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Architect Spotlight: Happy Birthday Benjamin Thompson

Posted on July 3, 2020August 17, 2020 by Brittany F.

Today marks the birthday of a locally influential architect, Benjamin Thompson (1918-2002) who was a founding member of The Architects Collaborative (TAC). In operation from 1945 to 1995, TAC was an architectural firm of eight architects who specialized in post-war modernism design. Thompson left TAC in 1966 due to creative differences and he established Benjamin Thompson and Associates (BTA) a year later. He also embarked on an interior design company, Design Research (D/R), which he owned from 1953 to 1970 when it then changed ownership. Thompson’s original store was located at 57 Brattle Street.

thompson image — Thompson, Benjamin. “Let’s Make it Real.” *Architectural Record.* January 1966.

To celebrate Thompson’s birthday, we want to highlight one of his many projects. We’ve chosen his renovation work on a historic building here in Cambridge since it marks his efforts to combine his modernist sentiments with a conscious effort to retain older architectural design. The choice was further bolstered by Thompson’s personal connection with his client, Harvard University. Thompson was an instructor for the Harvard Graduate School of Design and from 1964 to 1968 he presided as Chair of the Architectural Department. Furthermore, the CHC possesses the Benjamin Thompson Associates Collection (CHC051), which contains booklets, images, and other formats concerning the work of the architecture firm and Thompson’s designs.

So what is the building? Boylston Hall, located at the southwest side of the Harvard Yard. But before we get into Thompson’s renovation, we’d like to give some historical background of the building.

Boylston Hall_HU_ca.1870_No source - small — CHC digital image. Ca. 1870

Boylston Hall was designed and built by Paul Schulze (1828-1897) in 1858. Schulze was a German immigrant who moved to America in 1849. He had previously planned and constructed Appleton Chapel (built 1858) for Harvard University and the success of that venture motivated members of the Harvard faculty to advocate for his continued employment. One spokesperson was Erving Professor Josiah P. Cooke, Jr. who wrote a letter of encouragement to Harvard’s President Rev. James Walker. As part of the Chemistry Department, Cooke’s letter explained how his department was being inadequately serviced in the University Hall.

Items from CHC051 collection. Featuring Boylston Hall and Design Research building

For some time, the Chemistry Department was held in University Hall’s basement. Conversations had begun the spring and summer of 1856 to search for alternative accommodations and it was decided that a purpose-built chemistry laboratory facility was the solution. It would be the first building of its kind in America whose construction was specifically dedicated to chemistry. Schulze completed and submitted his description of Boylston Hall on January 15, 1857.

Boylston Hall received financial patronage from Ward Nicholas Boylston (1747-1828) who posthumously donated a large sum to the University under the agreement that the new construction would adhere to his stipulations. Boylston required that the building would house an Anatomical Museum, a Mineralogical Cabinet, a Cabinet of Apparatus, lecture rooms, and a chemistry lab — the final component aligning smoothly with the University’s needs. To speed up the construction process, a subscription was raised to increase the building fund to $40,000.

Schulze, as part of Schulze & Schoen, constructed the 117’ x 70’ Boylston Hall. Designed in the Renaissance style, Boylston Hall has been labeled as part of the Boston Granite Style and this style became highly influential in Boston’s mercantile buildings and wharf structures, such as Mercantile Wharf, the Custom House Block, and Quincy Market. Boylston Hall has likewise been equated to Schulze’s contemporary and prolific Bostonian architect, Gridley J.F. Bryant, by architectural historians due to their similar material use.

Items from CHC051 collection. Featuring Benjamin Thompson’s interior designs

Nonetheless, Boylston Hall exterior was of Rockport granite set in rough large blocks almost 2 feet thick. The building held curved windows with Italianate tracery and its entrance was centered. Contracted skilled workers included Ebenezer Johnson, master mason; Jonas Fitch, carpentry; Smith and Felton, ironwork; Thomas Haviland, plastering; and John Bates, painting and glazing. The interior was lined with brick and plaster and it was split into two stories of 17ft and 23ft tall. The first floor held the Public Laboratory, the library, the Anatomical Laboratory, and lecture and recitation rooms, which were connected by a central hall. The Anatomical Museum, the Mineralogical Cabinet, the Cabinet of Apparatus, and more lecture rooms were located on the second floor. At the time, the items in these exhibits were under the stewardship of Professor Jeffries Wyman but presently some are now housed at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology.

Boylston Hall was part of a Harvard trend where buildings were situated in relation to the Yard. The front facade faced inwardly instead of toward Massachusetts Avenue or even University Hall, which was once the center of a campus design plan. Douglas Shand-Tucci states in Harvard University: An Architectural Tour, “Boylston Hall’s original role as one of the heralds of the New Yard” helped bolster this variant campus nucleus that countered the Old Yard” (151). It also became the site of great expansion to the Chemistry Department under the direction of Erving Professor Josiah P. Cooke, Jr., Professor Charles Loring Jackson, and Professor Henry Barker Hill.

Boylston Hall_HU_1874_Notman & Son Photo — Notman & Son image. 1874

By 1870, the Chemistry Department required more space, and so a mansard roof, incorporating a new third story, was added to accommodate a new laboratory. Peabody and Stearns facilitated the extension and the work was completed in 1871. However, after another twenty years, in 1895 there were again remarks about the space being too cramped for the department’s growing needs. In 1902, a 85’ x 35’ laboratory was adjoined to the basement. According to a Harvard Crimson article, the addition included 8 double benches, 2 single benches, and 14 sinks. Boylston Hall served the Chemistry Department for another twenty years.

