Adams House - Randolph Hall
Address53, Bow Street, Cambridge, MA, United States of America, 02138
Site Number910C
Previous Building Number
913
Building Root Number 03213
Building Root Number 03213
Architect (Original)
Coolidge & Wright
Architect (Renewal)
Beyer Blinder Belle
Constructed
1897
Land Acquired 1916
Building Acquired 1916
Renewed 2020
Land Acquired 1916
Building Acquired 1916
Renewed 2020
StatusActive
Site Name HistoryAdams House was named to commemorate the Adams family, including John Adams and John Quincy Adams, second and sixth Presidents of the United States. The site is also named after the father of Archibald Cary Coolidge, a Harvard instructor and later a history professor and director of the Harvard University Library. Coolidge, who funded the construction, chose his father's middle name for the building. Historical NotesRandolph Hall was built as a luxury apartment building for Harvard undergraduates along Mount Auburn Street "Gold Coast" in 1897. In 1902, a wing on Plympton Street was added reaching all the way back to Apthorp House. Randolph was acquired in exchange for College House. It was designed by the Boston-based architecture firm of Coolidge and Wright. Randolph Hall was acquired by Harvard in 1916.In 1911, the interior of the wing on Plympton Street was gutted by a fire and had to be rebuilt. In 1908, a squash court building was added, designed by Coolidge and Carson.
In 1931, Randolph Hall became part of Adams House, which also included Claverly, Westmorely and a new wing, Russell Hall. A dining common was also built in this year. Adams House became co-educational in 1972, opening up to Radcliffe College women.
Additional Information
Archibald Carey Coolidge Room
General information by and about Randolph Hall, Harvard University Archives call number HUB 1731.2.
General information about Adams House, Harvard University Archives call number HUB 1119.
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.
“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.
“Pres Lowell Leads Harvard Unit Survey.” Daily Boston Globe, 26 Sep. 1931, p. 13.
Hale, Herbert D. “Recent Buildings at Harvard University.” The Architectural Review, vol. 8:6, June 1901, pp. 65-75, illus.
“Randolph Hall.” The Harvard Crimson, 8 Dec. 1897, https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1897/12/8/randolph-hall-the-new-dormitory-on/.
“The Randolph Dormitory.” Cambridge Chronicle, 2 Oct. 1897, p. 16.
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 University Archives. Construction Management Records, ca. 1953-1986. Harvard University Archives call number UAV 298.8000
"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
Hale, Herbert D. “Recent Buildings at Harvard University.” The Architectural Review, vol. 8:6, June 1901, pp. 65-75, illus.
This building has been designated by the University Planning Office as having a Notable Interior.
