Davenport College

As one walks along York Street, the tall, expansive Gothic façade of Davenport College is impossible to miss. After entering the metal gates of its main entrance, however, one might be slightly confused, as if one has entered an unexpected realm that is vastly different from the exterior façade. The heart of the College is composed of a great, Georgian-style quadrangle. Designed by architect James Gamble Rogers (B.A. 1889) and completed in 1933, Davenport College is one of the fourteen – and a member of the original twelve – residential colleges at Yale University¹. The college contains dormitories, a dining hall, a library, Fellows’ rooms, administrative offices, and a Head of College house.

Davenport’s first-year undergraduate students live in Welch Hall on Old Campus; sophomores, juniors, and seniors have guaranteed housing in the College, unless they choose to live off-campus. Students live in “suites” and have access to a range of amenity rooms in the Davenport basement, including a student buttery/snack shop known as “The Dive,” a game and tv room, a letterpress print-shop, a student kitchen, a pottery studio, a digital media arts center, a dance studio, and a small auditorium.² Aside from housing the undergraduate students, Davenport also serves as the home to the Dean, the Head of College (formerly known as the “Master” until 2016), graduate affiliates, and resident fellows.³