As with other High Victorian Gothic structures, the School of Science's appearance fell into disfavor. On November 26, 1928, the School of Science was destroyed by fire. The Daily Princetonian reported that "Princeton's famed architectural monstrosity, the School of Science, was completely gutted by flames of unknown origin." And in a telling indication of the contemporary attitudes toward High Victorian Gothic buildings, the paper noted that hundreds of undergraduates gathered "to cheer on the demise of Princeton's most famous eyesore."

John C. Green's legacy lived on, however. Green Hall, built in 1927 as the new engineering school, was named in his honor. This structure, part of the Collegiate Gothic explosion of the 1920s and 1930s, is now home to the psychology and sociology departments.

John C. Green School of Science in the Princeton Architectural Catalog