Botanic Gardens Building I
Address24, Fernald Drive, Cambridge, MA, United States of America, 02138
Previous Address77, Garden Street, Cambridge, MA, United States of America, 02138
Site Number06128
Alternate Names
Botanic Gardens
Building Root Number
06128
Architect (Original)
Des Granges and Steffian Architects
Land Acquired
1818
Building Acquired 1949
Constructed 1949
Building Acquired 1949
Constructed 1949
StatusActive
Site Name HistoryThe site is named after the Botanic Garden that once existed on the same site.Historical NotesThe Botanic Gardens housing complex was designed for Harvard by DesGranges and Steffian of Boston and was completed in 1949. It was constructed to accommodate the influx of new college attendees after World War II. The housing complex is constructed on the site of the old Harvard Botanic Gardens which had occupied this site since 1805.Additional Information
Harvard University. Botanic Garden. Records of the Botanic Garden, 1879-1907 (inclusive). (1879). Harvard University Archives call number UAV 230.5 and UAV 230.407.
Harvard University. Botanic Garden. Records of Harvard Botanic Garden, 1864-1945 (inclusive). (1864). Botany Gray Herbarium.
“Harvard Begins Work on Garden Housing Project. Homes to Be Provided for 125 Families on Botanical Gardens Site.” Cambridge Chronicle, 10 Feb. 1949, p. 1.
“First Botanic Garden House Opens Nov. 1.” Harvard Crimson, 4 June 1949, https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1949/6/4/first-botanic-garden-house-opens-nov/.
“University Will Build New Housing Development at Botanical Gardens.” Harvard Crimson, 10 Feb. 1949, https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1949/2/10/university-will-build-new-housing-development/.
“Harvard Builds Garden Housing.” Cambridge Chronicle, 24 Mar. 1949, p. 12.
“Harvard to Build Housing Units at Botanic Gardens.” Cambridge Chronicle, 29 Apr. 1948.
“Garden Site To Harvest New Homes.” The Christian Science Monitor, 28 Apr. 1948, p. 2.
“Cambridge May Seize Botanical Garden Site.” Harvard Crimson, 20 Apr. 1948, https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1948/4/20/cambridge-may-seize-botanical-garden-site/.
“Botanic Garden Homes Open To Occupants 1 Month Early.” Harvard Crimson, 6 Oct. 1949, https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1949/10/6/botanic-garden-homes-open-to-occupants/.
“Gardens to Be Site of Harvard Housing.” New York Times, 1949, p. 44.
“Harvard Project, 129 New Homes, Gets Approval.” Daily Boston Globe, 16 July 1948, p. 16.
“Work to Begin Soon on Harvard Housing Project.” Daily Boston Globe, 10 Feb. 1949, p. 2.
Hamblin, Stephen F., and Harvard University. Botanic Garden. The Botanic Garden of Harvard University. S. L.: S. F. Hamblin, 1925. Print. HOLLIS number 000002493.
Harvard University. Botanic Garden. General Information by and about the Botanic Garden. Harvard University Archives HUB 3230
Harvard University Archives. Construction Management Records, ca. 1953-1986. Harvard University Archives call number UAV 298.8000
Harvard University Archives. Papers of William Dandridge Peck, 1777-1827 (inclusive). Harvard University Archives call number HUG 1677.
Harvard University. Board of Visitors of the Massachusetts Professorship of Natural History. Petition regarding Botanic Garden Property to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, [ca. 1947]. (1947). Print. HOLLIS number 001701202.