places, students

Cook Hall

Completed in 1931, Cook Hall is a student dormitory on the south end of the Long Walk on Summit Campus. Cook Hall is adjacent to Goodwin-Woodward Hall.

Cook Hall. Photo Credit: Cheryl Cape

Cook was named for A.D. Cook and Sons, a firm in Hartford which donated $500 in 1827 to the founding and development of the College on the site of the original campus.

Cook Hall was divided into three separate areas of student living: Cook-A, Cook-B, and Cook-C, respectively. The College built Cook Hall to alleviate the overcrowding of student residences in Jarvis Hall. In its original design, Cook Hall was to house 46 students in rooms with beds, bureaus, desks and chairs, as well as fireplaces in each room. There was also a dining hall as part of the new facility.

In February 1933, the College's Junior Prom was held in Cook Hall for the first time, instead of its former location in Alumni Hall. Later that year, in November, the Sophomore Hop, an annual fall dance given by members of the sophomore class took place in Cook. This dance was the first large social event held that year, and was part of the Sophomore Hop Weekend, which included performances by the Trinity Jesters and a smaller tea dance at the Psi Upsilon House.

The first year Class of 1945 held their first-ever class dance at Cook Commons on March 7, 1942. The Trinity Troubadours provided the music. There was a $1 admission fee for all attendees, whether first year or upper level students. Organizers did not know what to expect for turnout, but there ended up being about 150 attendees and the event was deemed a success. The dance was also reportedly the first ever social event given by a first year class in the history of Trinity College.

By 1960, the College's laundry service had moved to the basement in Cook-A, handling regular laundry services and dry-cleaning. A coin-operated laundromat, open 24 hours a day, was also added for students in 1962. This appears to be the first coin-operated laundromat on campus. Discussions between students and the College administration around the implementation of laundromat self-service had begun earlier in the 1950s, with a positive reaction among students and administrators.

The basement of Cook-B was the home to Trinity's radio station WRTC, until moving to studios in the High Rise residence hall in 1993.