The facilities at Middlebury—academic, residential, artistic, and athletic—are among the very best in the country. The College has engaged in an ambitious building program that has resulted in an expanded athletic complex, new and renovated student residences, and academic buildings.
ACADEMIC FACILITIES
Adirondack House houses the Department of American Studies, the Career Services Office, and Commons Administration Office. Originally known as Battell Cottage, Adirondack House was once a traditional Victorian farmhouse. Acquired by the College in 1909, along with Twitchell farm, the house was meant to serve as part of the College's women's campus, providing space for a large dining hall. Today, that dining space is known as Coltrane Lounge.
The Armstrong Library in McCardell Bicentennial Hall houses the science collection of over 100,000 volumes, including bound journals and government documents, as well as monographs. The library supports the departments of biology, chemistry, computer science, geography, geology, physics, and psychology, and the environmental studies program. It currently subscribes to over 350 journals in these areas. Important indexing and abstracting services, such as the Web of Science and Medline, are networked, affording the most current access to scientific literature. The library is named in honor of past President and Mrs. James I. Armstrong.
Donald E. Axinn ’51 Center for Literary and Cultural Studies at Starr Library honors the College’s past and serves its future as the new home of the College’s distinguished literary and cultural studies departments. The century-old Beaux Arts Starr Library was restored to its original luster and provides glorious spaces for study and reflection, while the International Style-addition—one of the most important modernist structures in Vermont—was restored and transformed into classrooms and seminar rooms. Two new wings and a glass enclosed Winter Garden provide space for faculty offices, classrooms, seminar rooms, a screening room, and production and editing studios. The departments of history, English and American literatures, and film and media culture, as well as the programs in American studies, literary studies, and creative writing are located here.
Janet Halstead Franklin '72 and Churchill G. Franklin
'71 Environmental Center at Hillcrest, instead of constructing a new building for its extensive environmental programs, the College created a model of resource and energy efficiency through the adaptive reuse of Hillcrest, an 1875 Vermont farmhouse.
The Franklin Center at Hillcrest opened in 2007. A key feature is a technologically advanced lecture hall that seats 100, which provides space for the weekly Howard E. Woodin Environmental Studies Colloquium Series, as well as for classes and lectures.
The deconstruction and renovation of the original building and the construction of two additions used environmentally sustainable processes. More than 80 percent of the deconstructed materials were reused and recycled, and countertops, desktops, carpeting, and ceiling panels are made from recycled materials. Many of the materials were obtained locally—slate for floors and roofs, stone for the foundation and stone walls from the town of Panton, granite from Barre, and Forest Stewardship Council-certified hardwood trim and flooring from College-owned forests.
The building’s energy systems include room-occupancy sensors that turn lights on and off, optimized day lighting and cross-ventilation in new spaces, and high-efficiency lighting. A geothermal system cools classroom spaces, saving energy and reducing the College’s carbon emissions.
John M. McCardell Jr. Bicentennial Hall , a 220,000-square-foot building completed in 1999, houses seven academic departments—biology, chemistry and biochemistry, computer science, geography, geology, physics, and psychology. Considered to be one of the most ecologically sensitive buildings of its type (much of the material used in the construction was made from recycled natural products, all the wood used was harvested and processed in an ecologically sensitive manner, and many other energy-efficient features were incorporated), it is also one of the most technologically advanced buildings in New England. Designed by Payette and Associates of Boston, McCardell Bicentennial Hall features over a dozen informal learning spaces and study lounges that are popular destinations for all students. The building was named in honor of John M. McCardell Jr., the 15th president of Middlebury College, at the time he stepped down from the presidency in 2004 after 13 years in office.
Specialized scientific equipment located in McCardell Bicentennial Hall includes: Geographic Information Systems (GIS) laboratory, rooftop observatory with a 24-inch telescope, scanning electron microscope, laser spectroscopy laboratories, a lake studies and oceanographic lab, a 400 MHz nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer, and an inductively coupled atomic emission spectrometer.
The Bread Loaf Campus comes alive each summer with the prestigious Bread Loaf School of English(late June through early August) and Bread Loaf Writers' Conference(late August) taking up residence. At other times of the year, the campus is used to house alumni returning for reunion and other College events, as well as parents for Fall Family Weekends and Commencement. In the winter, the grounds are used by Middlebury's cross-country ski facility, Rikert Ski Touring Center. Joseph Battell, horse breeder, newspaper proprietor, and nature lover, willed the original mountain and forest area comprising the Bread Loaf campus to the College in 1915. The Bread Loaf Inn (1882) and other buildings were originally constructed to house Battell's summer guests.
