Architecture

Sterling Law Building

The Sterling Law Building, the primary building of the Law School, occupies one city block at the heart of Yale University in downtown New Haven. Constructed from 1929–31, Yale Law School was modeled after the spirit and atmosphere of the English Inns of Court. The Law School is built in the Collegiate Gothic style and is designed by James Gamble Rogers, the architect of other major buildings at Yale including many of the residential colleges and Sterling Memorial Library.

It is embellished inside and out with stone sculptures, wood carvings, and stained glass medallions that focus on symbols of law and justice. These include the main characters in legal dramas (judges, lawyers, defendants, etc.), scenes of adjudication and punishment, famous legal figures from cultures around the world (ranging from King Solomon and Confucius to Charlemagne), and famous legal scholars.

Baker Hall

Baker Hall, a four-story building housing academic, social, and residential spaces opened in the fall of 2018 near Sterling Law Building at 100 Tower Parkway.

Originally built in 1998 as a “swing dorm” where the University housed students while it renovated the residential colleges, the building that is now Baker Hall was redesigned to reflect the vitality and fluidity of the contemporary student experience. Private living spaces, community areas, classrooms, and an expansive student center were created with a biophilic interior design that incorporates light and the natural world into the built environment.

Connections between Sterling and Baker are made both aesthetically and physically. Sterling’s embrace of its building materials is echoed in a new Baker palette of wood, cork, slate, and metals. In its artwork, Baker focuses on the social impacts of the Law School family. Paintings, photographs, and sculptures reference diversity, social justice, and the community impact of Law School graduates’ work in the world at large.

Architectural Details

A shot of the front of the Sterling Law Building on Wall Street on a clear, warm day.

The gothic arches of Yale Law School include many figures symbolic of the justice system. Among them are a police officer apprehending a suspect, a convict in stripes, and a judge sentencing a criminal.

A view of the ornate stained glass windows that are a focal point of the Sterling Law Building.

Architect James Gamble Rogers chose five stone figures to portray some participants of the legal process. A bulldog as a lawyer sits atop the gable ends of the auditorium near the corner of High and Grove Streets.