# Fairfield University Family Weekend, October 23 to 25, 2026: seven buildings and a sunrise over Long Island Sound to photograph on campus and in Fairfield > Fairfield University Alumni & Family Weekend, October 23 to 25, 2026: seven campus walls that line up with the low sun, the sunrise from Jennings Beach and Penfield Beach, what to do in downtown Fairfield and Southport between events, and where to stand for the family picture. This is the Markdown form of https://hengedays.com/articles/buildings-to-photograph-fairfield-family-weekend-2026, with the same words as the page. Part of [Family Weekends 2026](https://hengedays.com/articles/family-weekends-2026), school 13 of 26. Previous school: [Trinity College](https://hengedays.com/articles/buildings-to-photograph-trinity-college-family-weekend-2026). Next school: [Columbia University](https://hengedays.com/articles/buildings-to-photograph-columbia-family-weekend-2026). *The DiMenna-Nyselius Library, entry 2 in the list and the family photo spot, in Henge Days. Pink marks the west front that the evening sun lines up with on Family Weekend.* For October 23 to 25, 2026. Fairfield University's Alumni & Family Weekend runs from Friday, October 23, to Sunday, October 25, 2026. This guide lists seven walls on the campus that the low evening sun or the sunrise lands on square this weekend, fitted around the weekend's events, with a spot for the family picture and the sunrise from the Fairfield beaches. Post yours with #HengeDays. In this article - [The weekend's schedule and the light](#the-weekend-s-schedule-and-the-light) - [Part 1: the Fairfield University campus](#part-1-the-fairfield-university-campus) - [Part 2: Fairfield and Southport](#part-2-fairfield-and-southport) - [When the landmarks line up](#when-the-landmarks-line-up) - [How the list was made](#how-the-list-was-made) - [How to read each entry](#how-to-read-each-entry) For a level horizon, the sun rises on the campus at 7:14, 7:15 and 7:16 AM and sets at 6:01, 5:59 and 5:58 PM, Friday to Sunday, Eastern Daylight Time. It rises at 105 degrees and sets at 255. Six of the seven walls are evening walls that line up between 5:23 and 5:36 PM, 25 to 35 minutes before sunset. ### The weekend's schedule and the light The events below are the ones Fairfield's [Alumni & Family Weekend page](https://www.fairfield.edu/alumni-family-weekend/) and the [Quick Center's listing for the Glee Club concert](https://quickcenter.fairfield.edu/2026-27-season-calendar/music/glee-club-alumni-family-weekend-concert.html) showed in search results on October 17. The University's own pages could not be opened from where this guide was written, so the list comes from those search summaries. They gave no days or times for 2026. The University puts the full schedule in the Fairfield University app, so check it there and match it to the light below. All times are Eastern Daylight Time. - Friday, October 23: sunrise at 7:14 AM and sunset at 6:01 PM. Faber Hall (entry 1) gets golden light at 7:26 AM. In the evening, Alumni House lines up at 5:25 PM, Claver Hall at 5:29 PM, the library and the Bannow Science Center at 5:30 PM, and Kostka Hall at 5:33 PM. - Saturday, October 24: sunrise at 7:15 AM and sunset at 5:59 PM. Faber Hall lines up with the sunrise at 7:24 AM. In the evening, McAuliffe Hall lines up at 5:23 PM, Alumni House at 5:26 PM, Claver Hall at 5:30 PM, the library at 5:31 PM, the Bannow Science Center at 5:32 PM and Kostka Hall at 5:35 PM. - Sunday, October 25: sunrise at 7:16 AM and sunset at 5:58 PM. Faber Hall lines up with the sunrise at 7:23 AM, 0.9 degrees up, the lowest of the weekend. The evening walls line up from 5:24 PM at McAuliffe Hall to 5:36 PM at Kostka Hall. - Brunch: a ticketed event. On the morning of the brunch, Faber Hall lines up with the sunrise first, on the south side of the campus. - Welcome Dinner: a ticketed event. If it falls on Friday evening, the six evening walls line up between 5:25 and 5:33 PM, before dinner. - StagFest: a ticketed event. In 2024 it was held at the Barone Campus Center traffic circle, with food trucks and live music ([Fairfield University](https://www.fairfield.edu/news/2024/october/alumni-family-weekend.html)). The Bannow Science Center (entry 3) stands about 100 m south of the Campus Center. - Glee Club Alumni & Family Weekend Concert, at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts: the Glee Club opens its 80th anniversary season with the Chamber Singers, Sweet Harmony, the Bensonians and Glee Club