In 1949, to meet the acute demand for housing, Harvard University constructed new residences for faculty as well as returning WWII servicemen. According to an article in the April 29, 1948 issue of the Cambridge Chronicle, the primary purpose of the new residences was “to reduce the pressure on Harvard faculty and families and on veterans living and working in the community.” Located at the corner of Linnaean and Garden streets, the site had been the University’s botanic garden and herbarium under the direction of the botany department. In addition to its primary role as a scientific collection, the garden had also been a very popular public green space.
The planned community consisted of 117 single-family, duplex, and apartment units. The architects, Des Granges and Steffian, integrated their plan with the existing terrain and preserved landscape features where possible. Along the site’s northern boundary, single-family and semi-detached houses adjoined Gray Gardens East, while two-story buildings along Linnaean and Garden streets created a transition to the higher density three-story apartment blocks that occupied the center of the complex. Following old garden paths, two new streets were constructed for the development, both named after past curators of the herbarium, Benjamin Robinson and Merritt Fernald.
The multi-unit buildings were organized around courtyards incorporating existing mature trees. Due to the sloping site, three-story buildings transition to two stories on the south sides of the courtyards, so they receive ample sunlight even in winter. Mortared stone and concrete retaining walls and concrete steps negotiated levels within the varied topography. Buildings were constructed of red brick with flat roofs, simple squared-off cornices, and casement windows. The main entrances were designed as focal points with flat-roofed canopies below projecting two-story bay windows. More extensive use of glass flanking the entry door and extending up the bay windows was in contrast to the more austere and opaque brick facades.
In the 1990s, Blackstone Block Architects was commissioned to renovate the complex including new accessible entrances, signage, outdoor seating, brick sidewalks along Fernald Drive, and new plantings. The residences remain under Harvard University Housing.
Sources
Cambridge Chronicle, April 29, 1948.
Building Old Cambridge, Susan E. Maycock and Charles M. Sullivan, 2016.