In 1929, the Hall was remodeled to house the Harvard-Yenching Institute, an independent public charitable trust founded in 1928 by the Charles M. Hall estate. Still active today, the institute is committed to advancing higher education in Asia in the humanities and social sciences. However, it is no longer headquartered in Boylston Hall; the Institute left in 1958 before another renovation.

Boylston Hall 1976-002 — CHC survey image. 1976

boylston interiors — 1959 Renovation. Interior views. Image from CHC Thompson collection

1959 interior- CHC collection item — 1959 Renovation. Interior Elevation. Image from CHC Thompson collection.

The 1959 renovation to Boylston Hall has been lauded repeatedly. It was the work of the TAC with Benjamin Thompson as principal-in-charge. As mentioned earlier, Thompson was concerned with “adapting spaces to conserve the best qualities of traditional architecture,” as quoted from a booklet available in our CHC051 collection. Coined as “recycling” and cited as the first of its kind in the area, Thompson’s design took great pains to retain the original Boylston Hall. For instance, the new arrangement placed fixed glass sheets in the curved windows. This was intended to improve the visual appeal priorly inhibited by wooden mullions. The new version of glass set in bronze would offset the granite and impose fewer interruptions. Additionally, Bainbridge Bunting stated in Harvard : an architectural history that “the detailing of other new elements, such as the arched metal vestibule at the main entrance, enhances the sense of strength conveyed by the granite masonry” (51). However, the fixity of the windows would prove to be a problem in the future.

Nevertheless, Thompson’s main task for the renovation was to accommodate more office spaces. Over the course of the project, Boylston Hall went from 39,206 sq ft to 53,300 sq ft, allotting 40% more floor space. This was achieved by remodeling the interior by adding a mezzanine between the first and second floors and another floor, making 5 levels total. The project cost about $880,000. Additional interior images can be seen in the items of the CHC051 collection.

Years later, in 1992 upgrades were issued to the exterior granite and six years after, a major renovation occurred. The 1998 project cost $8.3 million and was completed by Robert Olson and Associates, who were tasked with updating Boylston Hall for its current inhabitants.

Boylston Hall_HU_Dan Reiff Image (3) - small — Dan Reiff photo. CHC files

The space was now occupied by humanities departments as part of a larger strategic plan that made a Humanities Arc from Quincy Street to the Yard. Departments included Classics, Literature, Comparative Literature, Linguistics, and Romance Languages. Robert Olson and Associates addressed many of their particular concerns, including making the windows functional to improve air quality.

Boylston Hall_HU_Hollis Image Current — Hollis image. Exterior. *North Side [Ralph Lieberman photograph, 2012)*. Photographer: Ralph Lieberman, 2012. Image ID: olvsurrogate991681

hollis-interior view of lecture hall (2013) — Hollis image. Interior view of lecture hall (2013). Photographer: Ralph Lieberman, 2013. Image ID: olvsurrogate1032227

hollis- interior view of reading room — Hollis image. Interior view of reading room (2013). Photographer: Ralph Lieberman, 2013. Image ID: olvsurrogate1032221

The firm also achieved brighter, more open corridors by installing glass partitions. One of the most notable themes of the renovation was the emphasis on social spaces. Boylston Hall now sported a mezzanine cafeteria (C’est Bon cafe), common spaces and meeting rooms (Ticknor Lounge), and a 144 seat stadium-style auditorium (Fong Auditorium).

On the first floor, two prior large classrooms were split into three more usable classroom sizes. Although the redesign was applauded by most, not everyone praised the changes. News articles quoted people remarking on inferior workmanship and the loss of office space– it seems Ebenezer Johnson and the other contracted skilled workers of the first build were greatly missed! Additionally, as we’ve moved to the twenty-first century, the glass partitions between classrooms have caused logistical problems with audiovisual equipment due to the presence of glare. Nonetheless, Boylston Hall’s exterior has retained most of its visual integrity. Today, the building still serves the Departments of Classics and Linguistics but also Women, Gender & Sexuality.

Sources:

Bunting, Bainbridge. Harvard: An Architectural History. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1985.
Cambridge Chronicle. 24 August 1895.
Eliot, Charles W. Harvard Memories. Cambridge, 1923.
Harvard Crimson. 25 September 1902.
Harvard University. “About: Boylston Hall.” https://rll.fas.harvard.edu/pages/boylston-hall
Harvard University Gazette. 12 March 1998.
Henry, Stephen G. “A Brand New Boylston.” Harvard Crimson. 30 October 1998.
Powell, Alvin. “Boylston Hall Gets a Facelift.” Harvard University Gazette. 17 September 1998.
Shand-Tucci, Douglas. Harvard University: An Architectural Tour (The Campus Guide). Princeton Architectural Press, 2001.
Thirty-Second Annual Report of the President of Harvard College to the Overseers, Exhibiting the State of the Institution for the Academical Year 1856-1857. “Letter of Professor Cooke to Rev. James Walker. December 24, 1857.” Cambridge: Metcalf and Co, 1856.
Image from Thompson, Benjamin. “Let’s Make it Real.” Available in CHC051 Collection.

Torn Down Tuesday – Harvard Botanic Garden Greenhouse

Posted on April 28, 2020May 13, 2020 by cambridgehistoricalcommission

greenhouse_Page_1 — View of the greenhouse complex from within the garden, 1867.

From 1805 to 1948, Harvard University operated a botanic garden under the direction of its botany department. In addition to its role in scientific research and education, the garden was open to the public and became a very popular park. Located on seven acres at the corner of Linnaean and Garden streets, the garden featured a greenhouse filled with exotic tropical plants. The structure was one of several buildings organized in a line on the northern, elevated portion of the site, including the professor’s residence, a herbarium, a library, and a lecture room.

