Milton Academy - Academic and Student Life Facilities

Academic and Student Life Facilities

Straus Library — In the 1950s, Straus was the Academy's main library. Today it serves as a familiar and beloved gathering space for formal and informal events. Straus is also home to Milton's college counseling office.

Apthorp Chapel — Constructed in 1921, Apthorp Chapel hosts the non-denominational chapel program for boarding students every Sunday evening during the school year. The program often includes guests, students and faculty reflecting on issues affecting the School community, the nation and the world.

Kellner Performing Arts Center — Opened in 1992, Kellner is a teaching center for the performing arts and music departments. It includes a large dance studio; classrooms for speech and debate training; classrooms and practice rooms for work in chorus, orchestra and jazz; a "black box" studio theater; fully equipped scene construction and costume shops; Pieh Commons, where student art work is often exhibited; and the Ruth King Theatre.

Ruth King Theatre — A gift of novelist Stephen King, in memory of his mother, King Theatre is equipped with a stage adaptable to thrust or apron configurations and is a 20th century adaptation of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.

William Coburn Cox Library — Given by William Coburn Cox '24 and his wife, Jessie Bancroft Cox, the library's resources serve students, faculty and staff. Its collection includes 46,000 volumes. Library staff members help students learn research strategies, using the cataloguing system and online resources. In the basement of the library, Milton students are entitled to extra academic help in the Academic Skills Center.

Health and Counseling Center — Registered nurses, school physicians and counselors at the Health Center help students who need physical or emotional care. The Health Center also provides overnight accommodations for students requiring additional attention while not feeling well. The Health Center staff also manages programs that involve students in promoting healthy lifestyles and in responding to those with emotional or physical needs. The Health Center is housed in Faulkner House, on East Campus.

Ayer Observatory — Astronomy students use the Ayer Observatory to observe and study celestial objects. The observatory's 12-foot dome houses a five-inch Clark refractor for general classroom use; its smaller dome houses a nine-inch Takahashi reflector. The observatory is open to all students on the first Friday of every month and for any unique celestial occurrences.

Schwarz Student Center — The Schwarz Student Center offers a single space that is part of daily campus life for all students and adults at Milton, enhancing opportunities to build relationships. The center includes a common area for students to gather outside of class; a snack bar and recreation area with ping-pong and foosball tables; a school bookstore with a wide array of necessities; student activities offices; a computer center; and spaces for faculty-student meetings. It links Warren Hall and Wigglesworth Hall for easy travel between the three.

Ware Hall — Originally built as the Girls' School schoolhouse, Ware Hall is now home to classical language, modern language and mathematics classrooms; a language laboratory; and Milton's Middle School offices and classrooms.

Warren Hall — Built in 1885 and renovated in 2002, Warren Hall includes the English department, deans' offices and the Office of Admission in a building sensitively restored to provide state-of-the-art teaching areas within an environment that honors its early role as "the old schoolhouse."

Wigglesworth Hall — Affectionately known as Wigg Hall, this building is home to the history department where students and faculty gather around oval Harkness tables that promote stimulating discussion in an environment where everyone — including the teacher — is an equal and important participant.

Athletic and Convocation Center — Opened in 1998, the "ACC" includes two field houses that provide opportunities for student athletes of different skill levels to participate in a wide range of sports. The south field house, also the Fitzgibbons Convocation Center (FCC), includes three basketball courts, convocation capacity for the School, and an indoor track. The north field house includes a hockey rink, which, when de-iced, becomes four tennis courts or space for indoor practice of field sports. The second floor of the ACC features the Esther and Herbert G. Stokinger '24 Fitness Center, coaches offices, and training rooms.

Caroline Saltonstall Building — The Caroline Saltonstall Building includes the business office, the K–8 Office of Admission, the alumni and development office and one gymnasium. The building stands on the original Milton Girls' School campus.

Robert Saltonstall Gymnasium — Once the major boys' gymnasium at Milton, the Robert Saltonstall Gym now houses the H. Adams Carter '32 Climbing Wall where students can learn to rock climb. Art students studying sculpture, ceramics and woodworking learn and practice here as well. The "RSG" also houses Milton's two wrestling mats.

Pritzker Science Center — Milton's new science center opened in September 2010. The state-of-the-art building features common lab space for each of the four disciplines in science (physics, chemistry, biology and environmental), in addition to integrated classroom-lab space, creating an environment that allows students to work collaboratively and move seamlessly between discussion and hands-on lab work. The Pritzker Science Center was designed with sustainability in mind, to meet silver LEED specifications.

Art and Media Center — Milton's new visual arts center, completed for the fall of 2011, is being designed in the footprint of the Old Science Building. The new space will feature state-of-the-art studios for 2D art and 3D art, including specialized areas such as photography, architecture and woodwork. This building also features the Academy's acclaimed Nesto Gallery, where several famous Boston-area and national artists have displayed their works.