Massachusetts Hall - Cambridge, MA - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

In Cambridge, in Old Harvard Yard of Harvard University, stands Massachusetts Hall, the oldest Harvard University building currently standing in Harvard University. The building is by the Johnston Gate, which opens to Massachusetts Avenue near Church Street.

The text in the American Series Guide for Massachusetts is as follows:

24. Massachusetts Hall was erected in 1720 with funds granted by the Province of Massachusetts, and designed by John Leverett, then president of the college, is the oldest of all the Harvard buildings, and in recent years has been used as the archetype from which the style of the new buildings has been evolved. Standing opposite University Hall, but endlong to it, it plays a lesser part in the general impression of the the Yard than the houses which face directly on the Yard. Simple in line, with gambrel roof, end-chimneys, and white roof-rail, the belt-courses of brick between the stories and the somewhat heavy woodwork of the windows (as in the thick muntins) give it an air of great solidity. It is this effect which as been sought, for the most part in the recent additions to Harvard - an earlier and heavier type of Georgian Colonial, with the emphasis on weight and simplicity.

--American Guide Series: Massachusetts - A Guide to its Places and People, p. 196.

Massachusetts Hall is still standing and in use today both as a freshman dormitory in the upper floors and the main administrative offices, including the President's Office, on the bottom floors. The Hall has a plaque on the side that states that it was built in 1720, occupied by colonial troops in 1775-1776, and used for student's rooms until 1871.

Concerning the comments made about Massachusetts Hall being the model for later building designs, one web site found that supports this statement is the web site for the Kirkland House/Smith Hall, built in 1931 at present day J. F. Kennedy Street. The web site is here: Visit Link .

Additional Source:

Wikipedia (Massachusetts Hall): Visit Link

Book: Massachusetts Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 196 Year Originally Published: 1937

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