Kilachand Hall, formerly known as Shelton Hall and before that the Hotel Sheraton, is one of eight dormitories at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

. Living quarters are divided into four- and five-person suites, with a few private doubles. It is one of the few dormitories on campus with private bathrooms. The ninth floor consists of a study lounge that provides an impressive view of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, the

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, and

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a ballpark located in Boston, Massachusetts, less than one mile from Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home field of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Boston Red Sox. While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantia ...

History

Hotel Sheraton

The building was constructed in 1923 as the Sheraton Hotel, by the Bay State Road Company. The name was probably chosen as a reference to furniture designer Thomas Sheraton. Above the entrance the name "Sheraton" can still be seen engraved in the concrete. Unlike the hotels of today, the Sheraton was a type of residential hotel, where it was common for guests to stay for months without signing a lease. The top floor, given its unique views, was used as a ballroom and social space, playing host to jazz bands. In 1939, Ernest Henderson bought the hotel. At the time, the building had an electric sign on the roof reading "Hotel Sheraton" which would have been too expensive to remove, so he renamed his entire chain Sheraton Hotels, after this property.

Shelton Hall

In 1950, the building was bought and renamed to the Hotel Shelton. In 1954, Boston University bought the hotel and converted it to a girls-only dormitory of the same name. In 1953, playwright

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...

died in suite 401 on the fourth floor. In his honor, the fourth floor was named a specialty housing area called the Writer's Corridor. School folklore holds that the building is haunted by the playwright. Howard Stern also claims to have lived there.

Kilachand Hall

In 2013, the building was renamed Kilachand Hall, in accordance with the creation of the Kilachand Honors College. Freshman students in the honors college are required to live on the second, third, fourth, or fifth floor. Kilachand Hall River View

In 2012, the dining hall on the first floor was removed with the opening of a new, larger dining hall, Marciano Commons, across the street. This coincided with a larger renovation of the building that added a study lounge, classroom, and administrative offices for the honors college on the first floor.

References

External links

Kilachand Hall on Boston University
Buildings at Boston University Boston University Housing System {{Boston-struct-stub