New West

New West

New West was built in the late 1850s as a dorm to house the expanding population of students. It was designed by architect William Percival to match New East, except that it is one story shorter. In what was an innovation at the time, the building did not include fireplaces in each room. Instead, they would be heated by a basement furnace and a system of pipes. It didn't work —the rooms on the bottom floor were much too hot while the top floors stayed cold. When the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies combined in 1959, they agreed to hold their meetings in New West. The building has had many different uses over the years. In the 1890s New West was home to university printing and a pharmaceutical lab. Departmental occupants have included music, psychology, computer science, and, most recently, Asian studies.

Date Established: 1861

Date Range: 1861 – Present