alumni. Claver Hall (entry 4) stands about 150 m from the Quick Center, and the library about 170 m. If the concert is in the evening, both line up before it. ### Part 1: the Fairfield University campus Seven walls, in the order a day runs: one for the sunrise on the south side of the campus and six for the evening, from the library in the middle of the campus to Alumni House and McAuliffe Hall on the north side. #### 1 Faber Hall Fairfield University, Fairfield, Connecticut Wall east-southeast, facing 107° Sun The rising sun lines up with this wall on Oct 24 to 25. Best: Sunday, October 25 at 7:23 AM, 0.9° above the horizon. Leaves Fairfield County is among the last parts of Connecticut to turn. The state's fall foliage drives guide estimates peak viewing on its Fairfield County loop from October 31 to November 9 ([CTvisit](https://ctvisit.com/articles/top-fall-foliage-drives-in-connecticut)). Where to stand The hall is shaped like an L, and the wall is the east side of its short wing, 28 m long. Stand on the lawn east-southeast of the wall, with the sun behind you. Stay off the drives south of the hall. The sun lines up with the wall at the horizon at 7:24 AM on Saturday and 7:23 AM on Sunday, 1.3 and 0.9 degrees up. On Friday at 7:26 AM it is golden light, 1.8 degrees up. The north end of the wall is in the shade of the hall's own wing. Nothing else in the outlines stands in the way. Computed from the building outline and the sun's position, and not checked on the ground. A residence hall on the south side of the campus. It was the house at 42 Bellarmine Road, the main residence of the University's Jesuit community. After a new Jesuit residence was built in 2009, the house was renovated and became a residence hall ([Fairfield University](https://www.fairfield.edu/student-life/housing-and-living-experience/residence-halls/faber-hall/)). *The building page in Henge Days. The highlighted walls face 107°, toward the sunrise on the days in the row below; every wall carries its bearing.* - **Sat, Oct 24 to Tue, Oct 27, 2026**4 mornings · best Tue, Oct 27 **7:19 AM** Henge sunrise, sun on the horizon ESE 107° wall Its row in the Henge days list, with the time of the head-on moment on the best day. Save keeps that day in your planner, which can send it to your calendar app. Saving asks you to sign in with an email link; there is no password. *The year for every wall of the building. Each row is a wall; the colored runs are its henge, golden and low-sun days.* [Open this wall in Henge Days](https://hengedays.com/at/41.15483,-73.25386?q=Faber+Hall%2C+Fairfield+University%2C+Fairfield%2C+CT&b=osm%2Fway%2F744986101&facade=24&d=2026-10-24) #### 2 DiMenna-Nyselius Library Fairfield University, Fairfield, Connecticut Wall west-southwest, facing 250° Sun The low evening sun lines up with this wall on Oct 23 to 25. Best: Sunday, October 25 at 5:32 PM, 3.8° above the horizon. Leaves Fairfield County is among the last parts of Connecticut to turn. The state's fall foliage drives guide estimates peak viewing on its Fairfield County loop from October 31 to November 9 ([CTvisit](https://ctvisit.com/articles/top-fall-foliage-drives-in-connecticut)). Where to stand The wall is the library's west front, 62 m in three sections, facing Bellarmine Hall across the campus. Stand on the lawn west-southwest of the wall, with the sun behind you. The sun lines up with the wall at 5:30 PM on Friday, 5:31 PM on Saturday and 5:32 PM on Sunday, 4.7, 4.3 and 3.8 degrees up. These are golden days: at the head-on moment the sun is 2 to 6 degrees up. Bellarmine Hall, toward the sun, rises 2.0 degrees in the outlines; its height is an estimate. Computed from the building outline and the sun's position, and not checked on the ground. The University's library, in the middle of the campus. The first building opened in 1968 and was named Nyselius Library in 1971 for Gustav and Dagmar Nyselius. An expansion paid for largely by Joseph A. DiMenna Jr., Class of 1980, nearly doubled it, and the library reopened on October 4, 2001 ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DiMenna-Nyselius_Library)). *The building page in Henge Days. The highlighted walls face 250°, toward the sunset on the days in the row below; every wall carries its bearing.* - **Wed, Oct 21 to Mon, Nov 2, 2026**13 evenings · best Mon, Nov 2 **4:43 PM** Golden sunset, sun 0° up WSW 250° wall Its row in the Henge days list, with the time of the head-on moment on the best day. Save keeps that day in your planner, which can send it to your calendar app. Saving asks you to sign in with an email link; there is no password. *The year for every wall of the building. Each row is a wall; the colored runs are its henge, golden and low-sun days.