Steinbach Hall, also known as the John Pitkin Norton House, is a historic building on the campus of

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, United States.

History

The house was built in 1848–49 as a private residence for

John Pitkin Norton John Pitkin Norton (July 19, 1822 – September 5, 1852) was an educator, agricultural chemist, and author. Biography Norton was born in Albany, New York, in 1822, where his father John Treadwell Norton, a successful farmer and engineer, owned a ...

, a science professor at Yale University. It was purchased by Yale University in 1923. It was home to the

Yale School of Management The Yale School of Management (also known as Yale SOM) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. The school awards the Master of Business Admi ...

until 2015, when the Department of Astronomy moved into the building.

Architectural significance

The house was designed by architect Henry Austin as an Italian villa. It includes " flat and

semicircular In mathematics (and more specifically geometry), a semicircle is a one-dimensional locus of points that forms half of a circle. It is a circular arc that measures 180° (equivalently, radians, or a half-turn). It only has one line of symmetr ...

arch motifs in window openings, bracketed cornices, and recessed front entry behind arcade with semicircular arches." It was "remodelled" by architect

Edward Larrabee Barnes Edward Larrabee Barnes (April 22, 1915 – September 22, 2004) was an American architect. His work was characterized by the "fusing fModernism with vernacular architecture and understated design." Barnes was best known for his adherence to st ...

in 1979. It has been listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

as a contributing property to the Hillhouse Avenue Historic District since September 13, 1985.

References

Yale University buildings Houses completed in 1849 {{Connecticut-struct-stub