

One of Miller's most famous buildings was lost in tragedy, oft told. His grandiose McGraw-Fiske mansion rose in 1881 on an large hilltop estate near the Cornell campus, the most extravagant residence not merely in town, but in the upstate region. After a long and contentious drama involving an heiress and her fortune, a fire destroyed the building, killing several occupants and firemen.