Screenshot 2020-04-28 09.41.29B — 1886 Hopkins atlas showing the layout of the botanical garden buildings and walkway circulation. The greenhouse complex is circled in red.

The greenhouse was designed by Ithiel Town who also designed the professor’s residence (now located at 88 Garden Street). Known for his Greek Revival designs, Town also developed a truss system for bridges, which is named after him. The dimensions of the greenhouse are not known. The structure consisted of a semicircular central block with a pitched roof and lower wings that also had pitched roofs. Cold frames were located along the southern foundation, and a toolshed/workshop was located at the north wall. Wooden shutters slid up and down on tracks. Two cisterns inside the greenhouse were filled with water from a nearby spring, and two wood- and coal-burning stoves heated the structure. The greenhouse featured a traveler’s tree of Madagascar (Ravenala madagascariensis), Indian bamboo (Bambusa bosa), an extensive collection of cacti and palm plants, and over 200 orchids.

greenhouse_Page_2b — View of greenhouse to the right, along with library and herbarium situated on a terrace overlooking the botanical garden, 1867.

An article in a publication called The Century Illustrated Monthly from 1886 described the greenhouse complex:

“From the lecture room, you may pass directly into the conservatory, or what is pleasanter, you may walk out around the big hickory on the terrace and enter the rounded front of the central greenhouse, where an ambitious bamboo almost fills the doorway with masses of dark green drooping leaves … . There are several distinct compartments so as to suit the different requirements of the tropical and sub-tropical plants here brought together from all parts of the world. The 1400 species grown insure a goodly supply of blossoms at all seasons of the year, and hundreds of kinds not found in other greenhouses.”

The structure was razed in the late 1940s to make way for a new residential development for Harvard faculty and students, as well as returning military servicemen.

With the establishment of the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain in 1872, research on woody plants was moved to that location. The herbarium collection continues to be maintained by Harvard at a facility at 22 Divinity Avenue. The former herbarium building, now known as Kittredge Hall, is the home of Harvard University Press.

Below are several illustrations of the greenhouse and plants in The Century Monthly Illustrated drawn by Roger Riordan, Harry Fenn, Francis Lathrop, and E. P. Hayden.

Pages from THE_CENTURY_ILLUSTRATED_MONTHLY_MAGAZINE-2

Sources:

Ernest Ingersoll, “Harvard’s Botanic Garden and Its Botanists,” The Century Monthly Illustrated, 1886, pp.242-243.

Susan E. Maycock and Charles M. Sullivan, Building Old Cambridge, 2016.

Charles A. Hammond, “The Botanic Garden in Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1805-1834,” The Herbarist, Vol. 53, 1987, The Herb Society of America.

50 Quincy Street – Swedenborg Chapel

Posted on February 7, 2020May 14, 2020 by cambridgehistoricalcommission

The following is an excerpt from Swedenborg Chapel Planning Study by Mark Careaga, AIA.

Quincy St 50 DSC_8865 — View of the Chapel from Kirkland Street, near the Quincy Street intersection. CHC Collection.

The Cambridge Society of the New Jerusalem – the formal name of the congregation that worships at Swedenborg Chapel – was formed in 1888. The following year, the New Church Theological School purchased the Treadwell-Sparks house at 48 Quincy Street, directly south of the site where the chapel would later be built in 1901. Named for Jared Sparks, professor of ancient and modern history and president of Harvard University (1849-53), the Treadwell-Sparks house would become the home for the theological school for nearly 70 years. Ten years after the school moved into Sparks House, planning commenced for the chapel, which would serve both the congregation and the school.(26)

chapel drawing — Original exterior details of the Chapel for the New Church Theological School by Warren, Smith and Biscoe Architects, ca. 1901. Cambridge Society of the New Jerusalem Archives.

warren sketch — Drawing of the Chapel by the architect, ca. 1900. CHC Collection.

The chapel’s architect was Herbert Langford Warren (1857-1917), a prominent Boston architect among whose many accomplishments include being a founder and president of the Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston. He was also the first “dean of the School of Architecture at Harvard, having taught there continuously since offering the first course in architecture in 1893.”(27) Warren was a lifelong practicing Swedenborgian, influenced by his father’s commitment to the faith. As an architect, Warren had distinct preferences for English styles,(29) which may stem from his roots (he was born, reared, and educated in Manchester, England (30), from Swedenborgianism’s roots (the church was founded in England in 1787 by devotees of Emanuel Swedenborg’s distinctive Christian theology (31), or both. The chapel’s design reflects the English gothic style consistent with Warren’s deeply felt affection for the medieval English parish church, which he expressed to his students in his lectures.

Below is a description of the Chapel published by the Cambridge Society of the New Jerusalem.

cambridge society desc full 2

chapel and sparks house — View of Sparks House to the right of the Chapel, later moved to Kirkland Street. Undated photograph, CHC Collection.

In the 1960s, the school decided to relocate to Newton, Massachusetts and sold the Sparks House property to Harvard. Given the historical significance of the house, Harvard relocated it a short distance away on Kirkland Street, where it remains today as the home for the minister of Harvard Memorial Church. As Robert Kiven observed in 1968, this was in fact the second time that Sparks House had been moved.(32) As City of Cambridge preservation planner Sally Zimmerman notes, “in 1901, the house was turned 90 degrees and moved south on its lot to make room for the chapel’s construction.”(33)

The New Church Theological School’s establishment at Sparks House marked the beginning of a century-long transformation of Quincy Street. Starting in the 1840s, Quincy Street began to unseat “Professor’s Row” (Kirkland Street) “as a prime residential location for those connected to [Harvard College], and it remained so up to the end of the nineteenth century, as a cosmopolitan group of noted academics settled along the street’s length.”(34) This can be seen in the 1865 map below, which shows five faculty houses on the west side of Quincy Street, in Harvard Yard, eventually replaced by expansion of academic facilities – in particular, Robinson Hall, Sever Hall, and Emerson Hall.

