Built 1890 (1890) Opened 1890 | Designated CP July 2, 1973 | |
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Location 7 College AvenueNew Brunswick, New Jersey Similar Old Queens, Geology Hall, Kirkpatrick Chapel, Voorhees Mall, Daniel S Schanck Observatory | ||
Winants Hall is a historic educational building located on the Queens Campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Built in 1890 under the leadership of President Merrill Edward Gates, it was the first dormitory built on campus.
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Map of Winants Hall, 7 College Ave, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
It is a contributing property in the Queens Campus, Rutgers University Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 2, 1973.
History
During the eighteenth and nineteenth century, students rented rooms from local boarding houses as the college did not offer dormitories or other student housing. In 1890, Garrett Ellis Winants, a college trustee and wealthy philanthropist from Bayonne presented to the trustees a sketch of a proposed dormitory and a donation of $75,000 to build it. The building was designed by architect Van Campen Taylor, an 1867 graduate of Rutgers College, and Winants Hall was erected in 1890. Winants would serve as Rutgers College's sole dormitory until 1915 when Ford Hall was built on the Voorhees Mall along College Avenue. After World War II, Winants was converted to offices for faculty and academic departments, and for administrative staff.
In 1990, a century after its construction, Winants Hall underwent a $9.4 million restoration. The building currently houses the university's alumni relations and legal counsel offices, and the university's fundraising arm, the Rutgers University Foundation.