Fulton Hall - History

History

When World War II ended in 1945 there was a dramatic increase in enrollment at Boston College, due to the returning soldiers and the opportunities afforded to them by the G.I. Bill. The number of undergraduates swelled from 1,000 before the war to 5,000 by 1946. The available facilities could no longer accommodate any more students, so Boston College decided to build Fulton Hall. This building was, by far, the most sparse due to budget constraints. Students went door to door throughout the city of Boston selling “Bricks for Boston College” for $1 each in an attempt to raise funds. Working with whatever resources they could, Maginnis & Walsh designed a building that would never be able to live up to the rest of the existing buildings. The construction of Fulton Hall began in June 1947 and ended in 1948. The building was laid out on the south side of what is now known as the main quad. This area is composed of a large grassy courtyard surrounded by the Lyons, Gasson, Devlin, and Fulton buildings, one in each cardinal direction. The original design consisted of a simple 2-story Gothic-style building with a plain masonry façade, two towers in the front corners and a recessed courtyard on the south side. Because of its hilly location, and a request from the Trustees of Boston College that the building not block the view of Gasson Hall, only the top two stories were visible from the front of the building and the Gasson quadrangle, making it look small amongst the taller adjacent buildings.