Kilachand Hall

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources:  –  ·  ·  · scholar · JSTOR (January 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Kilachand Hall
The front entrance of Kilachand Hall.
Former names	Shelton Hall, Hotel Sheraton
General information
Type	Dormitory
Location	Boston, Massachusetts
Address	91 Bay State Road
Coordinates	42°21′1″N 71°5′49″W / 42.35028°N 71.09694°W / 42.35028; -71.09694
Opened	1923
Owner	Boston University
Technical details
Floor count	9

Kilachand Hall, formerly known as Shelton Hall and before that the Hotel Sheraton, is one of eight dormitories at Boston University. 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, the Charles River, and Fenway Park.

History[]

Hotel Sheraton[]

1930s-40s postcard of the hotel

The building was constructed in 1923 as one of the first Sheraton hotels by the Bay State Road Company. 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.^[1]

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 expensive to remove so he renamed his other properties to be Sheraton hotels, starting the chain known today.^[2]

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 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.^[3] School folklore holds that the building is haunted by the playwright. Lights on this floor are dimmer and the elevators randomly stop at the fourth floor.^[4] Howard Stern also claims to have lived there.

During baseball season, Hall of Famers Jimmy Foxx and Ted Williams lived at the hotel, which was a short walk from Fenway Park on the other side of Kenmore Square. Williams moved in during his rookie season in 1939, when the rate was $6-7 a night, and stayed there until the hotel closed in 1954. (Source: “The Kid: The Immortal Life of Ted Williams,” Ben Bradlee Jr., 2013)

Kilachand Hall[]

In 2010, 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 or third floor.

Famous view from the 9th floor

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.^[5] 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