Carved in stone

Silent and striking, Yale’s gargoyles and grotesques watch from above. Discover the stories behind these watchful stone figures and where to find them.

A stone crest, or bas-relief, featuring the university’s namesake, Elihu Yale (1649–1721), sits above the main entrance to Bingham Hall, a dormitory for first-year students that also houses the University Chaplain’s Office. Shown in profile, Yale sports a double chin and a flowing, curly mane, and is flanked by two-horned beasts resembling fierce goats. These mythic creatures, known as “yales,” are also found higher up the nine-story Bingham Tower, perched precariously on its corners — one a homely juvenile, the other an adult with impressive horns.

Location: 300 College St., Old Campus Courtyard, above entryway D
Date: 1928
Material: Brownstone
Architect: Walter B. Chambers

On either side of the entrance gate to Davenport College are stone carvings of two male students engrossed in a book and a scroll. Unlike many other carvings throughout campus, these can be easily viewed and touched. One wonders whether the architect did this intentionally to remind students as they passed by to study. When this building opened in 1933, Yale College admitted only male students. The first undergraduate women arrived on campus in 1969.

Looking upward from these diligent readers, one can spot two more yales. These chained, goat-like creatures hold metal spears and appear to be guarding a bust of the college’s namesake, John Davenport, one of New Haven’s founders. The seated yales, mouths agape, appear to be forever bleating.

Location: Davenport College, York St. Gate
Date: 1933
Material: Limestone and metal
Architect: James Gamble Rogers, Class of 1889 (1867-1947)

Sterling Chemistry Laboratory, a somber red brick and brownstone building, features depictions of chemistry equipment and research. Flanking the main entrance are symbols of the periodic table such as mercury, sulphur, and lead. Additional shields representing light and heat appear on the Prospect Street façade. Sleepy-eyed owls, whose sharp talons clutch textbooks, perch on both sides of the arched window above the entrance. A svelte bulldog holds a “Y” crest on the loading dock facing Prospect Street.

Location: Sterling Chemistry Laboratory, 22 Prospect Street
Date: 1923
Material: Brownstone
Architect: Delano & Aldrich Architects

Leet Oliver Memorial Hall was built in memory of Daniel Leet Oliver, Class of 1908, who died during his junior year. The limestone building houses the Department of Applied and Computational Mathematics. Just to the left of the main entrance, one flight up, three engraved scrolls read, “Self-reverence, self-knowledge, self control, these three alone lead life to sovereign power.” For more whimsy, look for two, winged creatures balanced atop each drainpipe’s cornice, frozen in perpetual liftoff — one a gryphon, with the body of a lion and head of a raptor, and the other Pegasus, the winged horse.

Location: Leet Oliver Memorial Hall, 12 Hillhouse Ave.
Date: 1908
Material: Limestone
Architect: Charles Haight (1841-1917)

Leigh Hall, part of the Adams Center for Musical Arts, contains classrooms, rehearsal spaces, studios, and the dean’s office for the Yale School of Music. It was originally built to house the Department of University Health. Upon closer inspection, its medical imagery is hard to miss. Ornamentation around the front door includes the Rod of Asclepius, a universal symbol of medicine and healthcare. Just below is an eyeless visage hovering above the doorway — possibly an angel, though open to interpretation. On either side of this androgynous figure are carved birds and flowers.

Don’t miss the wooden front door, which features bruised and bandaged bulldogs.

Date: 1930
Location: 435 College Street
Architect: Cross and Cross Architects

The Sterling Law Building is covered with sculptures representing lawyers, judges, police officers, and criminals, as well as students and professors. Above the Wall St. entrance, a professor is shouting in hopes of waking snoozing students. At the corner of High and Grove Streets, a court jester appears to blindfold the figure of justice. From the courtyard, one can see a bulldog standing stoically on a roof peak, presiding as judge. Looking up from the corner of High and Grove Streets, scan the gables for half-beast lawyers: a bulldog, a donkey, a parrot, and a wolf.

Date: 1931
Location: 127 Wall Street
Material: Limestone
Architect: James Gamble Rogers, Class of 1889 (1867-1947)