Sanford Riley

There are 5 freshmen residence halls: Daniels, Institute, Morgan, Riley and Stoddard.

I personally am very partial to Riley. This is where I lived my freshmen year and where I lived and worked as a Resident Advisor during my sophomore year. To the right is a picture of Riley Hall after its construction in 1927.

Riley is a bit different from most of the first year residence halls; it is made of mostly triples. The rooms are designed to be big enough for three people, so these are by no means forced triples. My roomates and I had MORE than enough room. We did not bunk any beds, and had enough floor space that we could have easily added a couch.

Riley Hall was named after Sanford Riley, class of 1896. Below is a photograph of him and a small bio about his life as a student at WPI. He was obviously a very active student, and until just a few years ago his portrait hung in the first floor common room.

I have some very fond memories of Riley, including but not limited to: my roomies, riley bugs, bringing a couch out onto the quad to watch a movie, the crazy boys who tried to build a hot tub in one of the showers - this is not something I recommend, throwing myself a birthday party, many nights of take out, too many hours of mario kart - which I always won, and of course the boy who voluntarily got duck taped to a wall.

Living in a residence hall is an awesome opportunity to meet new people and have fun. Especially during your first year, when most students are taking similar classes and experiencing new things together, this time builds a bond that is very hard to break.