New London Hall was built in 1914 to be Connecticut College’s science building. For the first few years, though, it was the new College’s only academic building.
The building was designed by Ewing & Chappell, the firm that developed a detailed master plan for the campus, and granite for the façade was quarried on the College's hill. The trustees named the building for the residents of New London in recognition of all they had done to help found the College.
For the first few years, majors were offered in four sciences: biology, mathematics, chemistry and dietetics. Botany was added in 1919.
The greenhouse was built with a Rockefeller Foundation grant in 1935, and the labs were substantially renovated in the 1960s and ’80s for electron microscopy, radiation biology and tissue culture.
Today, students and faculty in this building are researching plant development, the ecology of birds, invasive organisms, salt marsh microbes and fresh water environments, ancient climates, cancer, neurological disorders and tissue growth.