* [Open this wall in Henge Days](https://hengedays.com/at/41.15763,-73.25587?q=DiMenna-Nyselius+Library%2C+Fairfield%2C+CT&b=osm%2Fway%2F740786334&facade=0&d=2026-10-21) Family photo spot. Stand the family on the lawn a few steps out from the library's west front, turned partway toward the camera. The photographer stands west-southwest of them, with the sun low behind and to one side, which lights faces and the wall behind them in the same warm light. Go on Saturday at 5:31 PM or Sunday at 5:32 PM, when the sun is lowest. The Quick Center is about 170 m south, so the picture fits before an evening event there. Post it with #HengeDays. Computed from the building outline and the sun's position, and not checked on the ground. #### 3 Rudolph F. Bannow Science Center Fairfield University, Fairfield, Connecticut Wall west-southwest, facing 250° Sun The low evening sun lines up with this wall on Oct 23 to 25. Best: Sunday, October 25 at 5:33 PM, 3.7° above the horizon. Leaves Fairfield County is among the last parts of Connecticut to turn. The state's fall foliage drives guide estimates peak viewing on its Fairfield County loop from October 31 to November 9 ([CTvisit](https://ctvisit.com/articles/top-fall-foliage-drives-in-connecticut)). Where to stand The wall is the long west side of the building, 108 m in several sections. Stand on the lawn west-southwest of the wall, with the sun behind you. The sun lines up with the wall at 5:30 PM on Friday, 5:32 PM on Saturday and 5:33 PM on Sunday, 4.7, 4.2 and 3.7 degrees up. These are golden days: at the head-on moment the sun is 2 to 6 degrees up. About 65 m of the wall is in the sun at that moment. Parts of the middle and southern sections are in the shade of buildings toward the sun, Egan Chapel among them; their heights are estimates. Computed from the building outline and the sun's position, and not checked on the ground. The science building, between the library and the Barone Campus Center. It opened in 1971, and federal funds helped pay for it ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairfield_University)). The Center for Nursing and Health Studies adjoins it on the east. *The building page in Henge Days. The highlighted walls face 250°, toward the sunset on the days in the row below; every wall carries its bearing.* - **Wed, Oct 21 to Mon, Nov 2, 2026**13 evenings · best Mon, Nov 2 **4:44 PM** Golden sunset, sun 0° up WSW 250° wall Its row in the Henge days list, with the time of the head-on moment on the best day. Save keeps that day in your planner, which can send it to your calendar app. Saving asks you to sign in with an email link; there is no password. *The year for every wall of the building. Each row is a wall; the colored runs are its henge, golden and low-sun days.* [Open this wall in Henge Days](https://hengedays.com/at/41.15856,-73.25658?q=Bannow+Science+Center%2C+Fairfield+University%2C+Fairfield%2C+CT&b=osm%2Fway%2F743533566&facade=17&d=2026-10-21) #### 4 Claver Hall Fairfield University, Fairfield, Connecticut Wall west-southwest, facing 250° Sun The low evening sun lines up with this wall on Oct 23 to 25. Best: Sunday, October 25 at 5:31 PM, 4.0° above the horizon. Leaves Fairfield County is among the last parts of Connecticut to turn. The state's fall foliage drives guide estimates peak viewing on its Fairfield County loop from October 31 to November 9 ([CTvisit](https://ctvisit.com/articles/top-fall-foliage-drives-in-connecticut)). Where to stand The wall is the long west side of the hall, 68 m in two main sections. Stand on the lawn west-southwest of the wall, with the sun behind you. The sun lines up with the wall at 5:29 PM on Friday, 5:30 PM on Saturday and 5:31 PM on Sunday, 4.9, 4.5 and 4.0 degrees up. These are golden days: at the head-on moment the sun is 2 to 6 degrees up. The Quick Center and the Dolan School of Business, toward the sun, rise up to 3.1 degrees in the outlines; their heights are estimates. Computed from the building outline and the sun's position, and not checked on the ground. A residence hall east of the Quick Center and the Dolan School of Business, opened in 1972. It is named for Saint Peter Claver, S.J., a Spanish Jesuit whom the University's housing page calls an advocate for human rights ([Fairfield University](https://www.fairfield.edu/student-life/housing-and-living-experience/residence-halls/claver-hall/)). *The building page in Henge Days. The highlighted walls face 250°, toward the sunset on the days in the row below; every wall carries its bearing.