Bicentennial Buildings

The Bicentennial Buildings were built to celebrate Yale’s 200th anniversary and consist of Commons (soon to be Schwarzman Center), Memorial Hall, and Woolsey Hall. Commons, the university-wide dining hall, opened in 1901, while Memorial Hall and Woolsey Hall were later dedicated in 1903. The Beaux Arts Neoclassical style of the building, an interruption to the predominantly Collegiate Gothic style of Yale buildings, meant to perhaps elevate Yale to a prestigious institution by taking advantage of the power associated with Neoclassical designs. The location of the Bicentennial Buildings in the geographic center of Yale University — connecting Yale College and Science Hill — which is suggestive of its role as a symbol for Yale’s expansion from a college to a university. 

Yale University

The 1886 Sanborn Fire Insurance map shows that there were four adjacent brick buildings on the site of Woolsey Hall. The 1888 New Haven Hopkins Atlas also shows the same four brick buildings. There also seems to be two frame buildings, two for each of the properties. These brick buildings were probably row houses from the same developer, as they are presented as a unit on the map. College Street at the time was home to New Haven’s prominent citizens, which further implies that these structures were indeed row houses. However, specific information on the tenants is unknown (New Haven Museum Scrapbook Collection).

Construction of the University Dining Hall/Commons began in 1901 while construction of Memorial Hall and Woolsey Hall was still only scheduled, as shown on the 1901 Sanborn Fire Insurance map. Commons opened its doors in 1901, while Woolsey and Memorial Hall were dedicated June 20, 1903 (Yale Daily News).  

Under Theodore Dwight Woolsey (Yale president 1846-1871), the Sheffield Scientific School, Art School, and Graduate School were established but remained independent from Yale College (Kelly). Yale had the makings of a university, but it needed unification. In the 1850s, before he was president of Yale, Timothy Dwight (inaugurated 1886), pushed for Yale’s development, which he considered to be one of the primary roles of Yale’s president. In collaboration with James Dwight Dana, a New Haven scientist, the two drew attention to Yale’s need for physical expansion and fund raising. In 1890, Yale Corporation established the Alumni University Fund, in response to alumni enthusiasm for a university expansion. While the alumni donations themselves was not responsible for the funding of the expansion, large donations from a few individuals helped to raise $5 million by 1901 (Kelly). 

The actual planning for the Bicentennial Building project did not start until Arthur Twining Hadley’s tenure (1899-1921). In 1899, he appointed Anson Phelps Stoke, three years out of Yale college, as his secretary, and the two presided over the building project (Scully et al.). A competition was held for the design of the Bicentennial Building, where Carrere and Hastings’ Beaux Arts Neoclassical won over other Collegiate Gothic entries, such as R.H. Robertson’s. (See Archival Documents.) The Beaux Arts Neoclassical design of the Bicentennial Buildings was not initially received with enthusiasm. George B. Post, architectural adviser to the project, attributed the lack of enthusiasm to people’s visions of university ideals the buildings should represent — the conflict was between the “grandeur and picturesqueness,” more closely associated with the Gothic style, and the “speed and power” of Neoclassical architecture, as showcased in the 1893 Columbian Exposition. Yale, in choosing Neoclassical, chose power (Pinnell).

Commons (opened in 1901) was the university-wide dining hall, and until it was closed this year, it was typically used for traditional Yale College events such as the First-Year Holiday Dinner and First-Year Formal (formerly Freshman Screw). The space was also available for rental by student groups and other Yale-affiliated organizations. The space has been used for conferences, networking events, and even an undergraduate-cooking competition (Final Cut). The Schwarzman Center renovations will turn Commons into a multi-purpose space to host Yale’s special events. The dining hall will be reopened, but the basement will also be repurposed for student use. Renovations to the Schwarzman Center should not affect Woolsey and Memorial Hall (Schwarzman Center website).

Memorial Hall and Woolsey Hall both opened in 1903. While Memorial Hall has less of an official use, it serves as a connection between Commons and Woolsey Hall. During the day, the rotunda is especially used as a pathway, almost a corridor, between the south side of campus and Science Hill. John Russell Pope’s plans for the university was never enacted, but in the use of the rotunda as a walkway, the purpose of the Bicentennial Buildings as a link between the north and south sides of campuses is perhaps partially realized.

Woolsey Hall seats 2,600 people and was the first secular assembly hall of the university, possibly in response to criticisms of conservatism (Kelly). It is used for university events such as Class Day, Commencement, First-Year Assembly, Bulldog Days, and special events such as the Yale Climate Conference with John Kerry. Rental to external organizations is limited, usually only to local organizations such as the New Haven International Arts and Ideas Festival and/or large-scale musical groups such as the New Haven Symphony Orchestra (Purcell).

Woolsey Hall is famous for the Newberry Memorial Organ, which is considered one of the best concert organs in the country. The construction of the organ was overseen by Benjamin Jepson, the first University Organist. The organ originally built by Hutchings-Votey Company in 1902 was rebuilt by Steere & Son in 1915, then enlarged and reconditioned by the Skinner Company in 1928 (Murray). Pipe organs have a historic role of being municipal instruments, bringing music to towns or cities that don’t have their own symphony orchestra (Dzeda). Benjamin Jepson’s commitment to building and perfecting the Newberry Memorial Organ could be interpreted as part of Yale’s attempt to form larger ties to the city as it expands. One could also argue that major changes to Woolsey Hall is partially curtailed by the significance of the Newberry Memorial Organ and the challenges it poses to renovation.

Management of Commons, Memorial Hall, and Woolsey Hall appears to be done by several different Yale departments. The significance of Schwarzman Center remains to be seen, especially as it faces opposition from both students and faculty (Yale Daily News).

The Bicentennial Buildings are found in Hewitt Quadrangle, on the southwest corner of College & Grove. John Russell Pope, an architect hired to plan the university’s expansion, intended Hewitt Quadrangle to be the “link that would unify the whole Yale campus.” (Pinnell). One entrance faces the south side of campus (Old Campus and Cross Campus), while the other entrance directly faces the scientific schools. The Memorial Hall is somewhat reminiscent of Osborn Hall, opening on the corner of College and Chapel, where Bingham Hall is currently located. While Osborn Hall opened to the rest of New Haven, Memorial Hall opened to the rest of Yale.

The Neoclassical building situated in the center of campus is an anomaly that implies a monumentality to the structure. The whites of Hewitt Quadrangle contrasted with the red bricks of Yale’s Collegiate Gothic structures emphasized “the dawn of a new age” and the “grandeur of scale” represents both the expansion and unification of the university (Mills Brown). Furthermore, the Memorial rotunda bears a striking resemblance to Bramante’s Tempietto. However, the Tempietto is situated in the courtyard of San Pietro in Montorio, while the Memorial rotunda occupies a street corner. Brown argues that the placement of the rotunda was meant to turn “a difficult corner that is not quite a right angle” and to control “the long flanking wings” that is Commons and Woolsey. We could also argue that the rotunda, the most distinguishable of the three structures, was placed conspicuously at a street corner as Yale’s attempt to assert its presence in the city as it becomes a fully-realized university.