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Tours

1. Meadow Neighborhood

   In addition to offering traditional houses, Smith has a variety of special-interest housing options, including food co-ops and apartments.

   Stops

   1. Chase House

      Originally built in 1827, Chase House was occupied by several prominent local families until established as a school for girls by Mary A. Burnham in the 1870s. The Burnham School was incorporated into the college as a campus house in 1968 and named for Mary Ellen Chase, an accomplished writer and professor of English literature at Smith.

      Chase maintains a cheerful and relaxed house environment, and late night chats in the living room are a popular social activity. The house hosts tea every week and several study breaks as well, along with two larger annual events: winter and spring weekend.

      Substance-Free Community

      Rooms 214–23 on the second floor and all of the third floor of Chase House are substance free. Alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs are not allowed.

   2. Hopkins House

      Hopkins residents boast that their house has an ideal location, overlooking the Lyman Conservatory and its gardens and providing a beautiful view of the Mount Holyoke range of mountains.

      In 1920, then-college president William Allan Neilson eagerly bought the three buildings that are known as the Hopkins Houses. With these secured, he could carry out his plan to make every student a campus resident of Smith College. Before this, the college had a shortage of housing facilities, and students had to find living arrangements on their own. 

      Today only one of the original houses remains. Hopkins, one of Smith's significant historical buildings, was built as a private residence in 1861.

      Food Cooperative

      Hopkins is one of two small cooperative houses. The 18 student residents buy food collectively and cook communally for the majority of house meals, which receive rave reviews from "Hopkids" and the many friends, family members and professors who frequently join in house dinners and potlucks. All residents share in cleaning and maintaining the house, and they govern the house collectively through a weekly house meeting. The house elects a food coordinator and treasurer to manage food purchasing and communal funds and also has a house coordinator who fulfills traditional residential life duties in the house. Hopkins residents participate in a close-knit house community, applying ideals of sustainability and social justice to their daily lives. The house cultivates relationships with local farms, timebanks, cooperatives and workshares, and all residents participate actively in making decisions about running the house and defining the house community's character and goals. Hopkins is open to all students except first-years and strives to maintain a balance of sophomores, juniors and seniors.

   3. Yolanda King House

      Yolanda King House (formerly Park Annex) is identified as a Special-Interest Housing location, specifically for affinity housing.

      Yolanda King House was a house that once belonged to members of the Look family who gave Look Park to the city of Northampton. It was also rented as off-campus housing to Smith students before it was acquired by the college in 1920.

      Yolanda King House is in a scenic spot, near the president's house and Paradise Pond. It is a 5-minute walk to the central campus area—with the libraries, classrooms and administrative buildings—and about a 10-minute walk to downtown Northampton. 

   4. Granville House

      Previously known as Parsons Annex, Granville House is identified as a Special-Interest Housing location, specifically for affinity housing.

      Granville House has been part of its Round Hill neighborhood for more than a century and still reflects the quality of old Northampton. It was purchased by the college in 1968. It is removed from the noise and bustle of center campus, yet only a 10- to 15-minute walk to academic buildings and downtown Northampton.

      In May 2024, the building was named Granville House in honor of mathematician Evelyn Boyd Granville ’45, the second African American woman to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics from an American university (Yale) and one of the “hidden figures,” whose pioneering work in computing helped NASA land the first Americans on the moon.

   5. Tenney House

      Tenney is at the corner of Paradise Road and Elm Street, in front of the president’s house. Traditionally, it has a long waiting list, as it is the only vegetarian cooperative house on campus.

      In 1937, 156 Elm became the new location for Tenney House, which had originally been located farther down the road. Mary Smith Tenney, who donated the house to Smith, organized the original house. She noted that, “It is my desire that thereby a limited number of meritorious students unable to meet the full expenses of a college education may obtain board at lower rates.” Later, Tenney House was transformed into a small vegetarian cooperative. Since the students residing in Tenney cook their own food, residents note that “everyone is a good cook by the time they leave.”

      Food Cooperative

      Tenney House is one of Smith's two small cooperative houses. The 14 students share in the daily cooking and cleaning of the house and kitchen. The house continues to use the traditional work wheel in which each resident participates in a variety of house duties and chores. A food coordinator is selected each year to do the weekly shopping. A financial coordinator is selected to collect house funds and pay bills. And an administrative liaison works closely with the Residence Life office. The house is famous for its yearly faculty dinner with homemade breads and special recipes.