Outdoor Picture of the Day: Sewall Hall, CU Boulder’s Historic Heart
Look at that classic CU Boulder sandstone and red-tile roof glowing beneath the Flatirons. Sewall Hall isn’t simply another residence hall—it is one of the university’s most recognizable buildings and a living piece of Buff history.
Completed in 1934 as a women’s dormitory, Sewall Hall has remained in continuous use ever since, making it CU Boulder’s longest-serving purpose-built residence hall. Nearly a century later, students still call this architectural landmark home.
Charles Klauder’s Campus Masterpiece
Sewall Hall was designed by renowned architect Charles Z. Klauder, the man responsible for establishing the distinctive appearance now associated with CU Boulder. Klauder called his approach the “University of Colorado Style,” while architectural historians generally describe it as Tuscan vernacular.
The building showcases the defining elements of Klauder’s vision: multicolored sandstone walls, red clay-tile roofs, pale limestone trim, black metal accents, towers, courtyards, and carefully detailed entrances. According to CU Boulder’s official architectural history, many consider Sewall Hall the finest of Klauder’s campus buildings…