Baker House Trivia

Memorial Drive is named in honor of those who died in World War I

Until 1922, Memorial Drive was called Charles River Road

What is the name of Building W7 ?

The “SD” stamped on the room keys stood for “Senior Dorm”
- Only the MIT Facilities folks called Building W7 “Senior Dorm”
When it was being built, the students called it “New Senior House”
- Or “the pregnant worm”
When it was dedicated in 1949, Building W7 was called the “New Dormitory”
It was renamed the “Everett Moore Baker House” in 1950
A Busted Baker Myth - “Senior Dorm”
- In an earlier version of the Baker House timeline, we repeated the long-believed factoid saying that when Building W7 (a/k/a the “New Dormitory”) was first occupied in 1949, it was restricted to Seniors. However, Tom Jannsen wrote specifically to bust this Baker House myth: “In the timeline, it states that the New Dormitory opened in September 1949 but was restricted to Seniors. This is incorrect. I and many other Sophomores moved into the New Dormitory in September 1949 and stayed there for three years until we graduated in June 1952. Perhaps the MIT administration took pity on us because for our Freshman year we were housed in a dilapidated building [the Barracks Dorm, also known as Building 22] twelve to a room.” – Tom Jannsen (SB 1952, SM 1961)
- As did Werner Kahn: “I am from Class '52 and was the first official resident in Rm 140 when the Fall semester 1949 started. I stayed in the same room thru graduation in '52.” – Werner Kahn (II, '52)
- An article from The Tech in that timeframe says that preference would be given to housing Seniors in the New Dormitory, but it doesn't say that the New Dormitory was restricted to Seniors.

The 3d-west Lounge is named for Granville Sheldon

Granville Sheldon was the House Manager in the mid-1950s
Ken Rosato writes: “When I arrived at Baker House in 1969, that lounge had a brass plaque identifying it as the Granville Sheldon Lounge, I assume honoring him (I think he was House Manager in the 1950s.) There was a picture hanging inside of some guy with a mustache, sort of Tom Dewey-looking, if I remember correctly, but there was nothing that said the picture was of Granville Sheldon, or anyone else.
Because of the sarcastic nature of college students, in particular the bunch that included me, we attached the name and photograph to just about anything. Granville Sheldon ran for Floor Representative, Judcomm, or something, using that name and picture. A friend of mine sat in on one of my classes, took a quiz, and signed his name Granville Sheldon. I picked up his paper, and of course he had failed.
By the time I graduated Granville Sheldon was kind of a running joke. I don't think he was a joke before I got there, but he might already have been.”

Our nine-foot Chickering concert grand piano was a gift from a (now deceased) Baker alumnus

Everett Moore Baker belonged to Delta Kappa Epsilon (ΔΚΕ) at Dartmouth College

The Julie Fassett Garden is named for the wife of Dean Frederick Fassett