New Digs: Coming Soon
Connecticut College is building its first new student housing since the 1960s.
In 1915, the very first Connecticut College students moved trunks of belongings into the Blackstone and Plant residence houses, two of a set of three newly constructed stone buildings with ornate curved wooden doors on the brand-new campus. They offered rooms for 78 of the pioneering young women who made up Conn’s very first class, “complete with running water, comfortable wicker furniture, and bright bedspreads and draperies.” There were strict rules about visitors and appropriate dress (bloomers could be worn to and from physical education classes, but were not permitted in New London Hall or the dining hall), and “absolutely nothing” was to be tacked on the walls or woodwork except by special permission from the director of residence or the president.
Things were a bit different in the mid-1960s, when Conn opened its most recently constructed student residences—the four buildings that make up “the Plex,” including Lambdin and Hamilton, which welcomed their first residents on a snowy evening in February of 1962, and Lazrus House, which opened in 1964. Those students brought radios and record players to sing along to Shelley Fabares’s Johnny Angel or let loose to Dee Dee Sharp’s Mashed Potato Time, and they were allowed to wear slacks or jeans to dinner—on Fridays. Times were changing, yet humans had yet to land on the moon, there was no such thing as the internet and Conn’s first male students wouldn’t arrive for a few more years.
Today’s students arrive on campus looking for a more modern living experience. While much has changed—they wear whatever they want to the dining halls; bring laptops, cell phones, TVs and minifridges; and are welcome to decorate their walls (with removable adhesives)—the residence hall options have remained largely unchanged.
Until now.
“I am thrilled to announce that Connecticut College will be building its first new student housing in more than six decades,” President Andrea E. Chapdelaine recently announced to the campus community. “This is a very long period of time in which our peers were modernizing their housing and providing options for more independent living for their upper-level students. I am so excited for Conn to do the same.”
In May, the Board of Trustees unanimously voted to move forward with a plan to build townhome/apartment-style residences for approximately 240 students. The new housing will provide upper-level students with flexible independent living options and create a cohesive, accessible, neighborhood-style residential environment that fosters community and connection.
“As our students enter their junior and senior years, they are ready for greater autonomy and the opportunity to create a housing cluster with their friend groups,” Chapdelaine said.
“By providing that opportunity on campus, our students will be able to continue to grow in independence and self-reliance, while still immersing themselves fully in the Conn community. This will not only enhance their time at Conn and deepen their relationships with their peers, but also better prepare them for life after graduation.”
