Exterior Spaces

Hewitt Quadrangle, Beinecke Plaza, & the Colonnade

Hewitt University Quadrangle, the space that knits these landmarks together, is Yale University’s main plaza. Originally named University Court in 1917 and colloquially referred to as Beinecke Plaza, Hewitt Quadrangle has caused many a jaw-drop as guests passing from the street side through the Rotunda have experienced the space for the first time. Time itself is rendered powerless on the Quadrangle: the Beaux-Arts neoclassical colonnade of Commons meets the Modernist Vermont marble façade of the Beinecke. A quasi-extension of the Memorial Rotunda just in front of the colonnade reminds passersby of Yale alums who served in World War I.

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Hewitt Quadrangle (Beinecke Plaza) and the Colonnade at dusk. Photo by Dan Renzetti.

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From Hewitt Quadrangle, the staircase leads to the underground section of Commons, which houses The Bow Wow, Dance Studio, The Underground, and The Well. Photo by Francis Dzikowski.

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Dan Gesmer ‘86 on an experimental board on Hewitt Quadrangle in 1984. Photo courtesy of Dan Gesmer and J. Joseph.

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Alumni in front of Commons on Hewitt Quadrangle. Pictures of buildings constructed for Yale University's bicentennial in 1901 (RU 697). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library. Note the absence of the Colonnade outside Commons on the left side of the photograph.

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Yale’s Bicentennial buildings—Commons, Memorial Hall, and Woolsey Hall—are familiar to present-day Yalies, but this view from the 1920s looks a little different. The current giant Corinthian columns on Commons (which were added as part of a World War I memorial in 1927) are still to come, and the boater hat–wearing gentlemen are standing amid a green lawn that has since been replaced by a stone plaza. Courtesy of Pat Marino Collection. https://yalealumnimagazine.com/articles/5381-wish-you-were-here

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J Joseph ‘19, New Haven resident, founder of the Yale Undergraduate Skateboarding Union, and YSC Project Coordinator, holds his skateboard on Hewitt Quadrangle. Photo by Maurice L. Harris.

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Cross section of Yale Schwarzman Center facing Woolsey Hall

Featured image: Hewitt Quadrangle, often referred to as Beinecke Plaza, is the home of the Schwarzman Center, the Alumni War Memorial cenotaph, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Woodbridge Hall, and Woolsey Hall. Photo by Francis Dzikowski.