Connecticut Hall
Connecticut Hall | |
Location | 1017 Chapel Street New Haven, Connecticut, United States |
---|---|
Coordinates | 41°18′29.25″N 72°55′46.13″W / 41.3081250°N 72.9294806°W |
Built | 1752 |
Architect | Francis Letort, Thomas Bills |
Architectural style | Georgian |
Restored | 1952 |
Restored by | Douglas Orr |
NRHP reference No. | 66000806[1] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966[1] |
Designated NHL | December 21, 1965[2] |
Connecticut Hall (formerly South Middle College) is a
Connecticut Hall is the third-oldest of only seven surviving American
History
When Yale College moved to New Haven in 1718, the town had constructed a wooden building known as the College House for its occupancy at the corner of College and Chapel Streets.
Connecticut Hall became the anchor and template for Old Brick Row's building pattern, and became known as South Middle College as buildings were added to its north and south. By 1824, Old Brick Row had four "colleges" resembling Connecticut Hall: Union Hall (South College), Connecticut Hall (South Middle College), Berkeley Hall (North Middle College), and North College. When Old Brick Row was slated for demolition in the early 20th century, Connecticut Hall was saved by a group of alumni led by Professor
In 1925, Yale broke ground on McClellan Hall, a student dormitory that mimicked the appearance of Connecticut Hall.[8] At the time, many students and faculty felt Connecticut Hall was an obsolete structure that marred the campus' beauty. They objected to the administration's sudden plans to erect a facsimile building to balance its presence on the Old Campus.[9] They dubbed McClellan "Hush Hall" and staged a "Pageant of Symmetry" to oppose its construction.[9]
The building has been renovated several times and appears substantially different from its early appearance and function. A 1797 addition swapped the gambrel roof for a fourth story and a pitched roof.[8] In 1905, a restoration led by Grosvenor Atterbury rebuilt the gambrel roof, bringing the building closer to its original form.[8] From 1952 to 1954, the structure was reconstructed in which the building interior was gutted the structure and rebuilt for reading, seminar and faculty rooms.[3]
Uses
Connecticut Hall remained a student dormitory for nearly 200 years, but has always been joined by other uses. Lacking sufficient space, Thomas Clap and other faculty would hold class sessions in the entryways. Before purpose-built structures could be constructed, a physics laboratory, art gallery, and natural history collection were housed in various parts of the building.[7]
Beginning in mid-eighteenth century, a
"It was a sort of wet-nurse for those students not yet weaned from the "goodies" that they had been accustomed to receive from indulgent grandmothers and from tender parents at their homes. The place itself could not fail to have been a rendezvous for the idle and disorderly, a receptacle of gossip and noise.[10]
The buttery closed in 1817, and Yale President Theodore Dwight Woolsey noted that "nothing became it like the leaving of it."[10]
As a residence, South Middle gained a reputation as cramped, damp, and cold, and was considered undesirable housing by most of its occupants.
Shortly after the Atterbury restoration in 1905, Yale College Dean Frederick S. Jones announced he would move his offices there to "get to the center of the college."[7] There they remained until World War II, when they were moved to Sterling-Sheffield-Strathcona Hall on Prospect Street and the Orr renovation fully converted the building to departmental offices and faculty meeting space.
Today, the building contains the offices of Yale's Department of Philosophy. The Faculty Room, where the Faculty of Arts and Sciences holds its meetings, is located on the second floor. There is also a computer cluster in the basement.[7]
Architectural significance
Connecticut Hall is one of the oldest buildings in Connecticut and the only remaining example of colonial-era architecture built at Yale.[citation needed]
It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965.[2][3]
The University of Georgia's Old College, constructed between 1801 and 1805, is modeled on Connecticut Hall.
The first two residence halls at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, originally dubbed "Yale of the Early West", are modeled after Connecticut Hall.[citation needed]
Notable residents
- Congregationalistminister
- Nathan Hale, American Revolutionary War spy [6][7]
- James Hillhouse, early New Haven benefactor[7]
- David Humphries, aide-de-camp to George Washington, ambassador and author
- James Kent, American jurist and legal scholar[6]
- Jeremiah Mason, United States Senator[6]
- Noah Porter, president of Yale College[6]
- John William Sterling, lawyer and Yale benefactor[7]
- Noah Webster, author of the first American dictionary[7]
- Theodore Woolsey, president of Yale College[6]
- Eli Whitney, inventor of interchangeable parts and the cotton gin[7]
See also
- List of National Historic Landmarks in Connecticut
- National Register of Historic Places listings in New Haven, Connecticut
References
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ a b "Connecticut Hall, Yale University". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on October 2, 2007. Retrieved October 3, 2007.
- ^ a b c d Higgins Schroer, Blanche; Snell, Charles W.; Bradford, S. Sydney (December 6, 1974). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Connecticut Hall, Yale University". National Park Service. and Accompanying photo from 1974 and etching from 1807/1910
- ^ a b Reid, Teanu (January 2022). "A reckoning with our past". Yale Alumni Magazine. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
- ^ ISBN 978-1584658917. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
- ^ Historic American Buildings Survey. Archived from the original(PDF) on April 13, 2014. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Schiff, Judith Ann (February 2001). "Nathan Hale Slept Here". Yale Alumni Magazine. p. 104. Archived from the original on July 9, 2011.
- ^ a b c d Mills Brown, Elizabeth (1976). New Haven: A Guide to Architecture and Urban Design. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 122.
- ^ a b Pierson, George W. (1955). Yale: the University College, 1921-1937. Yale University Press. p. 79.
- ^ a b Butler, Daniel (1879). "Commons". In Kingsley, William L. (ed.). Yale College: A Sketch of Its History. New York: Henry Holt & Co. pp. 299–300. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
External links
- Listing on National Historic Landmarks webpage
- Media related to Connecticut Hall (Yale University) at Wikimedia Commons