Baldwin Cottage

Baldwin Cottage (Dec 2004)

Built in 1889, Baldwin Cottage is one of the oldest buildings on the Oberlin campus. The cottage can house up to 35 women and transgendered people in singles, open doubles and two triples, and is open to all female and trans-identified people, by application.

It is currently home to the Women's and Transgendered People's Collective and provides an environment conducive to the discussion of feminist and trans issues. Baldwin is a program house and hosts various feminist, gender, and women's events.

1 History
2 Architecture
3 Facilities
4 Opinions
- 4.1 From LiveJournal
5 External Links

[edit] History

In 1886, three years prior to the cottage's construction, the former Second Ladies Hall was destroyed by a large fire. Soon after, Baldwin Cottage was built by Akron-based architects, Weary and Kramer, costing the college $40,000, including furnishings.

The cottage is named after Cleveland merchant Mr. Elbert I. Baldwin, who donated $20,000 to its construction.

[edit] Architecture

Baldwin Cottage represents Oberlin College's "Stone Age" architectural era. Like its peers, the cottage was built using large, heavy stones; its appearance is imposing yet odd. Other Stone Age buildings include Peters Hall, Talcott Hall, Severance Chemical Laboratory, Warner Gymnasium, Carnegie Building, Rice Memorial Hall, and Wilder Hall.

[edit] Facilities

Along with rooms for 35 people, the cottage has many lounges and a piano room.

[edit] Opinions

[edit] From LiveJournal

"i was a first year there last year and am happily returning this year. The rooms in Baldwin are bigger than almost anywhere on campus, with really high ceilings in some, gorgeous, spacious windows, walk-in closets (Some big enough to fit a bed), at least one with an attached study, and very interesting shapes. We have a number of lounges all hidden throughout the house, so there is room to bring your friends over for cooking, studying, whatever, places for privacy, places to be loud. It's a small and centrally located house, so you get to know the other women really well, which can be awful some of the time, but wonderful much of the time. The Women's and Transgendered People's Collective, which the house essentially is, is really cool. You really choose the level of participation you're interested in. Last year, some women didn't even come to house meetings, while some of us, including myself, went all out hosting programs related to the house's theme. I hosted a workshop on alternative menstrual products, there was a coffee shop full of poetry and music, we had movie nights (from Disney sing alongs to queer Jewish wedding documentaries), pre-exam de-stress wrestling (comme Harkness), and a number of really good, really deep discussions about transgender and feminist issues. Some programs are open to the campus, some are just for us. We've also got a kickass library, that I invite anyone to take a look at." --Kyla, incendiaryfs(15 Aug 2005) [1]

"I lived in Baldwin last year as a freshman and will be returning this year. I loved the experience, personally. The rooms in Baldwin are large and gorgeous- the building was renovated last year, so we've got new furinture and new paint. Most (all?) have walk-in closets and lovely. Generally speaking, the atmosphere is very friendly. It will have the problems that tend to affect a bunch of women living together, and can get a little TOO close at times, but I tend to feel that's a risk you take with any sort of communal housing. It's relatively quiet (unless your room is near the second floor lounge, in which case, either get used to noise or invest in a good set of earplugs) and conducive to excellent conversation, both of the serious/intelligent kind and the delightfully silly and irreverent variety. To generally clear up what seems to be a commonly held misconception: guys CAN visit, etc. There are designated safe spaces, but otherwise anyone is welcome to drop by. Also, the RAs this year are both beyond awesome." --Rebecca, nyiragango (15 Aug 2005) [2]

"I'm a guy, so I have never lived in Baldwin, but in its defense, it's not always the haven for ‘rabid feminist lesbians’ everyone seems to think it is. If that's your scene, of course you'll feel comfortable in this welcoming all-women collective. But straight girls can have a fine time here too. And as a guy, I've always felt completely comfortable visiting there (though this does change from year to year, and some years it has been a more combative place). In any event, it looks a lot like Talcott, with beautiful rooms and run-down facilities." --ilunas [3]

"beautiful rooms. beautiful women. walk-in closets. bathtub. middle of campus. it would be the perfect place to live if so many people didn't think nasty things about the women that live there. Great place to go for community, even if it can get too communal at times." --missnizz [4]