Memorial Quadrangle
Encyclopedia
The Memorial Quadrangle at Yale University
, USA, was donated by Anna M. Harkness
with Harkness Tower
named in memory of her son, Charles Harkness
, Yale Class of 1883. Commissioned from James Gamble Rogers
to supply much-needed student housing, the Quadrangle now consists of Saybrook College
and Branford College
colleges. It was built over a period from 1917 to 1921, with the cornerstone laid on 8 October 1917, the anniversary of the first New Haven collegiate building's timber frame in 1717.
James S. Hedden was the contractor's supervisor for the project and a collection of his works consists of photographs documenting the excavation and construction of Memorial Quadrangle
at Yale. The works are located at Yale's Manuscripts and Archives Library and contain views which include photographs of completed decorations and interiors, models, the installation of millstones and bells, assignment plans, and the construction of the fan vault
ceiling in the Memorial Room of Harkness Tower
.
The Quadrangle contains Harkness Tower
, the most visible symbol of Yale on the New Haven
skyscape, which is placed on an axis which unifies it to the Old Campus
. As initially built, the Quadrangle contained dorm rooms for 630 students laid out to frame eight courtyards. The dry moats with their low walls, now a frequent architectural theme at Yale, were introduced in this building. They were planted with ivy
, flowers, and trees by landscape architect Beatrix Jones Farrand with an eye to increased privacy as well as street beautification. The Memorial Room in Harkness Tower contains the first fan vault ceiling built in the United States—indeed, it is the first built since the 13th century.
There are six courtyards in the quadrangle: Branford Court, Brothers in Unity Court, Linonia
Brothers Court, Caliope Court, Saybrook Court, and Killingworth Court. (The first four are part of Branford College. The latter two are part of Saybrook College. Brothers in Unity and Linonia Brothers are considered precursors to present-day Yale societies.)
From 1917 to 1933 the building consisted of senior housing. In 1933, a donation from Edward Harkness
began the residential college system at Yale, splitting the Quadrangle into its two colleges, and adding midsized elements such as masters' houses, fellow's quarters, and dining halls. Harkness had also donated the funds for a residential college system at Harvard
, arguably making him Harvard's most important benefactor.
During the conversion, the "Gold Coast" of student rooms in the middle of the Quadrangle was hollowed out to make way for the Saybrook College dining hall.
G. Owen Bonawit
decorated each student room with a small pane of stained glass
.
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, USA, was donated by Anna M. Harkness
Anna M. Harkness
Anna M. Richardson was an American philanthropist.She married Stephen Vanderburgh Harkness, a harnessmaker of Cleveland, in 1851. They were parents of Charles William Harkness and Edward Stephen Harkness. Harkness senior invested with John D. Rockefeller and became the second-largest shareholder...
with Harkness Tower
Harkness Tower
Harkness Tower is a prominent Collegiate Gothic structure at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States.The tower was constructed between 1917 and 1921 as part of the Memorial Quadrangle donated to Yale by Anna M. Harkness in honor of her recently deceased son, Charles William...
named in memory of her son, Charles Harkness
Charles W. Harkness
Charles William Harkness was the son of Stephen V. Harkness, an original investor in the company that became Standard Oil, and his second wife, the former Anna M. Richardson....
, Yale Class of 1883. Commissioned from James Gamble Rogers
James Gamble Rogers
James Gamble Rogers was an American architect best known for his academic commissions at Yale University, Columbia University, Northwestern University, and elsewhere....
to supply much-needed student housing, the Quadrangle now consists of Saybrook College
Saybrook College
Saybrook College is one of the 12 residential colleges at Yale University. It was founded in 1933 by partitioning the Memorial Quadrangle into two parts: Saybrook and Branford....
and Branford College
Branford College
Branford College is the oldest of the 12 residential colleges at Yale University.-The Founding of Branford:Branford College was founded in 1933 by partitioning the Memorial Quadrangle into two parts: Saybrook and Branford...
colleges. It was built over a period from 1917 to 1921, with the cornerstone laid on 8 October 1917, the anniversary of the first New Haven collegiate building's timber frame in 1717.
