By the end of World War II MIT suffered from major crowding problems, largely do to the influx of WW2 veterans funded by the GI Bill.  The Institute consequently began searching for suitable places to house the increasing number of young men on campus.  This initial housing expansion occurred in two consecutive steps.  In 1949, Alvar Aalto designed and built Baker House.  A year later, MIT purchased the Riverside Apartment Hotels on Memorial Drive.  The two-part building was renovated before classes began in the fall of 1950 and was renamed Burton House and Conner Hall or Burton-Conner.  The new residents were a mix of freshmen and upperclassmen that came from all over campus including the then defunct and now demolished Building 22.   The residents spent their first year under the leadership of Faculty Resident and Professor John T. Rule and House Chairman Jay F. Koogle.   

Burton-Conner is a single, six-story building that is separated into three sections Burton House, Conner Hall, and large common areas.  Burton House consists of the three western-most wings of the House and was named after Alfred Edgar Burton a Professor of Topographical Engineering at MIT from 1882-1922 and the first Dean of Students and Undergraduate Education.  During his term student government was founded and MIT’s current dormitory system was introduced.  Conversely, Conner Hall consisted of the two eastern-most wings of the dorm and was named after Arthur Jewett Conner class of 1888, a benefactor to the Institute.  The common areas of the dorm include the Porter Room, the library, several conference rooms and the main lobby floor.