Albert Arnold Sprague Memorial Hall

Sitting near the center of campus at the intersection of College Street, Wall Street, and Alexander Walk, Sprague Hall is a relatively modest red brick building of three stories. Since its construction in 1917, it has served as the home of the Yale School of Music and Morse Recital Hall, a grand, all-white space that has hosted a variety of classical performances throughout the years (6). Sprague Hall also contains all the facilities prospective and current musicians might need, from practice and rehearsal rooms to recording studios and teaching spaces. Since its inception, the building has been described as “an architecture treasure” on Yale’s campus, and indeed, no building nearby quite resembles it (8).

Approaching the building along Alexander Walk, one will find their field of view slowly filled by the long expanse of Sprague Hall’s northern facade. The red brick wall is largely unadorned save for a line of stone that delineates the first and second floors from the exterior. Looking up, though, one might notice the large arched windows that allow plentiful amounts of light into the central recital hall and the ornaments that seem to hold the roof to the wall.

Turning the corner onto College Street, one will see a short cascading set of stairs that lead up to three dark, double wooden doors inlaid with small glass panes. These doors form the main entrance of Sprague Hall, and next to it is a concrete block with the building’s name, the words “Yale School of Music”, and the Yale School of Music’s emblem engraved in it. The front of Sprague Hall is similar to its side except for some extra details in the walls befitting the main face of such a building. Overall, this relatively simple yet impressive structure reflects the music that is performed in it. From Schubert’s playful sonatas to Beethoven’s resounding concertos, harmonious melodies resonate throughout a building that is able to capture their essence and reflect them as an image to the outside world.