People walking in front of door on Yale's campus.

The late Vincent Scully, Sterling Professor of the History of Art and Architecture, who taught at Yale for 60 years, described the most important door in New Haven — “the door to liberty, to the future… the great American open door” — as the one at the front of the New Haven Free Public Library. It’s but a small leap to include Yale’s doors in Scully’s enthusiastic embrace, ones that he walked through and opened to generations of students.

Recently James Fullton ’05 M.Arch., an architect and planner in the Office of Facilities, shared with YourYale five of his favorite doors on campus, noting that the “amazing benefit of being an architect at Yale and one of the reasons I love it so much is the sheer variety of incredible architectural details.”

Sheffield-Sterling-Strathcona Hall

Person walking past door, someone walking in a door.
Sheffield-Sterling-Strathcona Hall detail of door.

Like many at Yale, Fullton is struck by the beauty of the door at Sheffield-Sterling-Strathcona Hall, better known as SSS. Much has been written on this 1931 wonder of oak and iron, expertly restored by Yale’s millwork and paint shop teams from 2014 – 2017. The joints that hold the pieces of wood together are of traditional mortise and tenon construction (no nails, just peg and hole). During its renovation, the grillwork was removed, refinished, and reinstalled. “If you’re looking for a stand-out example of historic wood doors with decorative wrought iron strapwork, these are hard to beat,” said Fullton.

Sterling Memorial Library

Arches and door inside Yale building.
Leaded horses in windows at Sterling Memorial Library.

Another Fullton favorite is the glass door within the Sterling Memorial Library (SML) at the beginning of the exhibition corridor. It reflects the collegiate-gothic style that architect James Gamble Rogers brought to his design of SML, the Sterling Law Building, and many of the residential colleges. The door opens out to Selin Courtyard (also called the Librarian’s Court). “What is exquisite about this door,” said Fullton, “is how delicate it is with its tracery and leaded decoration.” He is particularly fond of the pointed arch detail above the door, and the leaded horses in the adjacent windows.

Woodbridge Hall

Woodbridge hall.
Woodbridge hall light over door.

Fullton chose the Woodbridge Hall door because, while new, it harkens back to the 1901 original. It is set into a classic Beaux Arts building of Indiana limestone, which commemorates Yale’s 200th anniversary and its founders, notably Reverend Timothy Woodbridge. The doorway was updated when a granite walkway to its left was added for accessibility. “The original door was a double door that did not meet accessibility requirements,” said Fullton. “Redesigning the entryway as a single door allowed us to add decorative, leaded-glass side panels that echo the original transom above the door and provide more natural light in the vestibule.

Dwight Hall

Dwight Hall.
Dwight Hall door and lantern.

The Dwight Hall doors, with two smaller entrances set in the wings of the building, are set in a pointed arch within a square frame fronting what was once Yale’s Old Library, constructed of brownstone from Portland, Connecticut, from 1842 to 1846. “The doors are lovely and gothic,” said Fullton, “and I love how they open from Old Campus to the grand chapel space within.” He also drew attention to the the craftsmanship of the millwork and carvings.

Payne Whitney Gymnasium

People walking in front of a Payne Whitney Gymnasium door.
Payne Whitney Gymnasium (PWG) door, closeup.

This Payne Whitney Gymnasium (PWG) door is not the main entrance, but one of 27 exterior portals in the building’s two massive wings. Each white oak behemoth is nearly seven feet tall and weighs 287 pounds. Its wrought ironwork was crafted by blacksmiths in the 1930s when the collegiate-gothic-style facility was built. Since 2017, Yale’s millworkers have been restoring them back to their original glory. Fullton is wowed by the grid of the doors wood and ironwork — both functional and decorative — but equally affected by the imposing gate-like feel of the doors. “Much of the gothic architecture of the 1920s and 1930s at Yale was quite delicate,” he said. “But the gym is more heroic, more like a fortress,” he added.

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