Smith Hall, 1964-2026
Files
Citation
“Smith Hall, 1964-2026,” Buildings@Simmons, accessed March 15, 2026, https://beatleyweb.simmons.edu/buildings/items/show/171.
Geolocation
Title
Smith Hall, 1964-2026
Subject
Smith Residence Hall (Boston, Mass.)
54 Pilgrim Road (Boston, Mass.)
54 Pilgrim Road (Boston, Mass.)
Description
Pilgrim House and Longwood House were demolished in the summer of 1963 to build Smith Residence Hall, named in honor of Dr. Richard Mason Smith (1881-1981), a member of the Corporation since 1937.
Faced with a shortage of on-campus housing during the construction of Smith Hall, freshmen whose families lived within a twenty-five-mile radius of the College were ordered to commute during the 1963-1964 academic year.
Smith Hall opened on Sunday, February 2, 1964, anchoring the Residence Campus ‘quad’ of nine brick dormitories and a dining hall. During the dedication ceremony later that fall, Milton Edward Lord (1898-1985), chairman of the Simmons Corporation (1963-1968) and Director of the Boston Public Library (1932-1965), presented a golden key to President Park.
A chapel and meditation room held services throughout the day, and Smith Hall was the first dorm to include a much-anticipated snack bar (a row of vending machines) and a coffee shop. Students living on the Residence Campus during the 1960s often went to the convenience and sandwich shop Howie’s (19 Pilgrim Road), about a five-minute walk from the dorms.
As Smith Hall’s snack bar was open after Howie’s closed at 10:30 PM, it soon became a popular meeting place for students and was stocked with soft drinks, coffee, candy, ice cream, and cigarettes. With the completion of Smith Hall, which could house 144 students, over 1,000 students lived on the Residence Campus by late 1964.
Located on the Residence Campus, Smith Hall will be removed during Skanska USA Commercial Development's 'Longwood Place' project as part of a 99-year ground lease agreement with Simmons.
Faced with a shortage of on-campus housing during the construction of Smith Hall, freshmen whose families lived within a twenty-five-mile radius of the College were ordered to commute during the 1963-1964 academic year.
Smith Hall opened on Sunday, February 2, 1964, anchoring the Residence Campus ‘quad’ of nine brick dormitories and a dining hall. During the dedication ceremony later that fall, Milton Edward Lord (1898-1985), chairman of the Simmons Corporation (1963-1968) and Director of the Boston Public Library (1932-1965), presented a golden key to President Park.
A chapel and meditation room held services throughout the day, and Smith Hall was the first dorm to include a much-anticipated snack bar (a row of vending machines) and a coffee shop. Students living on the Residence Campus during the 1960s often went to the convenience and sandwich shop Howie’s (19 Pilgrim Road), about a five-minute walk from the dorms.
As Smith Hall’s snack bar was open after Howie’s closed at 10:30 PM, it soon became a popular meeting place for students and was stocked with soft drinks, coffee, candy, ice cream, and cigarettes. With the completion of Smith Hall, which could house 144 students, over 1,000 students lived on the Residence Campus by late 1964.
Located on the Residence Campus, Smith Hall will be removed during Skanska USA Commercial Development's 'Longwood Place' project as part of a 99-year ground lease agreement with Simmons.
Date
1964-2026
Identifier
APC001_05607