Chellis House, the May Belle Chellis Women's Resource Center was established in 1993 and was named after the first woman to be graduated from Middlebury in 1886. The center strives to enhance the academic experience of all Middlebury students, faculty, and staff but also to provide a warm and welcoming space where women and men can discuss, research, and address gender issues. The center provides academic resources and general information on current events, job and internship opportunities, academic opportunities, and health issues. Chellis House also serves as a meeting place for the diverse student, faculty, and staff groups that exist at the college. The center houses two faculty offices and the Alison Fraker Reading Room. This reading room is a developing resource library on gender and women's issues.
Stephen A. Freeman International Center was originally built in 1970 as a group of three smaller dining facilities (Cook, Freeman, Hamlin) collectively called the Social Dining Units. It was renamed in 1993 in honor of Stephen Freeman who served as professor of French from 1925-1970. In addition to smaller dining venues, the Freeman International Center provides space for the German and Russian departments, offices for the Bread Loaf School of English, classrooms, and a theater department rehearsal space.
Christian A. Johnson Memorial Building is home of the history of art and architecture department and the studio art program. In addition to classroom and lecture hall spaces, Johnson houses studio spaces and the slide library. Every year, Johnson hosts an art exhibition by graduating studio art majors. Constructed in 1968, the Christian A. Johnson Memorial Building is limestone on the outside, with grand spaces in unadorned concrete on the inside, consistent with the Brutalist aesthetic in which it was designed.
The Robert A. Jones '59 House provides offices for the Rohatyn Center for International Affairs, an internationally oriented resource and research center that supports the College's goal of advancing global understanding that radiates from a core linguistic and cultural competency. The Robert A. Jones '59 House also holds the offices of many professors of political science and economics. The Seminar Room, located on the second floor of the building, has seen some outstanding seminars, lectures, and round-table discussions by well-known political and global personalities, as well as Middlebury's own students. Formerly Geonomics House, in 2001 this structure was dedicated in honor of Robert A. Jones '59.
The new library opened in the summer of 2004. The three-story, 135,000-square-foot structure was designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates of New York City to bring together the College's print, media, and electronic information resources and services in a single accessible and user-friendly facility. It provides for decades of projected growth of the central library (that numbers some 470,000 volumes of books and journals), including more than 2,000 journal subscriptions, as well as the distinguished Julian W. Abernethy Collection of American Literature (including papers of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Robert Frost), Rare Books and Manuscripts, the College Archives, the Vermont Collection, and the Government Documents repository.
Access to the campus computing network and the Internet is provided from any of 730 seats at carrels and tables, and in group studies, media viewing areas, multimedia laboratories, smart classrooms, and a 24-hour study/café. Its range of resource services—reference, interlibrary loan, information technology, and media resources—facilitates the interactive, collaborative learning central to study in the liberal arts. This vital information hub is designed internally for clarity of organization and ease of physical and technological reconfiguration in order to respond to whatever direction libraries and educational technology take in the new century. At the same time its monumental and lively atrium proclaims the library's central importance in the life of the College, while its upper-level reading rooms celebrate its sense of place with vistas eastward to the Green Mountains and westward to the historic core of the campus.
Munroe Hall is the heart of many academic departments of the College. Economics, political science, sociology and anthropology, and religion faculty have offices in Munroe. Completed in 1941, Munroe was named after Charles Andrew Munroe '1896, a Middlebury native and trustee of the College.
Old Chapel was both formal and frugal at the time of construction. Its facade was of carefully dressed stone. Here joiner Asahel Parsons indulged in some stylish Greek revival detailing. The iron stair railing, the doorway with its transom and sidelights, the plastered cupola, and the palmette weather vane, were derived from a builder's guide like Asher Benjamin's Practice of Architecture of 1833. Built in 1836, Old Chapel was the second building of the planned Old Stone Row, and for a century the main classroom building. Students attended early morning chapel on the third floor. Since 1941, Old Chapel has been the administrative center, with the president's and other offices, the Old Chapel Room, and two seminar rooms.
Sunderland Language Centeris a busy center for students, both during the academic year and during the summer Language Schools. In addition to housing offices for the Language Schools, C.V. Starr-Middlebury Schools Abroad, Off-Campus Study, and some Media Services staff, Sunderland offers film/video editing studios and computer laboratories. Adjacent to the Sunderland Language Center is the Charles A. Dana Auditorium, the largest auditorium on campus. It hosts large events, as well as regular film showings for all students. The Sunderland Language Center was built with support from the Charles A. Dana Foundation in 1965.