1865 map 2 — Map of Cambridge from 1865 showing faculty housing on Quincy Street. The Chapel would be built where “Prof Lovering” is located, just below “Kirkland St.” City of Cambridge GIS.

1916 Bromley map 3 — Map from 1916 showing the Church of the New Jerusalem, now known as the Swedenborg Chapel. Bromley 1916 atlas, CHC Collection.

The transformation began with the Fogg Museum, designed by architects Coolidge, Shepley, Bullfinch, and Abbott of Boston and built in 1927, taking over 28-36 Quincy Street. In 1963, the Le Corbusier-designed Carpenter Center was completed, with its iconic ramp structurally integrated with a basement library book-stacks facility that was added to the back of the Fogg in 1961 to expand the Fine Arts Library.(35) In 1963, the Minoru Yamasaki-designed William James Hall was completed to house Harvard’s Department of Psychology, which William James was instrumental in establishing.(36) James’ father, Henry James, Sr., was deeply influenced by the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg.(37) Six years later work began at 48 Quincy Street to construct Gund Hall for the Harvard Graduate School of Design (“GSD”), bringing the school that Herbert Langford Warren had founded in the late 1800s directly next door to the chapel he designed for his fellow Swedenborgians and affiliated theological school. Lastly, the Sackler Museum was constructed in 1985, replacing the 1951 Allston Burr Lecture Hall,(38) an outdated science building that had supplanted two smaller residential buildings for Harvard College.

View of lancet window with hand carved detailing. Photo courtesy of M. Careaga.

By the time it relocated to Newton in the 1960s, the New Church Theological School had changed its name to the Swedenborg School of Religion (SSR), and the school constructed an annex on the north side of the chapel, facing Kirkland Street. Designed by Cambridge architect Arthur Brooks, it provided fellowship space and other ancillary functions to support the Cambridge Society congregation, which continued to hold services at the chapel after the school’s departure. By the late 1990s, SSR announced its intentions to sell the chapel property to raise much-needed capital to support its operations. Concerned about the potential loss of a significant work of architecture, the local community and the Cambridge Historical Commission lobbied successfully to obtain City of Cambridge landmark status for the chapel in 1999, paving the way for the Massachusetts New Church Union and the Cambridge Society of the New Jerusalem to purchase the property from SSR in 2001. The chapel site is the only parcel of land that the university does not own on the city block bounded by Quincy Street, Kirkland Street, Sumner Road, and Cambridge Street. Regardless of its status as private property separate from the university, the chapel and its land are intimately connected to Harvard, woven into the physical fabric of the university’s campus as well as through the intersecting histories of Harvard University and the Cambridge Society of the New Jerusalem.

View of reredos and alter. Photo courtesy of M. Careaga.

Today, along with its own congregation, the Swedenborg Chapel hosts two other worshipping communities as well as a monthly Taize candlelight service.

Mark Careaga is Principal and Founder of Mark Careaga Architect LLC, in Cambridge MA. He can be found online at http://www.mcarq.co and on Twitter and Instagram @mcarqco

References

26. Maureen Meister, Architecture and the Arts and Crafts Movement in Boston: Harvard’s H. Langford Warren (Lebanon, NH: University Press of New England, 2003), 110.
27. Meister, 1.
28. Meister, 7-8.
29. cf. Meister, 5, 110.
30. Meister, 8.
31. Meister, 8.
32. Robert H. Kiven, “Letter from the Editor,” The Messenger 188, no.10 (October 1968): 142-143.
34. Sally Zimmerman, “Church of the New Jerusalem / Swedenborg Chapel, 50 Quincy Street, Landmark Designation Study Report,” prepared for the Cambridge Historical Commission, March 5, 1999, 8. This report can be accessed online at: https://www.cambridgema.gov/~/media/Files/historicalcommission/pdf/Landmark_reports/lm_quincy_50.pdf.
35. Zimmerman, “Landmark Designation Study Report,” 8.

36. Natalie Moravek, “William James Hall,” in “William James’ Cambridge,” website designed and hosted by the Cambridge Historical Society, accessed February 7, 2019, https://cambridgehistory.org/james/James 5.html.
37. “Famous Swedenborgians,” part of the website of the Swedenborgian Church of North America, accessed February 7, 2019, https://swedenborg.org/famous-swedenborgians/henry-james-sr/. The web page cites the following source: Alfred Halbegger, The Father: A Life of Henry James, Sr. (New York: Frrar, Straus and Giroux, 1994).
38. Susan E. Maycock and Charles M. Sullivan, Building Old Cambridge: Architecture and Development (Cambridge MA: The MIT Press, 2016), 817. Allston Burr was designed by architect Jean-Paul Carlihan of Coolidge, Shepley, Bullfinch & Abbott.

Helen Keller in Cambridge

Posted on July 1, 2019September 29, 2020 by allisoncrosbie

helen keller graduate — Portrait of Helen Keller in her college graduation cap and gown (Wikimedia)

Helen Keller (1880-1968), was a world renowned author, activist, lecturer, and the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor’s degree. Born in Alabama, Helen later moved to Massachusetts with her teacher and friend Annie Sullivan and attended the Perkins School for the Blind and Cambridge School for Young Ladies in pursuit of her goal of attending college. She successfully passed her exams and was admitted to Radcliffe College, known then as the Harvard Annex, in the fall of 1900.