James S. Hedden was the contractor's supervisor for the project and a collection of his works consists of photographs documenting the excavation and construction of Memorial Quadrangle
Quadrangle (architecture)
In architecture, a quadrangle is a space or courtyard, usually rectangular in plan, the sides of which are entirely or mainly occupied by parts of a large building. The word is probably most closely associated with college or university campus architecture, but quadrangles may be found in other...
at Yale. The works are located at Yale's Manuscripts and Archives Library and contain views which include photographs of completed decorations and interiors, models, the installation of millstones and bells, assignment plans, and the construction of the fan vault
Fan vault
thumb|right|250px|Fan vaulting over the nave at Bath Abbey, Bath, England. Made from local Bath stone, this is a [[Victorian restoration]] of the original roof of 1608....
ceiling in the Memorial Room of Harkness Tower
Harkness Tower
Harkness Tower is a prominent Collegiate Gothic structure at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States.The tower was constructed between 1917 and 1921 as part of the Memorial Quadrangle donated to Yale by Anna M. Harkness in honor of her recently deceased son, Charles William...
.
The Quadrangle contains Harkness Tower
Harkness Tower
Harkness Tower is a prominent Collegiate Gothic structure at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States.The tower was constructed between 1917 and 1921 as part of the Memorial Quadrangle donated to Yale by Anna M. Harkness in honor of her recently deceased son, Charles William...
, the most visible symbol of Yale on the New Haven
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
skyscape, which is placed on an axis which unifies it to the Old Campus
Old Campus
The Old Campus is a complex of buildings at Yale University on the block at the northwest end of the green in New Haven, Connecticut, consisting of dormitories, classrooms, chapels and offices...
. As initially built, the Quadrangle contained dorm rooms for 630 students laid out to frame eight courtyards. The dry moats with their low walls, now a frequent architectural theme at Yale, were introduced in this building. They were planted with ivy
Ivy
Ivy, plural ivies is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and across central-southern Asia east to Japan and Taiwan.-Description:On level ground they...
, flowers, and trees by landscape architect Beatrix Jones Farrand with an eye to increased privacy as well as street beautification. The Memorial Room in Harkness Tower contains the first fan vault ceiling built in the United States—indeed, it is the first built since the 13th century.
There are six courtyards in the quadrangle: Branford Court, Brothers in Unity Court, Linonia
Linonian Society
Linonia is a literary and debating society founded in 1753 at Yale University.-History:Linonia was founded in 1753 as Yale University's second literary and debating society. By the late eighteenth century, all incoming freshmen at Yale College became members either of Linonia or its rival society,...
Brothers Court, Caliope Court, Saybrook Court, and Killingworth Court. (The first four are part of Branford College. The latter two are part of Saybrook College. Brothers in Unity and Linonia Brothers are considered precursors to present-day Yale societies.)
From 1917 to 1933 the building consisted of senior housing. In 1933, a donation from Edward Harkness
Edward Harkness
Edward Stephen Harkness was an American philanthropist. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, one of four sons to Stephen V. Harkness, a harness-maker who invested in the forerunner of Standard Oil, John D. Rockefeller's oil company. Harkness inherited a fortune from his father...
began the residential college system at Yale, splitting the Quadrangle into its two colleges, and adding midsized elements such as masters' houses, fellow's quarters, and dining halls. Harkness had also donated the funds for a residential college system at Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, arguably making him Harvard's most important benefactor.
During the conversion, the "Gold Coast" of student rooms in the middle of the Quadrangle was hollowed out to make way for the Saybrook College dining hall.
G. Owen Bonawit
G. Owen Bonawit
G. Owen Bonawit was an artist whose studio created thousands of pieces of stained glass for Yale, Duke, and Northwestern universities; Connecticut College; and at private homes. There are, by one count, 887 pieces in Yale's Sterling Memorial Library. Bonawit worked often and closely with the...
decorated each student room with a small pane of stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
.