Hamlin Hall
Hamlin Hall is located on the southern corner of the Long Walk, connecting Seabury Hall and Cook Hall. Hamlin also extends further south, connecting to Mather Hall. The building contains a banquet room as well as the offices for Multicultural Affairs and Residential Life. Hamlin was completed in 1932 and was originally utilized as a dining hall. It housed two cafeteria-style dining spaces, one of which was an early iteration of The Cave, now housed in Mather Hall.
Hamlin Hall was referred to as the “College Dining Hall” until 1947, when it was named after Albert C. Hamlin, a member of the Class of 1887 who had frequently made donations to the school. Hamlin died in 1939 and in his will left a sum of money to be given to Trinity College as well as a number of fraternities at Trinity. Following his death, an endowment fund was established under his name.
Throughout the years, Hamlin Hall has been used for a variety of events, including Halloween dances, a capella concerts, fundraiser dinners, an array of reunions, department gatherings, and faculty/staff lunches. The main banquet hall has portraits of past Trinity presidents lining the walls.
In 1991, in an effort to diversify the portraits in the space, the Student Government Association (SGA) agreed to sponsor the installment of a portrait of Marjorie Butcher, the first female professor at Trinity, on the wall as well. Months later, the SGA changed the proposed location to the Koeppel Student Center in its proposal to the President and Board of Trustees. However, ultimately the Butcher portrait was hung in what is now the Nutt Mathematics, Engineering and Computer Science Center, deemed by some to be an appropriate location since Butcher was a professor of mathematics.
Sources
Arts Venues at Trinity, Hamlin Hall
The Trinity Tripod, 11/05/1991.
The Trinity Tripod, 03/19/1991.
The Trinity College Bulletin (1954-1955) Report of the Treasurer.
The Trinity College Bulletin (1948) Catalogue.
The Trinity Tripod, 11/03/1948.
Trinity College Handbook, 1947-48.
Trinity College Alumni News, September 1939.
The Trinity Tripod, 05/14/1932.