WOOLSEY HALL (YALE UNIVERSITY)

Woolsey Hall is a 2,650-seat concert hall at 500 College Street on the Yale University campus in New Haven. The hall is Yale's largest auditorium and is home to the Newberry Memorial Organ, one of the most renowned symphonic organs in the world. The ornately decorated Beaux-Arts interior, with its lack of draperies, carpeting, and upholstered seats, contributes to acoustics particularly suited to organ and orchestral performance.

The hall hosts concerts by the Yale School of Music, the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, and visiting performers. Programming includes classical, choral, and orchestral performances, with most Yale School of Music concerts offered free of charge. The venue also serves as the site of university ceremonies including freshman convocation, baccalaureate, and presidential inaugurations.

Woolsey Hall was built in 1901 as part of Yale's bicentennial celebration, designed by the Beaux-Arts architectural firm Carrere and Hastings (also responsible for the New York Public Library). The hall was named after Theodore Dwight Woolsey, President of Yale from 1846 to 1871. It is part of a complex that includes the Memorial Rotunda and University Commons. The hall has served as one of New England's premier concert venues for over 120 years.