Yale Freshman Dorms

Yale University – Lanman-Wright Hall // 1912

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Located at the northwest corner of the the Old Yard at Yale, Lanman-Wright Hall is one of the more recent buildings constructed that enclose the space. Long an advocate for adding new dormitory facilities at Yale, Henry Parks Wright, a Latin professor and later Dean of Yale College (1884-1909), was able in retirement, to see Wright Hall erected in his honor. From 1884 to 1894, the college enrollment had doubled to 1,150, forcing the freshmen to room off campus. This had led to the opening of privately owned residence halls around the campus, some of which were very luxurious. Over time, the students became widely separated by income and social standing and Wright felt that if the spirit of true democracy at Yale were to be perpetuated, it was essential that freshmen should be better integrated. Wright Hall was designed by architect William Adams Delano of Delano and Aldrich, Class of 1895, and was built in the place of Alumni Hall (last post). Accommodating 150, it was the largest dormitory on the Old Campus and designed in a Neo-Gothic style, blending it in with some of the Victorian-era Gothic residence halls nearby. The building went through a renovation in 1993, funded by benefactor William Kelsey Lanman, and renamed Lanman-Wright Hall upon completion.

Yale University – Lawrance Hall // 1886

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Lawrance Hall was built in 1886 following a financial gift to the college by Frances (Garner) Lawrance, as a memorial to her late son, Thomas Garner Lawrance (1862-1883), who died unexpectedly during his senior year at Yale. The building was designed by New York architect Russell Sturgis, who previously designed Farnam and Durfee halls as well as the Battell Chapel, all enclosing the northeastern edge of the Old Yard. Lawrance Hall is the last Victorian Gothic style building constructed at Yale and also Sturgis’ last commission at the college. Here, Sturgis designed a Gothic building to provide continuity to his earlier dormitories nearby, but added French flair seen at the end towers and rounded turrets at the street facade. The French inspiration may have been a suggestion by Mr. and Mrs. Lawrance as they operated Cercle anglais, an English Club in Pau, France where they occupied Villa Lawrance, when living there. Today, Lawrance Hall is the freshman dormitory for Ezra Stiles College at Yale.

Yale University – Durfee Hall // 1871

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Following his success of designing Farnam Hall at Yale, architect Russell Sturgis was again commissioned to design Durfee Hall, the residence hall built to enclose the northern edge of the Old Campus Yard. The elongated dormitory was the largest and most imposing building on the Old Campus when it was completed and was named for its benefactor, Bradford M. C. Durfee of Fall River, Massachusetts. The exterior of Durfee is covered in a combination of sandstone and bluestone, and is accentuated with gables, ornate turrets, and large brick chimneys. Upon its completion, it was considered a “high point in Victorian Gothic Style architecture,” and critics from American Architect and Building News commented that “It will be a long time before the quiet dignity of its roof and chimneys will be surpassed anywhere.” The exterior was renovated by Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates Inc.

Yale University – Farnam Hall // 1870

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Farnam Hall is Yale University’s oldest dormitory still in use. Designed by New York architect Russell Sturgis in a Ruskinian High Victorian Gothic style, Farnam Hall is considered Sturgis’s most important work and was completed in 1871, marking a new direction toward an enclosed campus, shielded off from the surrounding downtown district of New Haven. Named for Henry Farnam, its construction required the removal of the Second President’s House and a section of the Yale Fence, which was met with some trepidation. The red brick, four-story building originally consisted of twenty suites and ten common rooms on each floor. Sturgis, who was influenced by John Ruskin’s ideals put forward in his Seven Lamps of Architecture, used a variety of brick and stone on the facade all with hand carved detailing. Farnam Hall was renovated in 1977 by architect Edward Larrabee Barnes and today serves as a dormitory for first-year students belonging to Yale’s Jonathan Edwards College.

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.