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Jewett House

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History

In 1902, Vassar College in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, completed Davison House, the fourth dorm in the college's residential quadrangle (quad).[1] Enrollment was limited to 1,000 students by 1905 and the college saw a need to further expand the number of dorms available so it approved the creation of a new one using college funds (versus the donor funds that paid for Strong and Davison Houses).[2]

The dormitory was known as North Hall upon its opening. However, in 1915, the college's semicentennial, no donor had stepped forward to help fund the dormitory's construction and Vassar renamed the building Milo Jewett House after Milo P. Jewett.[2][3] Jewett served as Vassar's first president from his election to the office in February 1861 until his departure from the college in spring 1894 after a dispute with the school's founder and namesake, Matthew Vassar. Although instrumental in the providing a vision for the college, Vassar did not open until 1865 meaning Jewett never had the chance to oversee its student body.[4]

Architecture and features

Lewis Pilcher of the architectural firm Pilcher and Tachau served as an art professor at Vassar between 1900 and 1911; his firm was responsible for the design of the house.[5] Jewett was built at the north end of the residential quad, northwest of Lathrop House and northeast of Davison House.[6][7] Later projects saw the erection of the Students' Building (1913) to Jewett's east and Josselyn House (1912) to its west.[6][8] It is the only building on the quad, including Rockefeller Hall, with its main facade facing inward.[7]

The dormitory, constructed from brick and stone, consists of a four-story U-shaped main body with a nine-story tower built ostensibly "to help campus water pressure."[2] Construction on the house wrapped up in 1907.[5] Historian Elizabeth A. Daniels notes that while Jewett's design is "generally Tudor in spirit",[2] it contrasts with the rest of the dorms on the quad which are Elizabethan in style.[2][9] Wooden structural support elements are minimal in the house, with the dormitory instead relying on steel and concrete.[7] Instead of using stone for decorative exterior elements including trim and faces, as was common at the time of construction, Pilcher utilized terracotta.[10] Other external features include a pitched copper roof with a low slope, limestone-surrounded entrances, crenellations, and light red brick.[11][12] According to architectural writers Karen Van Lengen and Lisa Reilly, the tower's presence "created a more monumental and less homelike impression than that of its neighbor, Josselyn" which they speculate may have earned the dorm its nickname, "Pilcher's Crime".[10]

Upon opening, the house featured two dining rooms[2] with student rooms arranged along lengthy hallways radiating from the center of the structure. The nine tower floors were only accessible via the ground level, from the dorm's primary entrance hall.[7]

Jewett is co-ed[13] with a capacity of 195 students.[3] Students of any grade may live in the house, in either single rooms, one-room doubles, one-room triples, two-room doubles, or suites.[14]

References

  1. ^ Bruno & Daniels 2001, p. 39.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Daniels 1987, p. 33.
  3. ^ a b "Jewett House". Office of Residential Life. Vassar College. Archived from the original on August 17, 2015. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  4. ^ Van Lengen & Reilly 2004, pp. 4–10.
  5. ^ a b Bruno & Daniels 2001, p. 44.
  6. ^ a b Vassar College Standard Map (PDF) (Map). Poughkeepsie, NY: Vassar College. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  7. ^ a b c d Van Lengen & Reilly 2004, p. 80.
  8. ^ Van Lengen & Reilly 2004, pp. 78–86.
  9. ^ Thompson, Samantha (February 17, 2011). "Two years past renovation, Davison comes to life". The Miscellany News. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  10. ^ a b Van Lengen & Reilly 2004, p. 81.
  11. ^ Van Lengen & Reilly 2004, pp. 80–81.
  12. ^ Platt et al. 2007, pp. 45–46.
  13. ^ "The Houses". Office of Residential Life. Vassar College. Archived from the original on August 17, 2015. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  14. ^ Murray, Goldsmith, & Falcone 2011, Dormitories.

Cited

  • Bruno, Maryann; Daniels, Elizabeth A. (2001). Vassar College. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-0454-4.
  • Daniels, Elizabeth A. (1987). Main to Mudd: An Informal History of Vassar College Buildings. Poughkeepsie, NY: Vassar College. ISBN 0-916663-01-9. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Murray, Sam; Goldsmith, Emily; Falcone, Rachel (2011). Vassar College 2012. Pittsburgh: College Prowler. ISBN 978-1-4274-0684-2.
  • Platt Byard Dovell White Architects (June 15, 2007). "Vassar College Historic Preservation Design Manual" (PDF). Society for College and University Planning. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  • Van Lengen, Karen; Reilly, Lisa (2004). The Campus Guide: Vassar College. New York City: Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 1-56898-349-2.
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