Dane Hall [Demolished]
Address1425, Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, United States of America, 02138
Site Number1507
Alternate Names
Dane College,
The Dane Law College
Building Root Number
N/A
PIRC Site Number 1507
PIRC Site Number 1507
Architect (Original)
Unknown
Dedicated
10/23/1832
Constructed 1832
Building Acquired 1832
Moved 1871
Demolished 1918
Constructed 1832
Building Acquired 1832
Moved 1871
Demolished 1918
StatusInactive
Site Name HistoryThe site is named after its donor, Nathan Dane (1752-1835, A.B. 1778). Dane represented Massachusetts in the Continental Congress from 1785-1788. He later published A General Abridgement and Digest of American Law.Historical NotesDane Hall was the first Law School building on campus and remained until the Law School moved to the newly constructed Austin Hall in 1883. Dane Hall, noted for its attractive edifice, was built in 1832 and expanded in 1845. In 1871 it was moved seventy feet southward to accommodate the construction of Matthews Hall. It later housed the Harvard Co-operative Society, the College Bursar's office and the Department of Economics.Dane Hall was demolished in 1918 after a fire. Lehman Dudley Hall now sits on the site formerly occupied by Dane.
Additional Information
Maycock, Susan E., and Charles Sullivan. Building old Cambridge: architecture and development. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2016. Print. Lamont Library call number NA735.C28 M39 2016; Loeb Design Library call number NA735.C28 M39 2016.
Swan, Walter Dana. “The Harvard Memorial Gates.” The Architectural Review, vol. 8:6, June 1901, pp. 61-72, illus.
Dane Hall, for law school, built in 1832. 1850-1920. Boston Public Library, Print Department., Boston. Web. Local Accession Number: 06_11_000910
Dane Law School, Harvard College, Cambridge, Mass. 1850-1920. Boston Public Library, Print Department., Boston. Web. Local Accession Number: 06_11_000920
Harvard University. General Information by and about Dane Hall. Harvard University Archives call number HUB 1316.2.
“Ruins of Dane Hall Will Be Torn Down This Spring.” The Harvard Crimson, 20 Mar. 1918, https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1918/3/20/ruins-of-dane-hall-will-be/.
“Dane College.” Boston Courier, 20 Oct. 1832, p. 2.
“Fire in Dane Hall.” Cambridge Tribune, 9 Feb. 1918, p. 5.
“Students Risk Lives, Save Shells at Fire: Carry Out 30,000 Rifle Rounds as Flames Engulf Dane Hall at Harvard.” New York Times, 1918, p. 6.
“Dane College.” Boston Post, 22 Oct. 1832, p. 2.
Massachusetts Daughters of the American Revolution. Hannah Winthrop chapter, Cambridge. An Historic Guide to Cambridge. 2nd ed., rev. ed., Cambridge, Mass., 1907.
Hurlbut, Byron Satterlee. A Guide Book to the Grounds and Buildings of Harvard University. Cambridge: U, 1898. Print.
