Old Campus

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Battell Chapel, Farnam Hall, and Lawrance Hall

The Old Campus is a complex of buildings at Yale University on the block at the northwest end of the green in New Haven, Connecticut consisting of dormitories, classrooms, chapels and offices. Old Campus includes Yale's oldest building, Connecticut Hall and a grand entrance from the green at Phelps Gate.

Old Brick Row in 1807

1 History
2 Current Buildings
3 Student Life
4 References

[edit] History

The first building of Yale College (Old College) in New Haven was built here in 1718 where Bingham Hall now stands. Falling into disrepair, this building was ultimately destroyed by students in 1782. Beginning with Connecticut Hall in 1750, the buildings of Old Brick Row were built here. The campus plan for Old Brick Row was developed by John Trumbull and James Hillhouse.^[1] It was the first planned college campus in the United States and served as a model for other campuses. Old Brick Row included four dormitories: Union Hall (South College), Connecticut Hall (South Middle), Berkeley Hall (North Middle) and North College. In between, there was Atheneum (First Chapel), Connecticut Lyceum, and Second Chapel.^[2]

The Yale Fence, which ran along on College in front of Old Brick Row, was a favorite of many generations of students. Plans for new buildings led to its demise in 1888. The Yale Fence Club was named in its memory. The fence currently lining Old Campus also evokes the old fence.

Many other buildings stood on the Old Campus which were removed to make way for the current configuration of structures, including The Old Laboratory (1782-1888), The Cabinet (1819-1890), Trumbull Gallery (1832-1901), Alumni Hall (1853-1911), Old Dwight Hall (1885-1926, J. Cleaveland Cady) and Osborn Hall (1888-1926, Bruce Price).^[3]

Connecticut Hall on the left and Welch Hall on the right

[edit] Current Buildings

Connecticut Hall (1752), the only survivor of the Old Brick Row, still stands after plans for its destruction, along with the rest of the row, were dropped.

Lanman-Wright Hall (1912, William Adams Delano), Durfee Hall (1871, Russell Sturgis), Farnam Hall (1870, Russell Sturgis), Lawrance Hall (1886, Russell Sturgis), Welch Hall (1891, Bruce Price), Bingham Hall (1928, Walter B. Chambers), and Vanderbilt Hall (1894, Charles C. Haight) are used as dormitories for Freshmen. McClellan Hall (1925, Walter B. Chambers) was built as a partner for Connecticut Hall; it was derided by students in a "Pageant of Symmetry" with the slogan "For God, for Country and for Symmetry".^[4] Upperclassmen live in McClellan. Chittenden Hall (1889-90, J. Cleaveland Cady) was connected to Dwight by Linsly (1906-06, Charles C. Haight) to form Linsly-Chittenden Hall. The stained glass window "Education" by Louis Tiffany is in Chittenden. Phelps Hall (1924, Charles Haight), Dwight Chapel (The Old Library, 1846, Henry Austin), Battell Chapel (1876, Russell Sturgis) and Street Hall (1866, Peter Wight) are also located on the Old Campus.

There are bronze statues on Old Campus of Nathan Hale (1913, Bela Pratt), Theodore Dwight Woolsey (1896, John Ferguson Weir) and Abraham Pierson (1874, Launt Thompson).

[edit] Student Life

Old Campus houses incoming freshmen from ten of Yale College's twelve residential colleges. Although students are assigned a residential college before starting their studies at Yale, they live in Old Campus dormitories during their freshman year and move into their colleges at the beginning of sophomore year. Students in Silliman College and Timothy Dwight College live in their colleges for all four years.

Phelps Hall, built atop Phelps Gate. Welch Hall is on the right and Lawrance Hall is on the left.

Old Campus is host to several activities during the school year, including Freshman Olympics, Spring Fling and Commencement in May. It also houses the Exploration Senior Program for six weeks during the summer.