Caswell Hall

Caswell Hall was erected in 1903 on Lincoln Field along Thayer Street. Named for President Alexis Caswell, the building was designed by Hoppin and Ely with porches of Vermont marble in imitation of the doorway on the south side of the First Baptist Meeting House. The new dormitory contained both suites and single rooms to house seventy-two students and boasted such modern conveniences as private baths in the suites, electricity and gas, fireplaces in the rooms, and, in the basement, three large club rooms and a room for storing bicycles. While the rooms in the other dormitories were rented completely unfurnished, Caswell Hall rooms were furnished by the University from the time of its opening, when a suite with two bedrooms along the north or south end of the building commanded a rent of $425 a year, compared to the more modest $260 for similar accommodations in Slater Hall.