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.