Built in 1867, Twilight Hall occupies the site of the original Addison County Grammar School, chartered in 1797. It was occupied in 1800 by the College and was known as East College. The present brick building was bought by the College from the school district, completely renovated, and renamed in 1986. Alexander Twilight, Middlebury 1823, was the first American of African descent to graduate from any United States college. He became a minister and teacher in Vermont. The building now houses a video-lecture hall, classrooms, and departmental offices for classics, philosophy, and teacher education.
Voter Hall has residential spaces on the upper floors that primarily serve seniors, and the lower levels include a mix of offices for faculty, administrative staff, and information technology staff. Voter Hall opened in 1913 as a chemistry building. It served thus for nearly six decades until renovated in 1970 for administrative offices on the ground floor and residential suites on the upper floors. In 1990, Voter was refurbished again, to encompass a computer center, administrative offices, and residential suites. Voter Hall was named for Perley Voter, the longtime chair of the chemistry department.
Warner Hall was built in 1901, the result of a gift from Ezra J. Warner '1861, as a memorial to his father, once a trustee of the College. Warner Hall was Middlebury's first building consisting only of classrooms, with large well-lit rooms and a lecture hemicycle. Renovated in 1977, Warner now houses lecture halls and offices for the departments of mathematics and economics.
ARTS FACILITIES
The Kevin P. Mahaney '84 Center for the Arts is a 100,000-square-foot building that opened in 1992 that provides offices and state-of-the-art spaces for the dance, music, and theatre programs. These include a spacious dance theatre and rehearsal studio, dressing rooms, student lounge, an anatomy lab, and offices for faculty and staff. Video and sound recording equipment are available for use in rehearsals and for performance.
A 375-seat Concert Hall, in the Kevin P. Mahaney '84 Center for the Arts, has an exquisite acoustical space with 27-by-40-foot elliptical stage that serves as the venue for most of the Performing Arts Series. An adjacent rehearsal hall and ranks of practice studios accommodate individual and group music teaching and practice.
The Music Library, in the Kevin P. Mahaney '84 Center for the Arts, is devoted solely to collecting materials for the study of all types of music. There are full scores, miniature and study scores, vocal scores and parts, as well as representative selections of the complete works of composers and historical editions. The library maintains a significant collection of performance materials, LPs and CDs, and videos on VHS and DVD of operas, musicals, musical performances, documentaries about music, and music instructional videos. The Helen Hartness Flanders Ballad Collection is an archive of recordings and other primary-source materials documenting the vanishing tradition of the English-language folk ballad.
The Seeler Studio Theatre , in the Kevin P. Mahaney '84 Center for the Arts, is a modern black-box theatre with flexible seating for up to 200 audience members, a full catwalk system, and a fully equipped shop, green room, and costume shop adjacent to it.
Middlebury College Museum of Art , in the Kevin P. Mahaney '84 Center for the Arts, has a collection of several thousand objects, from antiquities through contemporary art, with particular strengths in photography, 19th-century European and American sculpture, and contemporary prints. A survey of objects from the permanent collection is always on view, with separate galleries devoted exclusively to the 19th and the 20th century.
The Christian A. Johnson Memorial Gallery, located in the museum, shows changing exhibitions throughout the year. Organized by the museum and on loan from other institutions, these exhibitions enrich and supplement the museum collection. An annual exhibition features works by the College's graduating art studio majors.
Wright Memorial Theatre is a 350-seat proscenium theatre with a full fly system, lighting grid, and removable forestage. It is adjacent to a fully equipped scene shop. In addition to being the largest and most popular theatre on campus, italso holds offices and classrooms for the film/video program. Wright theatre is often the site for large productions put on by guest artists, Middlebury's own theatre program, and participants in the summer Language Schools. Built in 1959, the theatre is named for Charles B. Wright, professor of English from 1885 until 1920.
ATHLETIC FACILITIES
The Peterson Family Athletics Complex includes the following facilities:
Chip Kenyon '85 Arena , completed in 1999, is Middlebury's hockey home. It sports a 200-by-95-foot ice surface and seats 2,200. Spectators sit in comfort with the rink heated to 55 degrees as they enjoy state-of-the-art lighting and sound systems. A full concessions area is located at the rink concourse and entry-corridor levels. The rink also boasts a 3,200-square-foot lounge with a balcony overlooking the Green Mountains.
