No, this isn't Oxford. But you're close. It's actually a walkway at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Both Harvard and Yale modeled much of their early architecture after edifices found on the campuses of Oxford and Cambridge Universities in England. (The old one, that is.) Though I haven't been to Cambridge, these campuses did remind me of my two visits to Oxford, once in 2003, and again in 2006. It will never change, that almost sacred feel of the stonework and gothic-style architecture. Yale is similar, but the culture is completely different. New Haven has a feel of a large city. It's close to New York City, and you can tell. Oxford, on the other hand, has a feel of...well, academia. It's quiet, thoughtful, and almost holy. There's an air of intellect in Oxford. There's an air of cigarette smoke in New Haven. It's sad, but true. However, in spite of my preference for prestigious British schools over American ones, I did enjoy my visit to Yale University. This walkway was actually gated, and we were not allowed through without an ID card to swipe through the lock (like hotels in America have now). We could have slipped through behind a student who went through whilest (sorry, couldn't help it) we were there, but decided that probably would not be a good idea! Looks peaceful, though, doesn't it. Behind me as I took the photo were construction noises, traffic noises, and sirens wailing down the streets. Far from peaceful, I have to say.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
New England Vacation #12
No, this isn't Oxford. But you're close. It's actually a walkway at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Both Harvard and Yale modeled much of their early architecture after edifices found on the campuses of Oxford and Cambridge Universities in England. (The old one, that is.) Though I haven't been to Cambridge, these campuses did remind me of my two visits to Oxford, once in 2003, and again in 2006. It will never change, that almost sacred feel of the stonework and gothic-style architecture. Yale is similar, but the culture is completely different. New Haven has a feel of a large city. It's close to New York City, and you can tell. Oxford, on the other hand, has a feel of...well, academia. It's quiet, thoughtful, and almost holy. There's an air of intellect in Oxford. There's an air of cigarette smoke in New Haven. It's sad, but true. However, in spite of my preference for prestigious British schools over American ones, I did enjoy my visit to Yale University. This walkway was actually gated, and we were not allowed through without an ID card to swipe through the lock (like hotels in America have now). We could have slipped through behind a student who went through whilest (sorry, couldn't help it) we were there, but decided that probably would not be a good idea! Looks peaceful, though, doesn't it. Behind me as I took the photo were construction noises, traffic noises, and sirens wailing down the streets. Far from peaceful, I have to say.
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3 comments:
I love the Yale campus. In fact, all the old East Coast schools have such beautiful old structures. My alma mater (University of Texas) only had one little area with old buildings. All the rest looked kinda like strip mall/office space.
I love the UCLA campus here, too, for all the old architecture.
I could quite easily have been fooled into thinking it was oxford UK.Beautiful shot.
It's really sad that beautiful places like that have to be kept locked. That's a really cool photo.
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