Neo Gothic Revival

Yale University – Mason Laboratory // 1911

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On Hillhouse Avenue, one of the finest streets in New Haven, you will find a great collection of historic homes and large institutional landmarks. Adjacent to St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale College built this structure, the Mason Laboratory between 1910-1911 for Mechanical Engineering and related departments. The building was designed by architect Charles C. Haight, who was responsible for a number of other Neo-Gothic buildings at Yale. The limestone building properly holds the streetedge and blends in well with its surroundings.

St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church Priory // 1907

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Located next to the St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church on Hillhouse Avenue in New Haven, Connecticut, you will find one of the finest Neo-Gothic style buildings in the city that was not built by Yale University. This structure was constructed in 1907 as the Priory for the Catholic Church next door. Historically, the church had been under the care of the Dominican friars of the Province of St. Joseph, based in New York City, and the church needed a residence for the friars (a Priory). Due to dwindling attendance at churches all over the country, area churches were consolidated under the Hartford Archdiocese, who replaced the friar residents of this building with Dioscesan priests in late 2021.

St. Elmo Hall – Rosenfeld Hall // 1912

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St. Elmo Society at Yale was founded in 1889 as a chapter of the national fraternity Delta Phi, and it is today one of the “ancient eight consortium” of secret societies at the university. The society’s original building was erected in 1895 and provided housing, meeting spaces, a library, smoking room, and other recreational spaces for the members. Just over a decade later, the group’s increasing wealth and membership necessitated a larger building. This building, named St. Elmo Hall was designed by architect Kenneth MacKenzie Murchison in an Elizabethan style and built in 1912 for the society, replacing its former residence hall. The society saw dwindling funding and during World War II, St. Elmo Hall became a convalescent hospital for soldiers who were out of the hospital but still need observation. After WWII, the group began leasing some rooms out to Yale University, who eventually purchased the building in 1962, renaming it Rosenfeld Hall after Richard Rosenfeld ’63. The L-shaped building is sited opening up to the corner lot and is Neo-Gothic in style, likely drawing inspiration from Yale’s established Gothic stylistic influence.

Yale University – Phelps Hall and Gate // 1896

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After Lawrance and Welch halls (previous two posts) were built on the eastern edge of Yale’s Old Campus, there was a small space between the two that needed to be enclosed to provide a true cloister for students, shielding them from the noise and ever-developing Downtown of New Haven. Architect Charles C. Haight designed the new hall to resemble a medieval gatehouse. The simple, tall rectangular mass has octagonal towers at each corner with copper domes on top and a crenelated parapet resembling an old English castle spanning between them. On the ground floor is the Phelps Gate, the main entrance to the Old Campus from the east. Its namesake was the late William Walter Phelps, an 1860 Yale graduate who served as a Congressman and as ambassador to Germany and Austria-Hungary. The building holds an important role in the annual commencement ceremonies, which begin in the New Haven Green and pass through to the Old Campus through this gateway.

Yale University – Bingham Hall // 1928

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One of my (many) favorite buildings at Yale University is Bingham Hall, a monumental and landmark example of the Collegiate Gothic architecture style. Built in 1928, replacing the 1888 Osborn Hall (last post), Bingham Hall was constructed as an inward-facing freshman dormitory by architect, Walter B. Chambers, who had just overseen the completion of his first building at Yale, the Colonial Revival style McClellan Hall. Built of Longmeadow brownstone, Bingham Hall largely constructed from funds donated by the children of Charles W. Bingham (Yale, 1868), a Cleveland based businessman. The building stands five stories with a massive nine-story corner tower and helped solidify Yale’s iconic Collegiate Gothic architecture for the future buildings and growth as well.

Yale University – Vanderbilt Hall // 1894

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Like many other buildings on campus, Vanderbilt Hall is named for its wealthy sponsors, but its foundation is one of family tragedy. One of Yale’s stunning Collegiate Gothic structures, the building is named after William Henry Vanderbilt II (1870-1892), who attended Yale in the early 1890s. William contracted typhoid fever from a water pump while touring the western United States and died during his junior year. His father, railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt, constructed Vanderbilt Hall in 1894 as a memorial to his son and donated it to the University. The highly prized Vanderbilt room, which is located above the archway, is apparently one of the finest residential spaces on the campus. Architect Charles C. Haight designed the building which enclosed the southern edge of the yard, created a gateway, and is one of the early architectural statement pieces for the campus in the Collegiate Gothic style. Haight would receive later commissions at Yale based on his work on Vanderbilt Hall.

Dorset Congregational Church // 1909

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Arguably the most high-style building in the quaint village of Dorset, Vermont is the Congregational Church, which appropriately sits on Church Street. The original congregational church in Dorset was located in nearby Maple Hill Cemetery. When the wood structure burned in 1832, an new wooden church was built on this site. The second wooden building burned in 1907, and then this church was built, but of fireproof construction. Jordan Greene, an architect from New York, designed this Neo Gothic Revival style in the historic district. The church was constructed by the contracting firm of O. W. Norcross, partner in the Norcross-West Marble Company, which donated the building stone from its South Dorset quarry. The design is dominated by a massive square central tower that ascends its facade and is capped by pinnacles. Behind the tower, the gable-roofed church is built of rough-faced Dorset marble laid in patterned coursed ashlar and trimmed with dressed stone. How many other marble churches can you think of?

Church of the Holy Redeemer // 1907

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Built to replace the former St. Sylvia’s Catholic Church (1881-1909), the Church of the Holy Redeemer in Bar Harbor stands as one of the more imposing religious buildings in town. The new church was envisioned by Rev. James O’Brien, who wanted a larger church structure closer to downtown Bar Harbor than the current St. Sylvia’s. The Neo-Gothic stone church was designed by Bangor architect Victor Hodgins, and was constructed from granite blocks quarried from Washington County, Maine. Inside, massive trusses from felled cyprus trees nearby support the roof and stone walls. Gorgeous stained glass windows line the walls which flood the interior with color.

St. Mary’s Catholic Church // 1911

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This 2-story Neo-Gothic Revival church constructed of buff brick and limestone, is dominated by an off-center, 4-level tower and showcases how even smaller towns in New England have some of the finest 20th century churches. In 1849 St. Mary’s parish, in nearby Warren, Rhode Island, was founded to serve residents there as well as Irish and French Canadian immigrants in Bristol, which began arriving en masse. Just years later, in 1855, the first St. Mary’s Church in Bristol, was constructed as a plain wooden structure, and operated as a mission of the Warren church. In 1874 the Bristol church became an independent parish and saw large increases to membership with more Irish families settling here. Over the next decades, the space became more cramped and a building campaign was started to get a new place of worship. The present St. Mary’s Catholic Church was built in 1911, from plans by the Providence-based architectural firm of Murphy, Hindle & Wright, who together (and separately) designed many ecclesiastical buildings, in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The interior is even more stunning than the exterior detailing, and remains very well-preserved.

St. Therese of the Infant Jesus Church // 1927

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This church in Agawam was built in 1927, replacing the first Catholic church in town, which was established in 1873. The earlier church was destroyed by a fire in 1925, causing the congregation and Archdiocese to fund construction of a new, fireproof church building. The Neo-Gothic Revival building features lancet windows, buttresses, and a central steeple. The building is now occupied as the Moldovian Baptist Church.