Massachusetts Hall. Harvard celebrated the 275th birthday of this, its oldest building, in 1995. The first-year students who lived on the upper floors invited their "downstairs neighbors" – senior University administrators, including President Neil L. Rudenstine – to the birthday bash.

Landmarks at Harvard

Harvard University is home to many superior examples of American architecture.

Historic landmarks fill the Old Yard. The oldest standing Harvard building – Massachusetts Hall – was built in 1720, and, during the Revolutionary War, sheltered soldiers of the Continental Army. Today the President of the University, vice presidents, and other officers are housed on the first two floors; the upper floors serve as living space for freshmen.

The John Harvard Statue, located in front of University Hall (designed by Charles Bulfinch and completed in 1815), was cast in 1884 by Daniel Chester French (sculptor of the Lincoln Memorial) and is known as "The Statue of Three Lies." Although the inscription reads "John Harvard, Founder, 1638," none of these three statements is true. The seated figure is not really John Harvard, since no authentic pictures of Mr. Harvard existed; John Harvard was not the founder of Harvard College; and the College was founded in 1636. The statue is an immensely popular draw for tourists, and thousands of visitors a year rub John Harvard's shoe for luck.

University Hall contains the offices of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the Dean of Harvard College.

Wadsworth House (1726), an antique wooden structure, served as temporary headquarters for Gen. George Washington in 1775. Today it is home to the University Marshal's Office, the Office of the Director or the University Library, and the Alumni Office.

Statue of John Harvard

In the New Yard (also known as Tercentenary Theatre) is Widener Memorial Library (1913-15), constructed with funds given by Eleanor Elkins Widener in memory of her son, Harry Elkins Widener '07, who died aboard the Titanic.

The Memorial Church (1932) originally served as a memorial to Harvard's sons who fought in World War I. Inscriptions on the walls of the church interior commemorate those who died in World Wars I and II. Tablets also bear the names of graduates who died in Korea and Vietnam. The church conducts daily prayers and Sunday services.

Sever Hall (1880), built by Henry Hobson Richardson, is an example of the Romanesque style of the late 19th century. Today the building contains classrooms used by the College and the Extension School.

Outside the Yard, the cathedral-like Memorial Hall (1878) commemorates Harvard men who died in the Civil War while fighting for the Union. The structure features 21 stained-glass windows from the Tiffany and La Farge studios. The building contains Sanders Theatre, a popular site for concerts, lectures, and performances. On the lower level, students gather for food, entertainment, and conversation in the spacious but cozy Loker Commons.

The lively, contemporary Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts (1963), the only building on the North American continent designed by the French architect Le Corbusier, contains studio and gallery space.

Completed in 1972, the Science Center is one of several buildings at the University designed by Josep Lluis Sert, including Peabody Terrace (1964), Holyoke Center (1967), and the Center for the Study of World Religions (1959). Sert was dean of the Graduate School of Design from 1953 to 1969. Exemplifying the dramatic style of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Gund Hall (1969) houses the Graduate School of Design.

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