On acreage purchased in October 1925, the St. Thomas Aquinas Priory was built and modeled to look like the castle of the family of St. Thomas Aquinas. It was completed in 1926 on a large tract of land at the northwest corner of Harlem Avenue & Division Street and housed The Dominican House of Studies, a college of philosophy for neophytes of the Catholic Dominican Order. 150 young men from around the country intent on entering the priesthood lived and studied on the campus. Taught by a faculty of twenty, the young men completed three years of study at the college and, upon graduation, would head to Washington D.C., to complete their studies for the priesthood. In 1964, a new wing was opened, but shortly after the addition was completed, attendance began to diminish and financial problems began to trouble the college. In 1970, after forty-three years of service, the college closed.