When she began her studies at Radcliffe, Helen and Annie were living at 14 Coolidge Avenue, now 24 Coolidge Hill Road.

Coolidge Hill Rd 24_001 — 24 Coolidge Hill Road (CHC Collection)

Helen not only immersed herself in her studies, she also participated in social activities. According to an article in the Radcliffe Quarterly, “she played chess and checkers with unusual concentration, and was an enthusiastic wheelwoman often seen on the Cambridge streets on her tandem… when elections for officers were held, Helen was chosen Vice President.”

Helen_Keller24 — Helen with her dog, Phiz, a gift from her college classmates (Wikimedia)

In 1904, both Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan moved to 73 Dana Street. The building was designed by the architect Arthur H. Bowditch and constructed in 1898. The 6-unit apartment building was designed to look like a large single-family dwelling.

73 dana street 1966 — 73 Dana Street (CHC)

Helen graduated cum laude that same year. Her classmates praised her accomplishment by writing in the yearbook:

Beside her task, our efforts pale,

She never knew the word for fail;

Beside her triumphs, ours are naught,

For hers were far more dearly bought.

Helen went on to a remarkable career advocating for people with disabilities, campaigning for women’s suffrage, labor rights, and anti-militarism. She lectured around the world and became acquainted with many leading figures in politics and the arts.

In 1954 at Helen’s 50th college reunion, Radcliffe College dedicated a garden to her and a fountain to Annie Sullivan, located at the Cronkhite Graduate Center on the corner of Brattle and Ash Streets.

FOUNTAIN DEDICATION — Helen Keller at the dedication of the garden and fountain at Radcliffe (Wikimedia)

Sign dedicating the fountain to Anne Sullivan (CHC)

‘IN MEMORY OF
ANNE SULLIVAN
TEACHER EXTRAORDINARY — WHO,
BEGINNING WITH THE WORD WATER
OPENED TO THE GIRL HELEN KELLER
THE WORLD OF SIGHT AND SOUND
THROUGH TOUCH
BELOVED COMPANION THROUGH
RADCLIFFE COLLEGE
1900 — 1904’

Sources:

The Three Lives of Helen Keller, Richard Harrity and Ralph G. Martin, Doubleday & Co., New York, 1962.

Perkins School for the Blind Archives, Watertown, MA

Radcliffe Quarterly, June 1980, https://iiif.lib.harvard.edu/manifests/view/drs:427992484$59i

Wikimedia, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Helen_Keller_in_1904

Modern Monday: Pusey Library at Harvard University

Posted on June 10, 2019May 14, 2020 by cambridgehistoricalcommission

Exterior image_Architectural Record_09-1976_Edward Jacoby Photographer — 1976 image included in Architectural Record 09-1976. Edward Jacoby photographer.

Pusey Library Current_Full view steps_HOLLIS — Pusey Library as seen from Widener Library steps.

The Pusey Library in Harvard Yard was conceived from a 1960 report by Harvard, which outlined the needs for future expansion and growth for the university. The potential for expansion of facilities within Harvard Yard was surveyed between 1968 and 1970 by Hugh Stubbins, who examined the 22-acre area for circulation and the possibility for additional structures. Three years later, Stubbins was commissioned to design a new library in Harvard Yard.

Harvard University: An Inventory for Planning, 1960. Copy in CHC Library.

Pusey Library Current_Full view_HOLLIS — Pusey Library viewed from Harvard Yard.

The new library was to be named after Nathan Pusey, president of Harvard University from 1953-1971. President Pusey oversaw one of the largest building programs in Harvard’s history (second only to President Lowell). In 1957, Pusey announced the start of a program for Harvard College, a $82.5 million effort that raised $20 million more and resulted in three additions to the undergraduate House system: Quincy House (1959), Leverett Towers (1960), and Mather House (1970). During the 1960s, the Program for Harvard Medicine raised $58 million. In April 1965, the Harvard endowment exceeded $1 billion for the first time. Pusey left Harvard in June 1971 to become the second president of New York’s Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Nathan Pusey_1964 portrait, HOLLIS.jpg — 1964 portrait of President Pusey. Courtesy of Radcliffe College Archives.

Hugh Stubbins believed that an above-ground library would be too constricted in the Yard and he began plans for a subterranean structure. From the beginning, the proposed library was envisioned as an interconnecting link among three existing libraries – Widener, Houghton and Lamont, all within close proximity. Its roof serves as a link as well, with paths and landscaping reinforcing the existing circulation network in the yard. From the exterior, the Pusey Library is a slanting grass-covered embankment only visible from some areas in Harvard Yard. Its roof is a stone-rimmed platform of earth containing a lawn, trees and shrubs.

Floor plate plan of Pusey Library_Arch Record 09-1976 — Plan of Pusey Library.

First Floorplan of Pusey Library_Arch Record 09-1976 — Site plan and level one plan of Pusey Library.

The main entrance to the library is built into the slope of the hill with a broad band of brick paving at the ground level which forms a moat between the berm and the window wall. The moat allows for light to reach the interior on the perimeter walls without completely disrupting the landscape. Alexander Calder’s “The Onion” sculpture marks the main entry to the library.

Pusey Library Current_Entrance art1_HOLLIS — Current view of “The Onion” by Alexander Calder.

Exterior artwork_Architectural Record_09-1976_Edward Jacoby Photographer — 1976 image included in Architectural Record 09-1976. Edward Jacoby photographer.