The Natatorium, a 50-meter-by-25-yard Olympic-size swimming pool, is the home for Middlebury's men's and women's swimming and diving teams. The pool has 18 lanes—9 with competition timing capabilities— two one-meter diving boards, and two three-meter diving boards. In addition to team competition, the facility is used for recreational purposes, such as water polo, basketball, and volleyball.
Pepin Gymnasium was given a major face-lift in 2001. A skylight was installed, as well as a new floor, bleachers, lighting system, and a new entrance. It is host to Middlebury's men's and women's varsity basketball teams, as well as the women's varsity volleyball team. The gym contains three full basketball courts and accommodates up to 1,200 spectators for basketball.
Nelson Recreation Center was given a major face-lift in 2001. A skylight was installed, as well as a new multiple-use floor, enhanced lighting system, and a new climbing wall. Nelson Recreation Center contains three full basketball courts overlaying four tennis courts, which can also be used for volleyball or badminton, and netted area for golf. During fall and spring seasons, the men's and women's tennis teams play in this facility.
The Fitness Center is one of the finest of its kind in New England. The 9,200-square-foot facility contains 35 pieces of aerobic equipment, a full Nautilus circuit, a hammer circuit, and extensive free weight and dumbbell areas. Overlooking the Green Mountains, the center provides a great area for Middlebury students to stay in shape.
"The Bubble" Field House , an air-supported structure adjoining Memorial Field House, contains an indoor track, tennis, and squash courts. This building is used by physical education classes and for recreational, intramural, and intercollegiate sports. During the spring, Middlebury's varsity teams use the facility during inclement weather.
Other athletic facilities include:
The Allan Dragone Track and Field Complex provides Middlebury with an eight-lane track comprised of a full-depth, 13-mm, dual-derometer, polyurethane martin surface. The jumping areas are dual-direction parallel runways. The women's soccer team uses the inside of the track in the fall.
Forbes Baseball Field is one of the finest baseball facilities in New England. The composition of the field insures the team the earliest possible opportunity to play. Along with excellent drainage, the field includes an in-ground sprinkler system, an electric scoreboard, dugouts, and a panoramic view of the Green Mountains.
Peter Kohn Field , with a 240-by-360-foot all-weather surface, affords teams use of an outdoor playing field during inclement weather and in the early spring when the ground may be snow covered. The surface is fully lined for men's and women's lacrosse, as well as field hockey, football, and soccer. The Astroturf XL system is the newest, most advanced synthetic turf, chosen more often than all its competitors combined.
Youngman Field at Alumni Stadium (1991) is set in the ground with hillsides surrounding the field. The 3,500 seats overlook Middlebury's outdoor facilities and the Green Mountains. In the fall the stadium houses the Panther football team, while hosting the men's and women's lacrosse teams in the spring.
The Ralph Myhre Golf Course . Middlebury is one of the few schools in the country that can boast a beautiful 18-hole golf course on campus. The course was built in the early 1930s and expanded to 18 holes in 1978. The par 71 course is laid out over rolling terrain. Its scenic views of the Green Mountains and challenging holes make it one of the finest golf courses in the state. The 3.5 km Kelly cross-country ski and jogging trail circles the course.
Caroll and Jane Rikert Ski Touring Center is based at Middlebury College's Bread Loaf campus and offers a mixture of groomed and wilderness trails. It has a full-service ski shop and provides professional Nordic ski instruction.
The Middlebury College Snow Bowl is located two miles up the mountain from the Rikert Ski Touring Center and is situated on 110 acres of open terrain with trails and glades serving all abilities. Access is gained via two double chairlifts and a triple chair. About 35 percent of the open terrain has snowmaking coverage. With 15 trails (one of which is a dedicated school trail), two glades, a large climbing area, and a terrain park, the Snow Bowl offers uncrowded skiing and riding to all abilities at an affordable price. With state-of-the-art grooming, a full-service rental shop, professionally staffed ski school, renowned racing program, and excellent and inexpensive food in the recently renovated Neil Starr Shelter, and you can see why so many people call the Bowl "their" ski area.
