Adams House
Address26, Plympton Street, Cambridge, MA, United States of America, 02138
Site Number910
Building Root Number
03210
Architect (Renewal)
Beyer Blinder Belle
Architect (Original)
Unknown
StatusActive
Site Name HistoryThe site is named after the Adams family, including John Adams and John Quincy Adams, second and sixth Presidents of the United States.Historical NotesOriginally, Claverly, Randolph, Westmorly and the old Russell halls were part of the private "Gold Coast" dormitories for wealthier Harvard undergraduates. After Harvard purchased the dormitories they were incorporated in to the new house system which was instituted in the 1930s as Adams House. At that time, Russell hall was demolished and replaced with a new Russell Hall.Additional Information
Assad, Bita M. and Ahmed N. Mabruk. “Preserving Some of Harvard’s Best Kept Secrets.” The Harvard Crimson [Cambridge, MA], 19 Oct. 2009, https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2009/10/19/house-houses-residents-neogeorgian.
“Pres Lowell Leads Harvard Unit Survey.” Daily Boston Globe, 26 Sep. 1931, p. 13.
“Seven Harvard Colleges Where One Grew Before.” Daily Boston Globe, 27 Sep. 1931, p. B2.
“House Profiles.” The Harvard Crimson [Cambridge, MA], 20 Mar. 1963, https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1963/3/20/house-profiles-pbia-foreword-to-freshmenib.
General information about Adams House, Harvard University Archives call number HUB 1119.
Apthorp House plans, Harvard University Archives call number HUB 1160.
Descriptive pamphlets of the buildings included in the House Plan - Adams House, Dunster House, Eliot House, Kirkland House, Leverett House, Lowell House, John Winthrop House 1930-1931, HOLLIS number 003160105.
Garrett, Wendell D. Apthorp House, 1760-1960. Harvard University, 1960. Print.
General information by and about Apthorp House, Harvard University Archives call number HUB 1160.2.
Pasquini, Nina. “Adams House Renewal Begins.” Harvard Magazine, June 2019, https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2019/06/adams-house-renewal-begins.
Weber, Paul J. Photographs of Harvard University Buildings and Grounds Taken by Paul J. Weber, Ca. 1929-1931 and 1939. Harvard University Archives call number HUV 2329
"Harvard Names Five New House Units." Daily Boston Globe, 13 May 1930, p. 9.
Photographic Views of Adams House, 1931-1961. (1931). Harvard University Archives call number HUV 569
Heskel, Julia. Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott: Past to Present. Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott, 1999.
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.
Harvard University Archives. Construction Management Records, ca. 1953-1986. Harvard University Archives call number UAV 298.8000
"Four-Story Dormitory to Replace Russell Hall." Daily Boston Globe, 6 Mar 1931, p. 17.
"Implied Rebuke Sent to Lowell." Daily Boston Globe, 19 Sep 1931, p. 1.
"Baxter to Be Master of Adams House Harvard Unit." Daily Boston Globe, 3 Dec 1930, p. 34.
