The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private university, located in metropolitan Rochester, New York, within the town of Henrietta, New York, United States. The Institute as it is known today began as an 1891 merger between the Rochester Athenaeum, a literary society founded in 1829 by Colonel Nathaniel Rochester and associates, and the Mechanics Institute, a Rochester institute of practical technical training for local residents founded in 1885 by a consortium of local businessmen including Captain Henry Lomb. The merged institution's name was Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute (RAMI). In 1944, the university changed its name to Rochester Institute of Technology. The Institute originally resided within the city of Rochester, New York, proper, on a block bounded by the Erie Canal, South Plymouth Avenue, Spring Street, and South Washington Street (approximately 43°09′09″N 77°36′55″W / 43.152632°N 77.615157°W / 43.152632; -77.615157). Its art department was originally located in the Bevier Memorial Building.