RESIDENTIAL AND STUDENT LIFE FACILITIES
Carr Hall, constructed of local limestone to harmonize with Forest and Munroe Halls, was originally used as the Fine Arts Building. It was built in 1951, in memory of Reid Langdon Carr, Class of 1901. Located on College Street, Carr Hall is currently being converted into a vibrant academic center committed to interdisciplinary and comparative approaches for understanding formations of race and ethnicity and their effects on human relations. The primary focus of the center will be the study of race and ethnicity as intersecting with topics such as class, gender, sexuality, religion, and migration in a transnational context; and to develop academic programming for the entire college community and support scholarship and research related to these areas of study. The center will house an interdisciplinary team of faculty members and will function as a space for fostering and promoting academic dialogues around issues of diversity and social justice.
Emma Willard House serves as offices for undergraduate admissions and Student Financial Services. Campus tours leave from Emma Willard. Built in 1811 as the home of Dr. John and Emma Hart Willard, it was the site of Mrs. Willard's pioneering female seminary (1814-19), the first institution of higher education for women in the United States. Acquired by the College in 1959, it was declared a national historic site in 1966. It was renovated and expanded in 1986.
McCullough Student Center was originally constructed in 1912 as McCullough Gymnasium in order to attract more male applicants to the College. Renovated in 1998 into a student center, McCullough is the heart of student activity at the College, with offices for the Center for Campus Activities & Leadership, the Alliance for Civic Engagement, and Student Employment. McCullough also includes The Grille, a great on-campus location for casual dining. The Juice Bar on the first floor serves alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, ice creams and shakes. Midd-Express, the campus convenience store, is also in McCullough, adjacent to the campus U.S. mail service center and student mailboxes. The McCullough social space is the site for student parties and other special events and presentations.
Mead Memorial Chapel is located on the highest point of the campus, its spire symbolizing the aspiration of the College. The light that shines here nightly is seen throughout the valley. Over the portal are carved the words from Psalm 95:4, "The Strength of the Hills is His Also." Mead Memorial Chapel is the center of much activity. Convocation in September and Baccalaureate in May frame the academic year. The College Choir and the Chamber Choir present a broad repertoire of sacred and secular music throughout the year. The Chapel also hosts lectures, concerts, and other major public events. Mead Chapel was the gift of Dr. John A. Mead, Class of 1864. The Chapel, built in 1916, is a New England meetinghouse constructed of white marble with a Greek colonnade in front. The carillon was expanded from nine to 48 bells in 1986, thanks to a generous gift from Jane and Allan Dragone '50. The carillon plays regularly and can be heard throughout campus. The magnificent Gress-Miles organ, containing 50 ranks of pipes controlled by three manuals and pedal clavier, was installed in 1971. In 2000 a memorial was dedicated in the gallery above the narthex in honor of Middlebury's alumni who gave their lives in the nation's wars.
PALANA International Academic Interest House, established in the fall of 1991, the PALANA Intercultural Academic Interest House is a living/learning space dedicated to the principle that diversity and a larger worldview are integral parts of a complete academic, social and residential college experience. The PALANA residential experience offers students unique opportunities to learn, share ideas, and build community. Located at 97 Adirondack View, PALANA is home to eight students with demonstrated leadership and academic interest in diversity and intercultural issues.
Proctor Hall serves primarily as a student dining facility. The College Store, Brainerd Commons offices, WRMC Radio Stationand Redfield Proctor Dining Room are also found here. The TV lounge on the main floor and exterior terrace are very popular gathering places for students. Named for Redfield Proctor, trustee and devoted friend of the College, Proctor Hall was built in 1960.
ATWATER COMMONS
Allen Hall was completed in 1963 as a residence hall particularly suited to the establishment of separated language enclaves for the summer schools. It is named for Cecile Child Allen, 1901, and constructed of slate from her hometown of Fair Haven, Vermont.
Two new residence halls opened in the fall of 2004 as part of a comprehensive plan to enhance Atwater Commons. Featuring mostly four-bedroom suites that are stacked on top of one another like apartment "flats," the halls provide senior quality housing for 154 Atwater residents and include classrooms and a library for quiet study. Both buildings hug the outcroppings of ledge that extend north of the Commons, framing a New England style green and offering views beyond the campus.
Built in 1925,Le Château was one of the first and largest continuous "language houses" in the country, where students were pledged to the use of the foreign language of their study (in this case French). Modeled on the Pavillon Henri IV of the Château de Fontainebleau, it has a Grand Salon, a dining room, classrooms, and faculty offices. Le Château serves as the residence of 46 students.
Coffrin Hall is popularly known as the "barns" because of its gambrel-roofed pattern, reminiscent of classic dairy barns. Coffrin Hall was built in 1986, under the original name of North Hall. It was later renamed after trustee Albert W. Coffrin '1941.