Construction of Pusey Library. Courtesy of Radcliffe Archives.

At the center, a two-story light well between Houghton and Lamont is apparent seemingly to only those who look for it. Sunk down two floors into the ground, the well is home to a Japanese Maple tree, which just peaks out from its subterranean home providing a clear statement of presence for the library.

Pusey Library Current_courtyard and tree_HOLLIS — Interior sunken courtyard with large maple tree.

Stubbins even designed the interior spaces, using a very 70’s design aesthetic. Nylon carpeting was used throughout except in bookstack areas. Most of the furniture was made of oak, as was the trim work. Walls were covered with a textured vinyl fabric with a flat off-white, non-reflective surface to reduce sound reverberation and create a sense of warmth in the otherwise bunker-like building. The interior spaces have since been modernized to meet current needs for the library.

Interior image1_Architectural Record_09-1976 — Interior design by Hugh Stubbins’ office. Photographed by Edward Jacoby, 1976.

Pusey Library Current_interior hall_Hollis
While underground construction is not needed or desirable in every location, it was brilliantly executed at the Pusey Library. Former Director of the Cambridge Historical Commission and historian, Bainbridge Bunting has said, “No other building has added so much to Harvard Yard yet disturbed its integrity so little”. We could not agree more!

Sources:

Architectural Record. September 1976, pages 97-102.

HOLLIS Images http://id.lib.harvard.edu/images/olvsite32606/catalog

Nathan Marsh Pusey, Biography. Harvard University. https://www.harvard.edu/about-harvard/harvard-glance/history-presidency/nathan-marsh-pusey

Radcliffe Archives, Pusey Hall under construction. Images.

Tanner Fountain

Posted on April 10, 2019August 21, 2020 by allisoncrosbie

Located between Harvard Yard, the Science Center, and Memorial Hall is the Tanner Fountain, designed by Peter Walker in 1984. At the request of then Harvard University President Derek Bok, Walker was commissioned to design a fountain that didn’t require the extensive maintenance usually associated with a water feature. Walker rose to the challenge and created a basinless fountain, in collaboration with sculptor Joan Brigham, featuring 159 granite boulders arranged in a 60-foot diameter circle with 32 nozzles that emit a fine mist. During the spring, summer, and fall, the mist hovers above the stones, with rainbows refracted through the mist on sunny days. During the winter the boulders are cloaked with steam from the university heating plant. The configuration sits within asphalt paving surrounding two existing trees. Inscribed in a plaque set on grade is a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The soft sheen all enchants a gleam of sun, a summer rain.”

312-01 — Site plan of the fountain showing the arrangement of boulders in front of the Science Center

tanner 06 — View of fountain with the Science Center in the background

The boulders reflect the history of New England when settlers worked to clear land of boulders to make way for farming. Roughly 2 by 4 feet in size, the stones were buried so that only 16 to 18 inches of their surface is exposed. In contrast to the stones and trees, the asphalt speaks to the urban environment in which the fountain sits. As Walker noted,

“The fountain is a minimal piece full of contradictions, …the materials, their perception and their various meanings are brought into conflict and into question. This artistic statement may be apropos to the questioning stance of students and the intellectual inquiry of the university.”

The fountain was envisioned as a source of active and passive recreation. Instead of an object in the landscape, the fountain is a part of the landscape that people engage with. The stones encourage pedestrians to pause and sit, while the spacing of elements prevents through passage for skateboarders. Children gravitate to the fountain to climb, roam around, or play in the mist, and other people carry on conversations while watching the world go by.

tanner shot — View of fountain on an early spring afternoon with food trucks on the plaza beyond

The Tanner Fountain was the first institutional project of the “Landscape as Art” movement which grew out of the Expression Studio offered by the Department of Landscape Architecture at the Harvard Design School. In 1987, the fountain received a design award from the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). In 2008, the fountain was awarded the ASLA Landmark Award. Jury comments included the following:

“One of the first examples of a landscape architect creating public sculpture. It set a precedent for the profession and has stood the test of time remarkably well, retaining the full power of the original idea. The landscape architect designed it to be accessible and recognize the four seasons and to celebrate water without a traditional body of water. Transformational. It lives in your memory.”

Last-Import-1-of-6 — View of fountain and inscription, and Memorial Hall beyond

Based in Berkeley, California, Peter Walker has designed a wide range of projects types and scales, including Sea Pines Plantation, Hilton Head; South Carolina Foothill College, Los Altos Hills, California; Upjohn Corporation World Headquarters, Kalamazoo, Michigan; the Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, Texas; and the National 9/11 Memorial, New York City.
Sources
American Society of Landscape Architects, asla.org

Cambridge Chronicle, August 27, 1992

The Cultural Landscape Foundation, tclf.org

commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tanner_Fountain,_Harvard_University_-_IMG_9014-1.JPG

Modern Monday: Harvard Science Center

Posted on April 8, 2019May 14, 2020 by cambridgehistoricalcommission

The Harvard Undergraduate Science Center at 1 Oxford Street, is a pre-cast concrete behemoth designed by Josep Lluís Sert (1902-1983) the Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Design at the time.

Science Center_2019 — Staff photo of Harvard Science Center (1 Oxford Street) April 2019.

