Connecticut Hall

Connecticut Hall, Yale University
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Connecticut Hall
Location:	New Haven, Connecticut
Coordinates:	41°18′29.25″N 72°55′46.13″W / 41.308125°N 72.9294806°W / 41.308125; -72.9294806Coordinates: 41°18′29.25″N 72°55′46.13″W / 41.308125°N 72.9294806°W / 41.308125; -72.9294806
Built:	1750
Architect:	Francis Letort, Thomas Bills
Architectural style:	Georgian
Governing body:	Yale University
NRHP Reference#:	66000806[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP:	October 15, 1966[1]
Designated NHL:	December 21, 1965[2]

Connecticut Hall on the right and McClellan Hall, built in 1925 as a replica of Connecticut Hall, on the left.

Connecticut Hall is a Georgian-style building on the Old Campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Built in 1752, it is the oldest building on the Yale campus (in fact its only surviving 18th-century structure) and one of the oldest buildings in Connecticut. The building is the last surviving remnant of the Old Brick Row, the rest of which was demolished after the American Civil War. It has also been known as Old South Middle.^[3] Its address is 1017 Chapel Street.

Connecticut Hall was built under the direction of Thomas Clap, who was president of Yale at the time. The construction was headed by Francis Letort and Thomas Bills; the latter later helped to build the First Chapel. The design was based on Massachusetts Hall at Harvard University.^[4] The money used to fund the project came from the sale of a French ship, as well as from a Connecticut lottery and a grant from the Connecticut Assembly. The building was built 100 feet (30 m) long by 40 feet (12 m) wide, and three stories tall.

As part of the Old Brick Row, it was known as South Middle and was enlarged to four stories. When Connecticut Hall faced demolition in the early 20th century, the building was saved by a group of alumni led by Professor Henry W. Farnam. After World War II, the building was gutted and rebuilt by Douglas Orr and Richard A. Kimball. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965.^[2][3]

Today it contains the offices of Yale's philosophy department. 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.

The first two residence halls at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, originally dubbed "Yale of the Early West", are modeled after Connecticut Hall.

Originally a student dormitory, its notable residents included:

• Nathan Hale
• James Hillhouse
• Noah Webster
• Eli Whitney
• John William Sterling
• John Trumbull
• David Humphreys (soldier)

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Connecticut Hall, Yale University". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=615&ResourceType=Building. Retrieved 2007-10-03. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Blanche Higgins Schroer, Charles W. Snell, and S. Sydney Bradford (December 6, 1974). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Connecticut Hall, Yale University". National Park Service. http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/66000806.pdf.  and Accompanying photo from 1974 and etching from 1807/1910
4. ^ E. M. Brown, New Haven: A Guide to Architecture and Urban Design, Yale University Press, 1976.

External links

• Listing on National Historic Landmarks webpage
• Yale Alumni Magazine article