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Hemenway Gymnasium [Demolished]
Access to material may be restricted.
Access to material may be restricted.

Hemenway Gymnasium [Demolished]

Address3, Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA, United States of America, 02138
Site Number1227
Building Root Number N/A
PIRC Site Number 1227
Historic CAPS Identifier L381.5
Historic CAPS Identifier HA9.351.1
Architect (Original)
Land Acquired 1867
Building Acquired 1878
Constructed 1878
Demolished 1938
StatusInactive
Materials for this building in our collection are not fully processed at this time.
Site Name HistoryThe site is named for Augustus Hemenway (A.B. 1875), Boston philanthropist and Harvard overseer. Hemenway had donated the funds for the structure.Historical NotesAt the time of its construction in 1878, the Hemenway Gymnasium was the largest college gymnasium in the country. By the time Harvard aqcuired land in Allston in 1890 that would later become the center of the college's athletics program, the gymnasium was quickly outgrowing demand for exercise space. During World War I the building housed activities related to the United States Naval Radio School, which occupied a portion of Harvard's campus from 1917 to 1919. The buiding was demolished in 1938 and replaced by a building of the same name, which now serves as a gymnasium for the Harvard Law School.
Additional Information
“Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge.” Architectural Record, 1896, p. 75, usmodernist.org/AR/AR-1896-07-GAAS.pdf.
“Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge.” Architectural Record, 1896, p. 112, usmodernist.org/AR/AR-1896-07-GAAS.pdf.
Peabody and Stearns Collection of Architectural Drawings (1870-1917). Boston Public Library Special Collections.
“The New Gymnasium.” The Harvard Crimson, 3 July 1878, https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1878/7/3/the-new-gymnasium-mr-hemenway-has/.
“The New Gymnasium at Harvard.” Cambridge Chronicle, 6 July 1878, p. 8.
“New Littauer Building to Replace Hemenway.” The Harvard Crimson, 12 Jan. 1938, https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1938/1/12/new-littauer-building-to-replace-hemenway/.
“Hemenway Gym to Make Way for New Harvard Buildings.” Cambridge Chronicle, 26 Aug. 1937, p. 5.