Below the buzz of campus, dorm basements are secluded places to take a breather from the bustling activities above ground. Let us journey through cold cellars and quaint quarters across campus to find the best basements!
1. Nichols
Living underground presents a unique experience to any boarding student, especially for the third-form girls in Nichols House. Despite the lesser amount of natural light, potentially making the rooms less desirable, the garden-level rooms in Nichols are extremely spacious. Additionally, a kitchenette and a study room are readily available.
Resident Rachel Fan ’27 said, “In my personal opinion, the basement is the best floor to live on. We have a fridge and a vending machine, and I don’t mind that we don’t get much light.” The basement allows residents to have a quiet space while being part of a big, energetic dorm like Nichols.
2. McCook (common room only)
The basement of the all-gender McCook House is a popular spot amongst residents, whether it’s for the laundry machines, the cozy common area, or the study room with sliding doors.
“The basement is great for late-night conversations. The couches and tables make it a useful common space for students, and it has a slightly different vibe than being in the common room [upstairs],” resident Friday Acuna ’26 said.
Prefect Isabella Wu ’24 added, “If you don’t want to study in your room, you can go to the basement and study in the study room. It’s also really good on the weekends to play card games with friends.”
3. Clinton Knight (common room only)
With the same configuration as McCook, fourth- and fifth-form boys’ dorm Clinton Knight (CK) also offers a convenient and comfortable spot underground. The one special addition to CK is its ping pong table, which attracts even visitors from other dorms.
“We use it to hang out, to connect with each other, and to build community,” resident Kino Liu ’26 said. “It’s also a great place to nap because the couches are comfortable.”
However, the dim lighting is an improvement that prefect Henry Ding ’24 hopes to see. “If the lighting was better, this basement would be top-notch,” he said.
4. Mead House
The basement of Mead House is where many girls have met their closest friends as third-formers. Former resident Anne Coady ’26 said, “The basement is the smallest floor: there are only four girls, and we had a really nice community.”
Her roommate Kaya Weerasuriya ’26 agreed, “We had more freedom, so it was fun for our first year.”
5. Atwater House
Perhaps the basement experience doesn’t get more intimate than in the third-form boys’ dorm Atwater House. There are only four residents on this floor, one of whom, Pete Areewong ’27, said, “Though it can get hot and there isn’t that much space, we get to know each other since there’s only three rooms.”
The Atwater basement also functions as the only common room in the dorm, with couches, a water fountain, and a fridge. “We have a special configuration, so we have dorm meetings in the basement,” prefect Danny Yoon ’24 said. “It does encourage everyone to come down and socialize.”
6. Memorial House
As the only floor of the dorm that isn’t co-ed, the basement of Memorial House has a different dynamic than the rest of the dorm. The nine boys on the garden-level have built a special bond: “The basement offers a unique and positive experience,” resident Raghav Sharma ’25 said. “The vending machine is very useful and convenient for those who live there.
7. Tenney & Bernhard Houses (no rooms)
The twin dorms Tenney House and Bernhard House each have a spacious basement floor that includes a laundry room and storage area.
Tenney resident Michael Xu ’25 noted the convenience of Tenney being a designated drop-off spot for E&R laundry. “It’s really used for the laundry service drop off, so that’s nice,” he said.
“It’s very convenient because I can put my suitcases and furniture that I don’t need there during the year,” Tenney prefect Ethan Zhang ’24 said.
Some Bernhard residents also noted the basement’s great acoustics for some impromptu vocalization on their way to doing laundry.