* - **Wed, Oct 21 to Tue, Nov 3, 2026**14 evenings · best Tue, Nov 3 **4:44 PM** Golden sunset, sun 0° up WSW 250° wall Its row in the Henge days list, with the time of the head-on moment on the best day. Save keeps that day in your planner, which can send it to your calendar app. Saving asks you to sign in with an email link; there is no password. *The year for every wall of the building. Each row is a wall; the colored runs are its henge, golden and low-sun days.* [Open this wall in Henge Days](https://hengedays.com/at/41.15699,-73.25383?q=Claver+Hall%2C+Fairfield+University%2C+Fairfield%2C+CT&b=osm%2Fway%2F744986100&facade=14&d=2026-10-21) #### 5 Kostka Hall Fairfield University, Fairfield, Connecticut Wall west-southwest, facing 251° Sun The low evening sun lines up with this wall on Oct 23 to 25. Best: Sunday, October 25 at 5:36 PM, 3.1° above the horizon. Leaves Fairfield County is among the last parts of Connecticut to turn. The state's fall foliage drives guide estimates peak viewing on its Fairfield County loop from October 31 to November 9 ([CTvisit](https://ctvisit.com/articles/top-fall-foliage-drives-in-connecticut)). Where to stand The hall is shaped like an H. The wall is the long west side of its western wing, 28 m. The west sides of the other wing and the link between them face the hall itself and are in its shade, so frame the western wing. Stand on the lawn west-southwest of it, with the sun behind you. The sun lines up with the wall at 5:33 PM on Friday, 5:35 PM on Saturday and 5:36 PM on Sunday, 4.1, 3.6 and 3.1 degrees up. These are golden days: at the head-on moment the sun is 2 to 6 degrees up. A building toward the sun rises 0.8 degrees in the outlines over most of the wall, and 3.3 degrees over the last few meters at one end, which are in shade on Sunday; its height is an estimate. Computed from the building outline and the sun's position, and not checked on the ground. A residence hall on the south side of the campus, north of Claver Hall. The University's housing page gives its opening as 1970 ([Fairfield University](https://www.fairfield.edu/student-life/housing-and-living-experience/residence-halls/kostka-hall/index.html)), and the University archives list it among the buildings finished in 1971 ([DigitalCommons@Fairfield](https://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/findingaids/23)). *The building page in Henge Days. The highlighted walls face 251°, toward the sunset on the days in the row below; every wall carries its bearing.* - **Tue, Oct 20 to Sun, Nov 1, 2026**13 evenings · best Sun, Nov 1 **4:46 PM** Golden sunset, sun 0° up WSW 251° wall Its row in the Henge days list, with the time of the head-on moment on the best day. Save keeps that day in your planner, which can send it to your calendar app. Saving asks you to sign in with an email link; there is no password. *The year for every wall of the building. Each row is a wall; the colored runs are its henge, golden and low-sun days.* [Open this wall in Henge Days](https://hengedays.com/at/41.15758,-73.25396?q=Kostka+Hall%2C+Fairfield+University%2C+Fairfield%2C+CT&b=osm%2Fway%2F744986099&facade=39&d=2026-10-20) #### 6 Alumni House Fairfield University, Fairfield, Connecticut Wall west-southwest, facing 249° Sun The low evening sun lines up with this wall on Oct 23 to 25. Best: Sunday, October 25 at 5:28 PM, 4.6° above the horizon. Leaves Fairfield County is among the last parts of Connecticut to turn. The state's fall foliage drives guide estimates peak viewing on its Fairfield County loop from October 31 to November 9 ([CTvisit](https://ctvisit.com/articles/top-fall-foliage-drives-in-connecticut)). Where to stand The wall is the house's west side, 21 m long. Stand on the lawn west-southwest of the wall, with the sun behind you. The sun lines up with the wall at 5:25 PM on Friday, 5:26 PM on Saturday and 5:28 PM on Sunday, 5.6, 5.1 and 4.6 degrees up. These are golden days: at the head-on moment the sun is 2 to 6 degrees up. The Kelley Center Parking Garage, toward the sun, rises 4.2 degrees in the outlines; its height is an estimate. On Sunday the sun clears it by less than half a degree, so go on Friday or Saturday. Computed from the building outline and the sun's position, and not checked on the ground. The home of the University's Alumni Relations office, building 22 on the campus map ([Fairfield University](https://www.fairfield.edu/files/documents/about/campus-map_brochure.pdf)), on the north side of the campus near the Kelley Center. *The building page in Henge Days. The highlighted walls face 249°, toward the sunset on the days in the row below; every wall carries its bearing.