Walk through Yale and you may pass relics without knowing: a vintage elevator, hidden fans, even hat racks for fedoras — artifacts that tell campus stories.
Hidden treasures
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A cast-iron fan unit in Woolsey Hall.
A colleague once called Yale “that magical place we get to work in.” Behind the walls of the university’s historic buildings lie fascinating artifacts from bygone eras — some mere relics, others still serving vital functions on our modern campus. YourYale ventured with dedicated staff members into basement corridors, overhead catwalks, and ornate lobbies to uncover these hidden treasures.
Sterling Chemistry Laboratory
Teaching Desk Track
The three story, Gothic Revival Sterling Chemistry Laboratory opened in 1923. The somber red brick and brown sandstone exterior belies the light airy inside. Visitors entering the lobby are greeted by a soaring cathedral ceiling adorned with massive rough-hewn wooden beams. Ascending the broad stone staircase to the main floor reveals more spectacular wooden ceilings, a sky-lighted roof, and a long hallway of offices and classrooms.
Behind the lecture hall was a former storage and preparation room. Here, experiments were set up on one of two mobile demonstration desks which were then rolled on tracks — still visible today — onto the room’s teaching platform. Those desks and prep room are long gone, but the track is still visible on the floor of the balcony.
Where: 225 Prospect Street
Built: 1923 (no longer in use)
Woolsey Hall
Ventilation system
Built in 1902, this 2,650-seat concert auditorium houses the massive Newberry Memorial Organ and is used for official university functions and musical events. Deep beneath its ornate, gold-trimmed cathedral ceiling — adorned with images of the Nine Muses and goddess Athena — lies a sizable cast-iron fan unit that keeps the building reasonably comfortable year-round, despite lacking modern air conditioning. This twentieth century mechanical marvel draws fresh air through basement louvers while an attic fan expels stale air through ceiling vents — about 90,000 cubic feet of air per minute. The basement fans feature paddle wheels reminiscent of riverboat steamships, encased in dark-chocolate brown iron cylinders standing about 12 feet tall. They were engineered to operate quietly, ensuring no disruption to musical performances.
Where: 500 College Street
Built: 1902 and still operational
Kiphuth Exhibition
Pool Under-chair hat racks
The Robert Kiphuth Exhibition Pool sits surrounded by 2,187 seats that rise at a 45-degree angle, offering spectators a clear view of the action below. Built in 1932 and located in the west wing of Payne Whitney Gymnasium, it’s the home of Yale’s swimming and diving teams. Beneath the original wooden seats, air ducts circulate fresh air throughout the arena while maintaining optimal poolside temperatures, keeping swimmers comfortable. A more charming feature are the original wire hat racks tucked under each seat — relics of an era when spectators arrived wearing fedoras, bowlers, or homburgs. Patrons could slide their hats into these racks, where the brims would hold them securely in place.
Where: Payne Whitney Gym, 70 Tower Parkway
Built: 1932
Sterling Power Plant
Coal bunker
Walking through the warm and noisy Sterling Power Plant (SPP), individuals pass by the underside of a large coal bunker. Deactivated decades ago, it now houses a deaerator (removes oxygen and carbon dioxide from boiler feedwater). The grey concrete walls and sealed off metal chutes are still visible. The chutes fed coal to the lower level, which was then shoveled by hand into long-gone furnaces. The bunker’s true scale becomes apparent when you ascend one level and walk into it via a catwalk. From that vantage point, its massive size is exposed, as well as the hulking silver deaerator that sits in one half of it. Also, one can spy the traces of black coal smudges still lining its walls.
Where: 309 Congress Ave
Built: 1922 (no longer in use)
Old Campus Fence replica
Walk onto Old Campus on any day in any season, and you’ll observe a plain, two rail wooden fence bordering long sections of the interior grounds. This is a replica of the Old Yale Fence, which once lined College and Chapel Streets and for decades was a hangout for Yale students until it was gradually torn down to make way for university buildings. The last section was removed in 1888. Before its demolition, the Fence played a big part in undergraduate life where students smoked pipes and chatted with friends, and the prime locations were reserved for upperclassmen. Today, students and visitors can still be found sitting on the fence talking with friends, and watching the daily rhythm of Old Campus activities.
Where: Old Campus
Built: Replica (though it’s rumored pieces of the original fence still exist on campus and beyond …)
Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library
1940s elevator
The Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library, (originally called the Yale Medical Library) opened in 1941. In the stairwell, adjacent to the Historical Library wing, stands an elevator from that era. The compact elevator car, with its pink interior, features a vintage brass panel with raised black call (floor) buttons. It operates with an automatic metal exterior door and semi-automatic interior metal gate. While the gate closes automatically when a floor button is pressed, passengers must manually open it upon arrival. Manufactured by the now-defunct F.S. Payne Elevator Company, replacement parts for this historic lift have become increasingly scarce.
Where: 333 Cedar Street
Built: 1941 still operational