Designed in 1970 and completed just two years later, the Brutalist structure integrates its siting along the three major streets in which it is framed: Kirkland, Oxford and Cambridge Streets and is a visual link between Harvard Yard and the North Yard. The design terraces upward from the pedestrian mall overpass at Cambridge Street to limit the massing and shifts the bulk of the structure back (north) with just a more pedestrian-scaled section fronting the mall. A central spine runs down the building which visually serves as an upwards staircase and terminates at a nine-story tower. Science Center Model_Radcliffe Archives_1970 Science Center Model aerial_Radcliffe Archives_1970

Science Center under construction_Harvard Archives 1971
Approximately two-fifths of the cost of the $25 Million building centered around the two un-adorned concrete towers on the western and eastern walls of the Science Center. The non-descript boxes are water-cooling towers intended to service not only the Center itself, but all buildings in the North Yard. The towers are connected by a massive pump room in the basement. The tarantula-like steel girders seemingly creep over the lecture hall area and serve to support the roof of the auditorium.

Science Center exterior_Radcliffe Archives_1970s

Science Center aerial_Radcliffe Archives_1973

Science Center Interior 1st floor_Radcliffe Archives_1973

Science Center Interior 1st floor_Harvard Archives_2011

It is believed that Sert took inspiration for the design from his former mentor, Le Corbusier, who designed the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard just ten years prior. The Science Center was influenced by an unbuilt project, The Palace of the Soviets, designed for Russia by Le Corbusier in 1931 and worked on by Sert as a young architect. The current Science Center borrows the steel girder and cable vocabulary from the unbuilt Palace of the Soviets along with the use of pre-cast concrete panels to somewhat pay homage to his mentor. Sert loved the use of concrete as an “honest and muscular material that could be molded into any shape” and liked to set splashes of bright color against its textured grey – “like a parade of elephants and parrots”.

LeCorbusier’s Model of the Palace of the Soviets (unbuilt)

Aerial of the Palace of the Soviets (unbuilt)

Harvard later outgrew the Science Center and hired firm Leers-Weinzapfel Associates Architects in 2004 to expand the science village. Three vertical additions of minimal steel-framed glass volumes contrast in materiality from the concrete panel main structure yet echo elements of the initial design. The verticality of the glass panes creates a visual rhythm with the vertical grooves in the older precast concrete panels. At the interior, splashes of color and light flood the spaces and the newly dedicated museum space is visually connected to a light-filled terrace.

Rendering of completed additions by LWA Architects.

Completed additions by LWA Architects.

Interior courtyard with new addition by LWA Architects.

Modern Monday: McCormick Hall and Katharine Dexter’s Legacy at MIT

Posted on March 11, 2019January 5, 2022 by cambridgehistoricalcommission

In the year 1960, just 22 women were admitted to MIT, in comparison to 914 men. After decades of feeling pressure to admit more female students, President James Killian and his Chancellor Julius Stratton made the decision not only to admit more women to the university, but to actively work to improve the environment and resources available for female students.

Women at MIT Enrollment

The shift to admit and provide better education to young women was described years later in 1970 in a report written by Professor Emily Wick, Associate Dean of Students and the first woman promoted to tenure at MIT:

“Until the Institute could commit itself to educating women in significant numbers, and could provide suitable living conditions, coeds were not overly `successful.’ … Before 1960 women entered MIT at their own risk. If they succeeded — fine! If they failed — well, no one had expected them to succeed. … The class of 1964 entered in 1960 knowing that MIT believed in women students. It was the first class in which coeds, as a group, matched the proportion of B.S. degrees earned by their male classmates!”

Emily Wick_MIT Alum Class 1964 — Emily L. Wick talking with students circa 1963. Photo courtesy of MIT Class of 1964.

An early and vocal advocate for women’s rights and increased visibility of women at MIT, Katharine Dexter, (1875-1967) graduated from MIT in 1904 in biology. She married Stanley McCormick whose mental illness emerged soon after. Throughout her life, she tried to find a biological basis and cure for schizophrenia as well as supporting women’s right to vote as a strong proponent of the suffrage movement. Later in life, she turned her full attention to the construction of the first women’s dormitory at MIT, which coincided with the Institute’s newly established goals for admitting more women. Starting in the 1940s, 120 Bay State Road in Boston was occupied as a women’s dormitory (the only such dormitory for female MIT students at the time), and it housed approximately 19 graduate and undergraduate women students from the early 1950′s until McCormick opened. The Bay State Road dorm was over a mile from campus, which was less than ideal. As a result, Katharine funded a taxi service to shuttle the students to campus on poor weather days.

800px-Katharine_McCormick_on_April_22,_1913 — Katharine Dexter McCormick in 1913. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia.

In 1963, the west wing of Stanley McCormick Hall was dedicated and named after her late husband. Just three years later, the second wing (a second tower) was constructed and dedicated just after her death. Both phases of the building were bankrolled by Katharine Dexter McCormick and were to house women studying at MIT. McCormick Hall was designed by Herbert Beckwith, a member of MIT’s architecture faculty and principal of the firm Anderson, Beckwith and Haible. Elizabeth McMillin Beckwith, Herbert’s wife, also an architect in the firm, assisted with the design. The dorm could today be classified as “Brutalist” in design. The two concrete and glass towers front Memorial Drive and are connected by a low-rise community space. The buildings are used today as all-female dorms housing upwards of 255 students.

Katharine McCormick at Hall dedication 1963_MIT Alum Class 1964 website — Katharine McCormick speaking at McCormick Hall dedication ceremony. Photo courtesy of MIT Class of 1964.

Mccormick Hall 1963_Before addition_MIT Alum Class 1964 — McCormick Hall West Wing. Photo courtesy of MIT Class of 1964.

McCormick Hall_1968_0002 — Image located in McCormick Hall Survey File at CHC. Photo circa 1966.

McCormick Hall_1968_0004 — Image located in McCormick Hall Survey File at CHC. Photo circa 1967.

