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Botanic Gardens Complex
Access to material may be restricted.
Access to material may be restricted.

Botanic Gardens Complex

AddressCambridge, MA, United States of America, 02138
Site Number112
Alternate Names Botanic Gardens
Building Root Number 06119
Architect (Original)
Land Acquired 1818
Constructed 1949
Building Acquired 1949
StatusActive
Site Name HistoryThe site is named for the Cambridge Botanic Gardens which were originally established on this site in 1805. 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.

Professor William D. Peck was appointed the first director of the Botanic Gardens in 1805 but there was a lack of funding for research and scholarship until the gardens were brought to prominence by Dr. Asa Gray after his appointment as Professor of Natural History in 1842. The Gray Herbarium and Library remained at this location until moving to the new facility on Divinity Avenue in 1954.

Additional Information
“Garden Site To Harvest New Homes.” The Christian Science Monitor, 28 Apr. 1948, p. 2.
“Gardens to Be Site of Harvard Housing.” New York Times, 1949, p. 44.
“Work to Begin Soon on Harvard Housing Project.” Daily Boston Globe, 10 Feb. 1949, p. 2.
“Harvard Project, 129 New Homes, Gets Approval.” Daily Boston Globe, 16 July 1948, p. 16.
Harvard University. Botanic Garden. General Information by and about the Botanic Garden. Harvard University Archives HUB 3230
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. 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 University Archives. Papers of William Dandridge Peck, 1777-1827 (inclusive). Harvard University Archives call number HUG 1677.
“Harvard Builds Garden Housing.” Cambridge Chronicle, 24 Mar. 1949, p. 12.
“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/.
“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/.
“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/.
“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/.
“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.
“Harvard to Build Housing Units at Botanic Gardens.” Cambridge Chronicle, 29 Apr. 1948.
Harvard University Archives. Construction Management Records, ca. 1953-1986. Harvard University Archives call number UAV 298.8000
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.
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