* - **Fri, Oct 23 to Wed, Nov 4, 2026**13 evenings · best Wed, Nov 4 **4:41 PM** Golden sunset, sun 0° up WSW 249° wall Its row in the Henge days list, with the time of the head-on moment on the best day. Save keeps that day in your planner, which can send it to your calendar app. Saving asks you to sign in with an email link; there is no password. *The year for every wall of the building. Each row is a wall; the colored runs are its henge, golden and low-sun days.* [Open this wall in Henge Days](https://hengedays.com/at/41.16121,-73.25547?q=Alumni+House%2C+Fairfield+University%2C+Fairfield%2C+CT&b=osm%2Fway%2F743533571&facade=7&d=2026-10-23) #### 7 McAuliffe Hall Fairfield University, Fairfield, Connecticut Wall west-southwest, facing 249° Sun The low evening sun lines up with this wall on Oct 24 to 25. Best: Sunday, October 25 at 5:24 PM, 5.2° above the horizon. Leaves Fairfield County is among the last parts of Connecticut to turn. The state's fall foliage drives guide estimates peak viewing on its Fairfield County loop from October 31 to November 9 ([CTvisit](https://ctvisit.com/articles/top-fall-foliage-drives-in-connecticut)). Where to stand The wall is the hall's west side, 55 m in two main sections. Stand on the lawn west-southwest of the wall, between it and the drive that runs past it, with the sun behind you. Stay out of the drive. The sun lines up with the wall at 5:23 PM on Saturday and 5:24 PM on Sunday, 5.7 and 5.2 degrees up. These are golden days: at the head-on moment the sun is 2 to 6 degrees up. On Friday at 5:21 PM the sun is 6.2 degrees up, above golden light. About 30 m of the wall is in the sun at that moment. The north end of each section is in the shade of Campion Hall, toward the sun; its height is an estimate. Computed from the building outline and the sun's position, and not checked on the ground. One of the University's first buildings. When Fairfield opened in 1942, its founding Jesuits furnished classrooms and living quarters in McAuliffe Hall and Bellarmine Hall ([DigitalCommons@Fairfield](https://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/findingaids/23)). It is named for Bishop Maurice F. McAuliffe ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Fairfield_University_buildings)). The campus map lists the Bursar and the offices for finance and purchasing in it ([Fairfield University](https://www.fairfield.edu/files/documents/about/campus-map_brochure.pdf)). *The building page in Henge Days. The highlighted walls face 249°, toward the sunset on the days in the row below; every wall carries its bearing.* - **Sat, Oct 24 to Fri, Nov 6, 2026**14 evenings · best Fri, Nov 6 **4:40 PM** Golden sunset, sun 0° up WSW 249° wall Its row in the Henge days list, with the time of the head-on moment on the best day. Save keeps that day in your planner, which can send it to your calendar app. Saving asks you to sign in with an email link; there is no password. *The year for every wall of the building. Each row is a wall; the colored runs are its henge, golden and low-sun days.* [Open this wall in Henge Days](https://hengedays.com/at/41.16229,-73.25551?q=McAuliffe+Hall%2C+Fairfield+University%2C+Fairfield%2C+CT&b=osm%2Fway%2F744986102&facade=23&d=2026-10-24) ### Part 2: Fairfield and Southport No building in downtown Fairfield, at the beaches or in Southport has a wall that lines up with this weekend's sunrise or sunset with a clear view. The Post Road and the streets around the Town Hall Green run at about 40 and 130 degrees, so their walls face northeast, southeast, southwest and northwest, far from the sun's 105 and 255 degrees. So the town is for the hours between events, and the beaches are for the sunrise. Downtown Fairfield is about 2 km south of the campus by North Benson Road, around the Post Road and the Fairfield station on the Metro-North New Haven Line. The Fairfield Museum and History Center, at 370 Beach Road on the Town Hall Green, lists its hours as Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, with free general admission through November 25, 2026 ([Fairfield Museum](https://www.fairfieldhistory.org/visit/)). The Town Hall, the Burr