Harvard University - The Cambridge Historical Commission Blog

Katharine Weems: Sculptor

Posted on March 13, 2019March 13, 2019 by Meta Partenheimer

Weams1 — Katharine Lane Weems, circa 1915 / unidentified photographer.

Sculptor Katharine Lane Weems was born into a wealthy Bostonian family on February 22, 1899. After studying art at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts from 1918 to 1922, Weems became one of the most highly-recognized animal sculptors of her era.

Weams7 — Katharine Weems with ‘Dolphins of the Sea’, ca. 1975 / unidentified photographer.

Her observations of animals, as seen through her meticulous sketches, underscore her dedication to representing an animal’s biological makeup. In doing so, she conveyed their physicality in stunning reality.

Weems’s work can be viewed throughout the Boston area, from the Lotta Crabtree Fountain on the Charles River Esplanade to the Dolphins of the Sea at the New England Aquarium. She donated a collection of 30 bronze animal sculptures to Boston’s Museum of Science, demonstrating the connections between sciences and the arts.

Weams5 — Elephant frieze on the biology lab at Harvard, not before 1933 / Paul J. Weber, photographer.

Her largest project was a commission for the Biological Laboratories at Harvard University, now the Harvard University Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB). The project included carved bronze doors at the lab entrance, a series of wildlife friezes, and two large bronze rhinoceros scultpures standing guard on either side of the doors of the lab.

Weams3 — Katharine Lane Weems at work on ‘Rhinoceros’, circa 1935 / unidentified photographer.

Named Bessie and Victoria, these rhinoceros sculptures were modeled after two female rhinoceri Weems studied at the Bronx Zoo. Both are composed of bronze and weigh 3 tons each. After years of work, Bessie and Victoria were unveiled on May 12, 1937. Despite this great accomplishment, Weems’s work was given little local fanfare.

Weams4 — Katharine Weems being introduced at the unveiling ceremony for her rhino sculptures at Harvard, 1937 May 12 / Harvard Film Service, photographer.

Weems continued to sculpt and create art throughout her long life. She later married her longtime friend Fontaine Carrington “Canny” Weems in 1947. Katharine Lane Weems died in Rockport Massachusetts on February 11, 1989.

Weams6 — Katharine Ward Lane Weems seated with a dog, circa 1935 / unidentified photographer.

Images and captions come from the collection Katharine Lane Weems papers, 1865-1989. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

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.

Modern Monday: William James Hall

Posted on December 10, 2018May 14, 2020 by cambridgehistoricalcommission

Today’s #ModernMonday post is highlighting William James Hall, built in 1964 and designed by famed architect Minoru Yamasaki. Harvard University hired Yamasaki to design a new building to house the new Behavioral Science Department, including: offices, laboratories, animal quarters, classrooms and a library for the growing department. The new building was constructed largely of precast concrete panels, set inside slender columns which were poured in place concrete. The building features an observation deck at the top floor which is screened from the street to allow researchers to study passersby on the street below without them knowing.

Full height_Radcliffe Archives — Image courtesy of Radcliffe Archives.

The 15-story structure was designed in the New-Formalism style which Yamasaki perfected. He is known today as being one of the two masters (Edward Durell Stone being the other) of the architectural style, which typically exemplified symmetrical facades, columnar arched supports and smooth-finished and un-adorned wall materials, commonly in a white color. Yamasaki is likely most well-known for his 1970 design of the World Trade Center towers in Manhattan. Yamasaki also designed Harvard’s Engineering Science Lab at 40 Oxford Street in 1962.

William James Hall_Model_Photograph — Photograph of Model by Sebastian Korab.

The $5.8 million dollar building was named for William James, a philosopher, whose pioneer work was undertaken at Harvard. Initially trained in painting, James abandoned the arts and enrolled in Harvard in 1861 to study chemistry and anatomy. In 1875 James taught one of the university’s first courses in psychology, “The Relations between Physiology and Psychology,” for which he established the first experimental psychology demonstration laboratory. In 1890 James published a highly influential, two-volume synthesis and summary of psychology, Principles of Psychology. The books were widely read in North America and Europe, gaining attention and praise from Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung in Vienna. James then moved away from experimental psychology to produce more philosophical works (he is credited as one of the founders of the school of American Pragmatism), although he continued to teach psychology until he retired from Harvard in 1907.

Building and Structure Documentation Collection: Wolcott Gibbs Memorial Laboratory

Posted on December 7, 2018 by Meta Partenheimer

Today, we are highlighting a building from our Building and Structure Documentation Collection. This collection documents buildings and structures in Cambridge that were either demolished or significantly altered. In this case, the materials were compiled as a condition of approval by the Cambridge Planning Board for a proposed replacement project.

Wolcott Gibbs Memorial Laboratory - Exterior — Close-up view of south facade of Gibbs Memorial Laboratory, Naito Chemistry Complex is under construction at the left of the photograph, 1999-2000.

For each building or structure, the corresponding box often includes an architectural description of the building or buildings, a narrative history, and archival photographs, negatives, photograph key(s), and/or electronic copies of the files and photographs. Today we are featuring the documentation of the Wolcott Gibbs Memorial Laboratory.

Wolcott Gibbs circa 1895 (copy) — Copy photograph of Wolcott Gibbs circa 1895. Original in Harvard University Archives.

The Wolcott Gibbs Memorial Laboratory, named to honor Harvard University Rumford professor Oliver Wolcott Gibbs, was originally constructed in 1913 to address issues of limited laboratory space at Harvard.

Wolcott Gibbs Memorial Laboratory - 1913 Exterior (copy)

View northwest, perspective view of Wolcott Gibbs Memorial Laboratory in 1913. Original in Harvard University Archives.

Located at the head of Frisbie Place, the building was designed by architect and 1876 Harvard graduate Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow Jr., nephew of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, for research in physical and inorganic chemistry.

Wolcott Gibbs Memorial Laboratory - Cold storage room and labora — View into cold storage room and laboratory, second floor, Gibbs Memorial Laboratory, 1999-2000. This room was not part of the original building plan.

Wolcott Gibbs Memorial Laboratory - Basement interior — View west from east side entrance into Gibbs Memorial Laboratory basement, 1999-2000. Note autoclave in center of photograph.

The laboratory cost $85,000 to build. During its construction in 1912, the Harvard Crimson noted that “The Wolcott Gibbs Laboratory will be unique in this country, and in fact will be the foremost institution of its kind in the world. The proposed group of buildings, which will cost a million dollars, would give the University an unrivaled place in the field of chemical science.”

Wolcott Gibbs Memorial Laboratory - Vestibule — View of vestibule from front hall, first floor of Gibbs Memorial Laboratory, 1999-2000. Note the six light transom set above the doors. An arch at the top frames the individual lights and mullions delimit them. The frame around each light resembles a pier arch.

The building was constructed with a high degree of integrity of design including elements derived from classical, Roman, medieval, late Gothic and Corinthian architecture. In the 1960s, the laboratory was remodeled for inclusion of biochemistry laboratories, and in the early 2000s, the building was demolished.

Look for more building and structure documentation in future posts!