Ready for fresh air? These five corners, from canal-side tables to music-filled courtyards, offer the perfect excuse to step out and stay awhile.
Open air retreats
Estimated read time:
0
min
Photo by Jude Breidenbach.
Walking through campus, signs of late spring abound — trees large and small hold tightly to their foamy green plumage. Mountain laurels, with their sticky pink and white blooms, dot the university landscape, and winter is a distant memory. Dust off those walking shoes, grab your lunch tote, and head outside to linger in one of these five sunny spots.
Photo by Jude Breidenbach.
Sloane Physics Laboratory: Gibbs Courtyard
For a little extra exercise, make your way up Prospect Street with a stop at a lovely seating area in front of Sloane Physics Laboratory called Gibbs Courtyard. Relax on its sun-bleached wooden benches and take in the many interesting aspects of the Sterling Chemical Laboratory directly across the wide plaza. Built in 1923, this red brick and brown sandstone Gothic Revival building features eye-catching structural accents, including chimney-pot-topped spires and a decorative sculpted frieze above the arched front entryway.
Open Daily
Getting there: 217 Prospect Street
Photo by Jude Breidenbach.
Kroon Hall: Waxter Plaza
Just before you walk up Sachem’s Wood, take a moment to admire its gorgeous landscaping, mature trees, and sunny aspect. With the 31-foot-tall stainless steel “Modern Head” by Roy Lichtenstein at your right, head left up the pebbled path toward Kroon Hall’s rear entrance patio. Waxter Plaza faces the park and offers plenty of spots to sit and chill on the sturdy wooden landscape benches with metal side tables. Kick back, catch a few rays, and listen to the wind rustle the trees. No time to pack a lunch? Hop or skip over to Steep Café on the first floor of Kline Tower. Offerings include coffee, organic teas, smoothies, sandwiches, and more.
Open Daily
Getting there: 195 Prospect Street
Photo by Jude Breidenbach.
Yale Health
After strolling along the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail, take a break at one of the picnic tables behind the Yale Health building. It’s a wonderful spot to eat lunch, browse your phone, or people-watch. Adjacent to the canal and facing the rear of Pauli Murray College, this thoroughfare is busy with dog walkers, runners, and cyclists. Before returning to the office, take a moment to visit the bronze statue of William Lanson for a bit of early-nineteenth-century New Haven history. It’s a stone’s throw from the picnic tables.
Open daily
Getting there: Behind Yale Health, 55 Lock Street
Photo by Jude Breidenbach.
Leigh Hall and Hendrie Hall
For a special break or lunchtime treat, leave your phone or other distractions behind and sit on the wooden benches just outside Leigh Hall. This building, along with its neighbor Hendrie Hall, is part of the Adams Center for Musical Arts. Leigh Hall is home to faculty studios, the dean’s office, and classrooms that double as rehearsal spaces for the Yale School of Music. Throughout the day, you can hear students practicing on instruments or with their voices. It’s quite magical to catch the strains of a violin, piano, or aria. Next door, just out of earshot, is Hendrie Hall, which has a few wooden benches just outside its back doors.
Open Daily
Getting there: 435 College Street
Photo by Jude Breidenbach.
Anlyan Center Courtyard
Nestled between the Anlyan Center’s wings is a charming courtyard. It’s the perfect spot to relax on one of the many wooden benches surrounded by flower boxes and shady trees. If it’s lunchtime, pop open that bagged or boxed lunch and spread out on the picnic tables in the sun-filled back of the courtyard. While you munch, admire the top half of the green, disc-shaped leaves of “Trees,” a steel sculpture by architect Robert Venturi that abuts the courtyard and gives the space a whimsical feel.
Open Daily via card access
Getting there: 300 Cedar Street
