Noyes celebrates its 50th anniversary in style

Stephanie Damon-Moore Assistant Life Editor

Rukshana Jalil Staff Writer

Noyes House may be one of the most recognizable buildings at Vassar, but it also has a little-known history that explains its eccentrically curved shape and jutting, angled windows. This year, the dormitory is celebrating its 50th anniversary, giving students an opportunity to understand the vision behind Vassar’s own little piece of modernism.

Fifty years ago, Noyes’ construction was made possible through donations from Class of 1908 alumna Katharine, Nicholas and Jansen Noyes, in memory of their mother, Emma Hartman Noyes, a member of the Class of 1880. The building cost $1.4 million and was the first building completed under the College’s $25 million development program.

Renowned modernist architect Eero Saarinen led Noyes’ construction. He had designed college buildings before, including an auditorium and chapel for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In a March 20, 1960 article, Michigan Daily Magazine reported that “College campuses are more and more becoming showcases for architects…They present great challenges and great rewards…While the building is designed as a modern structure, it must harmonize with the surroundings.”

Art history major Vanessa Beloyianis ’08 is writing her senior thesis on Saarinen’s architecture, focusing on work he did at Vassar.

“One of the things Saarinen actually tried to do in his designs for Noyes was create a building that reflected the modern trends at the time in terms of some of the very abstract forms that he used, the materials that he used—aluminum and concrete,” Beloyianis said.

“But he also wanted the building to fit in with the existing campus in terms of the gothic architecture that predominated the buildings already here and the site,” Beloyianis added.

Vassar has a long history of employing creative and experimental architects who didn’t follow traditional patterns. Built to curve around one-fourth of what had been known as the floral circle, Noyes House replaced Ferry House “as the most radical structure on the campus,” Architectural Record wrote in its January 1959 issue.

According to Saarinen, the site for Noyes was chosen for its ability to augment the circle and to unite Cushing House with the quad dorms. He believed that Noyes had the potential to fit with the rest of the campus.

“The location of the building on the rim of the circle best recognizes the natural virtues and traditions of the site,” Saarinen said at the dorm’s opening ceremony. It “presents an ordered and harmonious architecture of brick and glass against the backdrop of giant trees.”

Beloyianis added that, to understand the architecture of Noyes, one must understand the landscape that was present at the time it was built. Every aspect of the building was designed to fit in with the surrounding terrain.

“He really tried to relate the structure to the site,” she said. “So the fact that the windows extend outward into the site helps to bring the rooms outside and emphasize the relationship between the rooms and the surrounding environment,” she said. “Also, at the time that Saarinen chose to design Noyes, the circle was surrounded by big conifer trees. The windows are supposed to look like the points of the ends of the branches.”

The dormitory was built with four stories, and each of the upper three stories had 18 singles and 17 doubles. Fifty-one double rooms faced the circle, each with a triangular bay window with its own window seat. The ground floor was constructed to afford apartments for two house fellows and their families.

Saarinen also designed the color schemes and furniture for the main lounge, parlors and dining hall. The white walls, ceilings, hangings and furniture were intended to make a “striking background for the greens, yellows and pinks of the carpeting and upholstery.” Saarinen wanted the interior structure of Noyes to allow for individual expression.

In a press release on October 3, 1958, the Office of Public Relations called Noyes a “strikingly modern student residence...the latest addition to a campus which reflects the changing architectural modes of four generations.” To this day, Noyes is known as the most modern residence hall on campus.

In Saarinen’s original vision, however, Noyes would have been a semi-circle instead of a quarter-circle. The existing building is only half the size of the building he planned.

Beloyianis suggested that any negative reactions that the student body has against the building’s architecture today might be a reaction to Saarinen’s unfulfilled vision.

“Because the building is intended to be two parts and only the first half was built, there’s so much of Saarinen’s original vision and design that wasn’t actually realized,” Beloyianis said. “I think a lot of the problems people have with Noyes can be attributed to that, and not as much to it being a bad design to begin with.”

Nicholas Noyes presented the Emma Hartman Noyes House to then-College President Sarah Gibson Blanding during the opening ceremony on Oct. 11, 1958. Guests included the architect himself and his wife Aline Bernstein Saarinen ’35, contractor William Gilbane, government representative for the U.S. Community Facilities Administration Walter Field, members of the Noyes family, Vassar trustees and members of the National Committee for Vassar Development.

Although Noyes is the youngest dorm on campus, the last decade has seen substantial renovations. In 1998, then-President Frances Daly Fergusson restored its main lounge, which had grown shabby over the years. Tables in the lounge were scratched and chairs had disappeared. The restoration of the Jetson lounge, as it is affectionately called by Noyes residents, was headed by Leonard Parker, a Minneapolis architect who had worked with Saarinen to design Noyes.

The lounge restoration, which cost $150,000, was completed in 2000.

During Summer 2007, Noyes got another facelift. Substantial improvements were made to its floors, bathrooms and elevators. The kitchenettes were updated, and student rooms were rewired to accomodate more reliable telephone and data lines.

Today, the College will celebrate Noyes’ 50th anniversary with a field day and carnival on Noyes Circle. On Saturday, April 26, the Noyes House Team invites the Poughkeepsie community and the entire campus to enjoy games and food in honor of the dorm’s 50th birthday.

“This is the first time we’re having a celebration for Noyes,” said Noyes Vice President Sean Koerner ’11. “Noyes is the youngest dorm, and in general there tends to be a lackadaisical attitude among the Vassar population toward Noyes. So it gives us a chance to say, ‘Yes, we’re here.’”

The field day will be divided into two parts. The first part of the day, which will begin at 10 a.m., will be geared toward Poughkeepsie community members and children from local high schools and elementary schools. Activities include face painting, games and crafts, and food will include cotton candy, popcorn and ice cream.

From 1-4 p.m., the celebration will target Vassar students. Mini-games planned for this part of the day include water balloon fights, sack racing, three-legged racing and tug of war.

The Noyes House Team will also raffle off an iPod shuffle and an iPod nano. Local restaurants Kismat and Twisted Soul will vend food during the celebration.

But Noyes’ 50th birthday won’t be complete without a cake, baked in the shape of Noyes, of course.

The field day will feature performances by Matthew’s Minstrels, Vastards, Barefoot Monkeys, No Offense Sketch Comedy Troupe and Indecent Exposure. Later in the evening, Barefoot Truth is scheduled to perform. From 11 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., Noyes will host a dance party with music from DJ Asslaughter.

The Noyes House Team and residents are also in the midst of compiling a book of stories from alumnae/i.

“We want to compile the history of the dorm,” said Noyes Student Fellow Rachel Goss ’10, who is also undertaking the plans for mini-games during the field day.

“It won’t be in time for the celebration, but hopefully soon after it will be. This celebration will be good to show the rest of campus the history of Noyes, so a lot of people will definitely learn more,” said Goss.

Many non-House Team Noyes residents are helping to plan the celebration as well. According to Noyes President Marcelo Buitron ’09, the dorm is tightly knit. “Just the architecture by itself gives a stronger sense of community,” he said. “We are so close. It’s not like the quad rooms where the doors separate the students.”

According to Koerner, the celebration is ultimately about giving Noyes the recognition it deserves. “We want to raise awareness that Noyes has been here for 50 years, because people often think of it as the new dorm. Actually, it has been here for a while.”