Homestead and First Church Congregational stand around the same green. Sherman Green is a small park on the Post Road at the west end of downtown. Check the museum's hours before you go. Jennings Beach and Penfield Beach are about 3 km southeast of the campus, on Long Island Sound. The shore there runs from northeast to southwest, so the sunrise at 105 degrees comes up over the water: at 7:14 AM on Friday, 7:15 AM on Saturday and 7:16 AM on Sunday. The long east end of [Penfield Pavilion](https://hengedays.com/at/41.13479,-73.24117?q=Penfield+Pavilion%2C+Fairfield+Beach+Road%2C+Fairfield%2C+CT&b=osm%2Fway%2F926464912&facade=15&d=2026-10-20), the town's beach pavilion on Fairfield Beach Road, faces 105 degrees and lines up with the sunrise at the horizon from Tuesday, October 20, to Thursday, October 22, best on Thursday at 7:15 AM, the morning before Family Weekend. From Friday on, the sun has passed that bearing by the time it rises. Computed from the building outline and the sun's position, and not checked on the ground. Southport village is about 3 km southwest of the campus, around its harbor on the Mill River and along Pequot Avenue. Pequot Library, at 720 Pequot Avenue, is free to visit and lists its Saturday hours from September to June as 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and Friday's as 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM ([Pequot Library](https://www.pequotlibrary.org/?p=131)). Its walls face 48, 139, 228 and 318 degrees, and none lines up this weekend. Sunset over the village is at 6:01 PM on Friday, 5:59 PM on Saturday and 5:58 PM on Sunday. ### When the landmarks line up The campus buildings a family asks about first do not face this weekend's low sun with a clear view. Their next days, from the same engine: - [Bellarmine Hall](https://hengedays.com/at/41.15666,-73.25888?q=Bellarmine+Hall%2C+Fairfield%2C+CT&b=osm%2Fway%2F742012952&facade=17&d=2027-02-21), the mansion at the top of the lawn: the west-southwest wall, 34 m facing 257 degrees, lines up with the sunset at the horizon from February 21 to 23, 2027, and again from October 17 to 20, 2027. - [Barone Campus Center](https://hengedays.com/at/41.15919,-73.25757?q=Barone+Campus+Center%2C+Fairfield%2C+CT&b=osm%2Fway%2F743533568&facade=13&d=2027-02-20): the west-southwest wall, 96 m facing 256 degrees, lines up with the sunset at the horizon from February 20 to 23, 2027, and again from October 18 to 20, 2027. - [Egan Chapel of St. Ignatius Loyola](https://hengedays.com/at/41.15800,-73.25779?q=Egan+Chapel+of+Saint+Ignatius+Loyola%2C+Fairfield%2C+CT&b=osm%2Fway%2F743533572&facade=0&d=2027-03-11): the west wall, facing 266 degrees, lines up with the sunset at the horizon from March 11 to 13, 2027, and again from September 29 to October 1, 2027. - [Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts](https://hengedays.com/at/41.15612,-73.25551?q=Regina+A.+Quick+Center+for+the+Arts%2C+Fairfield%2C+CT&b=osm%2Fway%2F743533569&facade=8&d=2026-10-23): the west-southwest wall, 71 m facing 250 degrees, gets golden evening light all weekend and the sunset at the horizon from October 30 to November 2, 2026. The Dolan School of Business stands in front of it toward the sun, so the wall is in shade at those moments. ### How the list was made Henge Days computed every named building within 300 to 450 meters of 12 points: Bellarmine Hall and its lawn, the Barone Campus Center and Egan Chapel, the library with the Quick Center and the Dolan School, Alumni Hall with the RecPlex and Rafferty Stadium, the Townhouses and the Village, the west side of the campus, Fairfield Center and the Town Hall Green, the Post Road with the train station and Sherman Green, Jennings Beach, Penfield Beach, Southport's harbor and Pequot Avenue. A second pass added 12 smaller searches along the Post Road, in Southport, on the north side of the campus and at both beaches. It used OpenStreetMap outlines. It kept walls where the sun lines up with the wall within 6 degrees of the horizon on at least one day from Friday, October 23, to Sunday, October 25. It then traced the sun's path from each section of each wall, against all 2,136 outlines it had fetched, and dropped the sections where a neighboring building stands higher than the sun. The check leaves seven walls, all on the campus. Each one was also checked on its map for its own building, or a building attached to it, standing in front of it. Faber Hall and Kostka Hall keep only the sections their own wings leave in the sun.Many campus