Davenport College

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Davenport College, nicknamed D’port, is one of Yale University’s 14 residential colleges. It was completed in 1933 and combines two styles: a Gothic sandstone front on York Street and red-brick Georgian buildings around three courtyards. It was named for John Davenport, an early leader connected to Yale and New Haven.

The college houses undergraduate students and shares many facilities with Pierson College, including the basement spaces for arts, dance, and fitness. Inside, you’ll find the Spitzer Library, a Dining Hall with a Waterford crystal chandelier, the Davenport Common Room, and the student buttery known as The Dive. The Crosspiece holds offices, classrooms, and reading rooms. Davenport has three inner spaces: Kumble Court (the upper courtyard), the lower courtyard, and a newer stone courtyard near the dean’s suite. The former Yale Record building was incorporated into the campus during renovations in 2004–2005.

Freshmen at Davenport typically live on Yale’s Old Campus with the rest of Yale College, though some exceptions apply. Since 2022, Anjelica Gonzalez has led Davenport College, making her the first Black woman to head Yale College.

The college’s unofficial mascot is a wooden gnome, gifted in 1998 and now a beloved symbol after several thefts by rival Pierson College. Davenport competes in the Tyng Cup and has won multiple championships in sports such as ice hockey, table tennis, golf, bowling, and track and field.