Jewett House | |
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Jewett viewed from the southwest in 2014
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Alternative names | Milo Jewett House, North Hall, Pilcher's Crime |
General information | |
Type | Dormitory |
Architectural style | Tudor |
Location | Poughkeepsie, New York, US |
Coordinates | 41°41′25″N 73°53′50″W / 41.690140°N 73.897089°WCoordinates: 41°41′25″N 73°53′50″W / 41.690140°N 73.897089°W |
Current tenants | Vassar College |
Named for | Milo P. Jewett |
Completed | 1907 |
Renovated | 2002–2003 |
Cost | $212,500 |
Renovation cost | $21 million |
Owner | Vassar College |
Technical details | |
Material | Brick, stone |
Floor count | 9 |
Design and construction | |
Architect | Lewis Pilcher |
Architecture firm | Pilcher and Tachau |
Renovating team | |
Renovating firm | Herbert S. Newman & Partners |
Jewett House (formally Milo Jewett House and formerly North Hall) is a nine-story Tudor-style dormitory on the campus of Vassar College in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York. Built in 1907 to accommodate increasing demand for residential space, the dorm was designed by Vassar art professor Lewis Pilcher of the architectural firm Pilcher and Tachau. Early reviews looked unfavorably upon Jewett, even dubbing it "Pilcher's Crime" and by 2002, a host of issues plagued the dorm, leading to a $21 million renovation. Up to 195 students of any gender or class year may live in Jewett, which has been purported to be haunted by several different ghosts during its existence.
In 1902, Vassar College in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, completed Davison House, the fourth dorm in the college's residential quadrangle (quad). Enrollment was limited to 1,000 students by 1905 and the college saw a need to further expand the number of dorms available so it approved the creation of a new one. Totaling $212,500, construction was paid for using college funds (versus the donor funds that paid for Strong and Davison Houses).
The dormitory was known as North Hall upon its opening. However, by 1915, the college's , no donor had stepped forward to help fund the dormitory's construction and Vassar president Henry Noble MacCracken renamed the building Milo Jewett House after Milo P. Jewett. Jewett served as Vassar's first president from his election to the office in February 1861 until his departure from the college in spring 1864 after a dispute with the school's founder and namesake, Matthew Vassar. Although Jewett was instrumental in providing a vision for the college, the school did not open until 1865 meaning he never had the chance to oversee its student body.
By 2002, Jewett hosted a spectrum of problems, highlighted in Vassar's alumnae/i magazine as including