Boardwalk

Boardwalk running along the road to the President's House, now the English Department Building (right) and Smith House (left), ca. 1885. Photo credit: Trinity College Archives

Some of Trinity's earliest campus walkways were actually boardwalks. During the late 19th century, wooden elevated sidewalks called “boardwalks” were a common feature in cities and towns. As roads were unpaved, they enabled people to keep their shoes clean and elevated from the dirt or mud roads.

Trinity College had several boardwalks installed on the Summit Campus prior to 1900. A prominent boardwalk led from Vernon Street to Alumni Hall to the Long Walk, and another boardwalk led past Jarvis Laboratory.

Around 1905, the boardwalks were replaced with flagstone paths.

"HISTORIC PAVING AND SIDEWALKS IN NEW ENGLAND" (2019) by Hillary Rayport Hedges, Charles Sullivan, and Brian Pfeiffer, architectural historian.

Trinity College in the Twentieth Century (2000) by Peter and Anne Knapp, p. 48.