walls face west-southwest, between 249 and 257 degrees. The ones near 250 degrees meet the evening sun this weekend 3 to 6 degrees up, in golden light. The Center for Nursing and Health Studies lines up too, but the Bannow Science Center, which adjoins it, stands in front of its west wall. Alumni Hall, Meditz Hall, 47 Mahan Road and the Dolan School of Business line up behind taller neighbors. The west wall of Fairfield College Preparatory School, the Jesuit high school on the campus, has a 32 m section with a clear view and is left out because the school is a separate institution. Downtown and in Southport, the walls face away from the sun's bearings, and OpenStreetMap gives names to only 2 of the buildings the Southport searches returned. Hills and trees are not part of that check, and the times assume a level horizon. Each search returns at most 200 buildings, and 14 of the 24 reached that limit, most of them in town, where houses stand close together. Most neighboring buildings carry no height in OpenStreetMap; the check assumed about three stories for them, and each entry says so. Every date and time comes from the Henge Days engine for the wall's own bearing, in Eastern Daylight Time. ### How to read each entry Each entry shows the building as Henge Days shows it. The map marks the building's outline from OpenStreetMap, gives every wall its compass bearing, and highlights the wall that lines up with the sun. Below it are the wall's row from the building's Henge days list, with a Save button that keeps the best day in your planner, and a year of head-on days for every wall. The Clear view line is the result of the check for other buildings on the best day. Any building has a page like the ones above, your student's hall included. Whatever you shoot, post it with #HengeDays: [Look up a building](https://hengedays.com/) [Open your planner](https://hengedays.com/planner) ### Sources - [Fairfield University: Alumni & Family Weekend](https://www.fairfield.edu/alumni-family-weekend/) - [Quick Center for the Arts: Glee Club Alumni & Family Weekend Concert](https://quickcenter.fairfield.edu/2026-27-season-calendar/music/glee-club-alumni-family-weekend-concert.html) - [Fairfield University: Alumni & Family Weekend, October 18 to 20, 2024](https://www.fairfield.edu/news/2024/october/alumni-family-weekend.html) - [Fairfield University: Faber Hall](https://www.fairfield.edu/student-life/housing-and-living-experience/residence-halls/faber-hall/) - [Fairfield University: Claver Hall](https://www.fairfield.edu/student-life/housing-and-living-experience/residence-halls/claver-hall/) - [Fairfield University: Kostka Hall](https://www.fairfield.edu/student-life/housing-and-living-experience/residence-halls/kostka-hall/index.html) - [Fairfield University: campus map](https://www.fairfield.edu/files/documents/about/campus-map_brochure.pdf) - [DigitalCommons@Fairfield: University archives finding aid](https://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/findingaids/23) - [Wikipedia: DiMenna-Nyselius Library](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DiMenna-Nyselius_Library) - [Wikipedia: List of Fairfield University buildings](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Fairfield_University_buildings) - [Wikipedia: Fairfield University](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairfield_University) - [Fairfield Museum and History Center: Visit](https://www.fairfieldhistory.org/visit/) - [Pequot Library: Standard hours](https://www.pequotlibrary.org/?p=131) - [CTvisit: Connecticut's top fall foliage drives](https://ctvisit.com/articles/top-fall-foliage-drives-in-connecticut) - [Building outlines: OpenStreetMap contributors](https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright) ### The newsletter Henge Days also has a newsletter. It covers what each release of the site adds and how to use it, and the buildings the #HengeDays community photographs in head-on light. [Read it on Substack](https://hengedays.substack.com/). The address goes to Substack, which sends the email and asks you to confirm. Henge Days does not keep it. --- Every date and time on Henge Days is computed from a building outline in OpenStreetMap and the position of the sun. Nobody has checked it on the ground. Hills, trees and other buildings can block a low sun. Treat each date as a plan to confirm before you travel. See https://hengedays.com/terms.md. Henge Days is free to use; sign in only to save days to a planner. Contact: hello@hengedays.com.