Farnam Hall was the first of four elongated Victorian Gothic dormitories erected on Yale's Old Campus as part of the nineteenth-century plan to replace the earlier Old Brick Row. Designed by architect Russell Sturgis and completed in 1870, the building introduced a more picturesque collegiate style to the campus, with pointed arches and steep gables. It is named for Henry Farnam, a railroad executive and benefactor whose support helped shape Yale's expansion during this period. Farnam Hall stands today as the earliest and most architecturally restrained of the Sturgis-designed dormitories, marking the beginning of the university's transition from colonial Federal style to a unified Gothic revival ensemble. - AsNotedIn