Elizabeth Cary Agassiz House
Address5, James Street, Cambridge, MA, United States of America, 02138
Alternate Address14, Mason Street, Cambridge, MA, United States of America, 02138
Site Number540
Alternate Names
Agassiz House
Building Root Number
03099
Architect (Original)
Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow Jr.
Honoree
Elizabeth Cabot Cary Agassiz
Land Acquired
1897-1899
Building Acquired 1904
Constructed 1904
Building Acquired 1904
Constructed 1904
StatusActive
Site Name HistoryThe site is named after Elizabeth Cary Agassiz (1822 – 1907), the co-founder and first president of Radcliffe College.Historical NotesAgassiz House was designed by A. W. Longfellow, Jr. of Boston and completed in 1904. The building was a gift to Radcliffe by friends and alumnae in honor of the eightieth birthday of president Agassiz. It was built as Radcliffe College's first student center and had a lunchroom in the basement, classrooms on the first floor, and a large student space and theater on the second floor. Today the building serves the Radcliffe Institute and Harvard's Office for the Arts.
Additional Information
Agassiz Theater
Horner Ballroom
Lyman Room
“Ready to Open. Radcliffe Has a New Student Home.” Boston Globe, 18 June 1905, p. 41.
“Elizabeth Agassiz House.” Harvard Crimson, 26 Nov. 1904, https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1904/11/26/elizabeth-agassiz-house-psince-the-breaking/.
“Elizabeth Cary Agassiz House.” Boston Globe, 24 Sept. 1905, p. 32.
“Agassiz House, New Building Going Up at Radcliffe.” Boston Globe, 12 June 1904, p. 8.
Radcliffe College Architectural Drawings, 1885-2006. (1885). Schlesinger Library call number RGXXXIII
Agassiz House Records 1902-1903, Schlesinger Library call number RA.A/A262.
General information by and about Agassiz House, Harvard University Archives call number HUB 1128.39.
General information by and about Agassiz Theatre, Harvard University Archives call number HUB 1129.2.
Agassiz House Records 1902-1903, Schlesinger Library call number RA.A/A262.
“Agassiz House at Radcliffe.” Harvard Crimson, 8 Dec. 1902, https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1902/12/8/agassiz-house-at-radcliffe-pthe-friends/.
“[Two Dormitories, Radcliffe College, Cambridge, Mass.].” American Architect and Building News, vol. 8, Jan. 1911.
“Bertran Hall, Elizabeth Cary Aggasiz House, Radcliffe College, Cambridge, Mass. : A.W. Longfellow, Archt.” American Architect, vol. 100, Jan. 1872.
“Radcliffe Rehab: A Sensitive Approach by Goody, Clancy & Associates.” Interior Design, no. 10, Oct. 1983, p. 210.
2016 winner of the Massachusetts Historical Commission Preservation Award
This building has been designated by the University Planning Office as having a Notable Interior.