Goodwin-Woodward Hall

Completed and opened in 1940, Goodwin-Woodward Hall is a student dormitory located on the south end of the Long Walk, directly adjacent to Cook Hall dormitory and the Clement Chemistry Building. Goodwin-Woodward Hall is named in honor of Trinity trustees, James J. Goodwin and P. Henry Woodward.

Goodwin-Woodward Hall. Photo Credit: Cheryl Cape

The hall was dedicated on December 14, 1940. In his dedication speech, President Remsen Ogilby expressed the thanks and gratitude of the College for the 1082 people who donated money to the construction of the building.

Upon opening, most of the rooms were single rooms and then a common room/lounge for social activities. There were 51 dormitory rooms. There were also an additional two rooms set aside for the Tripod offices.

Within the hall, there were many rooms dedicated in memory of past students, as well as entire class years to dedicate to members of that class who had passed away. The class years represented were 1888, 1890, 1910, 1916, and 1917.

During the Second World War, Goodwin-Woodward, along with several other dormitories placed shades on their windows to darken and obscure interior lights as ordered by the United States Army to conform to regulations for Hartford and all of the Eastern Seabord. The College asked students living in the dorms to help out in placing their own personal shades on the windows to supplement what the College could provide.

Over the years the lounge in Goodwin, known as Goodwin Lounge, has served many different purposes for different campus groups, events and gatherings. Some of these include: senior placement interviews with local corporations like the Travelers Insurance Company in the late 1940s, tryouts for the Jesters in mid 1950s, yearbook photos for the Ivy, theatre productions in the 1970s, gatherings of the Newman Club in the 1980s, home to International Programs Office in the early 2000s.