Atwater Dining Hall is the third piece of the project that completed Atwater Commons in 2004. A spherically shaped structure that floats in the wood below Allen Hall and has a "green, vegetated" roof, the dining hall seats approximately 225 people, includes a lounge and a seminar room, and may be used to host a variety of academic and extracurricular activities.
BRAINERD COMMONS
Hepburn Hall is a five-story building housing mainly sophomores and juniors. Hepburn is situated at the top of the hill, between Mead Chapel and Stewart Hall, in close proximity to the McCullough Student Center. Built in 1916 to satisfy the urgent need for a more modern, fireproof dormitory, this gift of A. Barton Hepburn, Class of 1871, was built of yellow brick and housed Hepburn's hunting trophies in the lounge, which was nicknamed the Zoo. It received its gray paint, to coordinate with other campus buildings, in a renovation of 1958.
Stewart Hall is a first-year student residence hall situated at the top of the hill next to Hepburn, in close proximity to athletic and dining facilities and the McCullough Student Center. Stewart Hall, originally erected as a men's dormitory in 1956, was named in honor of the Stewart family of Middlebury, whose involvement with the College dated back to Ira Stewart (trustee, 1819-1855) and his sons: Dugald Stewart, 1842, and John Wolcott Stewart, 1846, trustee 1858-1915.
COOK COMMONS
Battell Hall is divided into three sections: North, Center and South. Due to its large size and location, it is split between two Commons. It serves as a first- year residence hall for both Wonnacott Commons and Cook Commons. Started in 1950 and finished in 1955, Battell Hall was named for local benefactor Joseph Battell (1839-1915).
Forest Hall houses Reprographics and Mailing Services, and 63 student suites on the upper levels. Built in 1936, this dormitory was financed by the sale, to the National Forest Service, of 21,858.9 acres of Green Mountain woodland left to the College by Joseph Battell in 1915.
Pearsons Hall was built in 1911 as a women's residence hall and headquarters of the dean of women. The first building on what was envisioned as a separate women's campus, it is named for Chicago philanthropist D.K. Pearsons, who encouraged and helped fund the project.
ROSS COMMONS
Brackett House, Brooker House, Palmer House,andPrescott House opened in the fall of 1997 and make up the Ridgeline Houses. Each house has space for 28 students. Brackett, Palmer, and Prescott serve as social houses during the academic year. Language Schools students and participants in other special programs use these houses during the summer months.
Kelly, Hadley, Lang,andMilliken Halls form a connected string of residences with a mix of single rooms, double- and multiple-person suites. Built in 1971 they were first called the "new dorms." The complex was extensively renovated in 1995.
LaForce Hall opened in the fall of 2002. LaForce was designed to provide high-quality housing for seniors. It accommodates 67 students in single rooms and suites. It is named for trustee Arnold R. LaForce '1935.
Ross Dining Hall opened in the fall of 2002 as the first dining facility designed specifically for the new Commons system. It features "display cooking," which allows students to assemble custom, freshly prepared meals every day.
WONNACOTT COMMONS
Battell Hall is divided into three sections: North, Center, and South. Due to its large size and location it is split between two Commons. It serves as a first-year residence hall for both Wonnacott Commons and Cook Commons. Started in 1950 and finished in 1955, Battell Hall was named for local benefactor Joseph Battell (1839-1915).
Gifford Hall , located at the top of the hill directly north of Mead Chapel, was built in 1940 as a memorial to James M. Gifford, 1877, a benefactor and trustee of the College. Gifford houses mostly sophomores and juniors in single rooms and four- and five-person suites.
Painter Hall , the oldest existing college building in Vermont, was recently placed on the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places due to its important historic and architectural value. Painter, which is the highlight of Old Stone Row, was built in 1815 and named for Gamaliel Painter, the founder and patron of Middlebury College and the town of Middlebury. Painter has housed students for its entire existence and is now the home to mostly seniors, in spacious single rooms and two-room doubles.
Starr Hall , also a member of Old Stone Row and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was completed in 1861. Starr is named for Peter Starr, a Middlebury attorney and trustee from 1819-1860, and is similar to Painter Hall architecturally. Starr houses mostly seniors in single and two-room doubles. It burned in 1864, and was rebuilt the next year. Starr replaced the old East College as a dormitory.
Voter Hall has residential spaces on the upper floors that primarily serve seniors. The lower levels provide space for offices for faculty, administrative staff, and information technology staff. Voter was originally built in 1913 as a chemistry building.