Emerson House is one of the 10 houses of "the quad." The short path from the quad to the center of campus passes the president's house and offers a beautiful view of Paradise Pond.
The complex was built in stages starting in 1922 to alleviate a housing shortage on campus. When all the houses were completed in 1936, William Allan Neilson, then the president of Smith, pronounced it the "Great Quadrangle."
A study room provides students an alternative place to work if their roommates are sleeping or Neilson Library is closed.
Every fall the house hosts a unique tradition, Emerson's Medieval Banquet. Each senior in the house invites a professor to be her personal guest at a banquet full of singing, dancing, food and merriment. Students and faculty attend in medieval garb and enjoy the festivities planned by the junior, sophomore and first-year students. Emerson House has a special role in what is one of Smith's favored annual traditions, Mountain Day. The president of the college chooses a beautiful autumn day to cancel classes, allowing students to enjoy the foliage and the weather. No one knows when Mountain Day will be until the president rings the college bells early in the morning to signify that classes are canceled. After the bells finish ringing, Emersonians blare recordings of the "1812 Overture" to make sure the whole quad is aware of the holiday. A house across the quad responds by playing the "Hallelujah Chorus."