Aerial 2017 — 2017 aerial view of McCormick Hall and surrounding structures.

To learn more about McCormick Hall, feel free to make a research appointment with us by emailing histcomm@cambridgema.gov.

Modern Monday: Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle Street

Posted on February 11, 2019May 14, 2020 by cambridgehistoricalcommission

Exterior of Loeb Drama Center_Radcliffe College Archives

Completed in 1960, the Loeb Drama Center at 64 Brattle Street stands as one of Cambridge’s greatest examples of Modern Architecture. The structure is human-scaled, made of regional materials and is a sensitive addition to its residential and commercial neighbors along Brattle Street. The scale of the building was reduced to blend in with adjacent heights and the use of New England waterstruck brick is a nod to the Harvard and Radcliffe buildings nearby. Exposed concrete serves as a sort of frame to the delicate ornamental grille which provides a lace-like effect, enhanced further at night when the light from inside the building shines through.

Exterior View of Loeb Drama Center_night_Radcliffe College Archives Exterior View: Harvard - Loeb Drama Center, 29 Brattle Street

Architect Hugh Stubbins wanted the theater to be architecturally exciting, while still serving as a backdrop to the purpose of the building, the arts. Stubbins was quoted as saying, “the auditorium should please the imagination in such a way as to release it, not captivate it” and later went on to reference examples of recent museums and art galleries erected by architects to overshadow the art within them.

Interior View of Loeb Drama Center_Radcliffe College Archives View of Loeb Drama Center setbuilding_Radcliffe College Archives

The building opens right off the sidewalk of Brattle Street by the way of deep setbacks off the first floor, forming a porch-like or arcade feeling. The sides of the building open to a garden court on one side and a spacious terrace on the other. The travertine flooring in the lobby extends gracefully to the brick-paved courtyard, contained by a red brick serpentine wall.

Exterior courtyard Loeb Drama Center_Radcliffe College Archives Exterior View of Loeb Drama Center (2)_Radcliffe College Archives

The theater was unveiled as a mechanical marvel as the first fully-automatic and flexible theatre in the United States. The audience’s position in relation to the stage, along with the position and shape of the stage itself could be altered between three main configurations: theater-in-the-round, proscenium, and arena seating, all possibly during the same performance. Yale’s noted stage technician and theater design engineer, George C. Izenour worked with Stubbins to integrate lighting, rigging and staging into an automated and hydraulic lift system, which could be altered and staged by just two people in mere minutes.

Courtesy of Architectural Forum, 10-1960.

The Loeb Drama Center is now home to The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University, which collaborates with artists around the world to develop and create work in new ways. To learn more about A.R.T. and their upcoming shows and events, check out their website at: https://americanrepertorytheater.org/

1960 color photo_CHC_LOEB — Color slide courtesy of CHC Staff.

Historic photos courtesy of Radcliffe College Archives and CHC slides.

Historic Building Feature Friday: Austin Hall, Harvard Law School

Posted on January 18, 2019May 14, 2020 by cambridgehistoricalcommission

Designed by Henry Hobson Richardson and completed in 1884, Austin Hall at Harvard University stands out as one of the best examples of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in the world.

austin hall_circular stair tower_hollis — Austin Hall in 2012 showing circular stair and arched entry. Courtesy of Harvard University Fine Arts Collection.

Austin Hall was constructed thanks to Edward Austin who was born to a commercial family. He entered the shipping business at a young age and later turned to management of railroads, ending up as the Director of the Boston & Worcester (later Boston & Albany) railroad. In 1880, without ever attending Harvard University, he inquired then Harvard President Eliot on how he could provide for the greatest immediate need for the university while also erecting a memorial to his deceased brother Samuel. Eliot replied that the Law School required expanded facilities. Austin then replied to Eliot that he detested lawyers, but later offered funding for the structure.

photo of edward austin_hollis — Edward Austin circa. 1860.

In 1882, after already hiring H.H. Richardson, settling on a location for the building, and approving a design, Austin offered Harvard $135,000 to construct his building, with the stipulation that no other structure stand within 60 feet of this new Law School building. The former Harvard Branch Railroad Station and the ca. 1717 Moses Richardson house were razed immediately. The building was constructed with the Hastings-Holmes house nearby, until Austin insisted that the house be sacrificed and offered Harvard an additional $3,000 to have it removed. Holmes Place, which Austin Hall fronted, was eliminated.

hastings-holmes house_austin hall in background008 — Austin Hall (left) shortly after completion with Hastings-Holmes house (right) in front before demolition.

austin hall_loc — Austin Hall in early 1900s. Courtesy of Library of Congress.

The elaborate structure known as Austin Hall is planned in a T-shape with the two-story reading room serving as the shaft of the T. The main façade is dominated by a triple-arched entry porch and a circular stair tower. The checkerboard and floral patterns in the stone work are comprised of light and dark sandstone, and were not complete until after the formal opening of the new building.

floor plans austin hall_hollis images — Plan for Austin Hall. Courtesy of Harvard Law School Library.

exterior details_hollis — Exterior sandstone detail with floral pattern. Courtesy of Harvard University Fine Arts Collection.

The interior is just as stunning as the exterior with continuation of arches and supports in the hallways to the delicate layering of brick and sandstone. The reading room (since remodeled into the Ames Courtroom in 1954), features exposed tie beams carved with the heads of dragons and boars as well as a massive fireplace with ornate detailing to match the rest of the building.

austin hall_interior_hollis

interior capital_austin hall_hollis — Interior detailing. Courtesy of Harvard University Fine Arts Collection.

For more information on this building, feel free to schedule a research appointment with us at histcomm@cambridgema.gov.