Durfee Hall – Old Campus

Durfee Hall, completed in 1871, was one of the first major dormitories built during Yale’s transformation from a colonial college into a modern university. Designed by Russell Sturgis in a robust High Victorian Gothic style, it introduced a more architecturally expressive and comfortable form of student housing compared with the simpler brick halls of earlier decades. Its prominent position on the newly planned Old Campus made it a visual anchor, and its large windows, bay projections, and generous common rooms quickly made it one of the most coveted residences. Durfee has housed generations of first-year students and remains known for its dramatic facade facing the Old Campus quadrangle.