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O'Connell House is one of the only Welch-inspired pieces of architecture
in the United States. It was constructed at the turn of the 20th
century for approximately $300,000 when all of Upper Campus was
part of the estate of the former drugstore baron Louis K. Ligett.
The mansion resembled a royal palace at the time, filled with lavish
furnishings and surrounded by fragrant gardens and beautiful fountains.
The house was later donated to Boston's Cardinal O'Connell who
used the house as his official residence and spiritual haven. After
his death in 1937, the Church donated O'Connell House and the estate
to the growing Boston College.
Since then, O'Connell House has served as a Jesuit residence,
the birthplace of the School of Management, a James Cagney movie
set, classroom facility, and a football dorm. In the early 1970s,
space constraints prompted a strong movement to tear down the house.
However, students fought to save O'Connell and the mansion survived.
The original plans for demolition were transformed into a one million
dollar renovation. Since the fall of 1972, it has served the Boston
College community as the home of the official student union in addition
to providing office space for the Office of First Year Experience
and the Alcohol and Drug Education Program.
O'Connell House seeks to entertain, educate, and facilitate all
Boston College students through events such as Middlemarch, the
Breaking the Barriers Ball, and Harvest Night. It's the home of
monthly (sometimes even weekly!) events such as live bands, student
talent nights, lectures, and much more.
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