Adams House - Westmorly Court
Address13-21, Bow Street, Cambridge, MA, United States of America, 02138
Site Number910E
Building Root Number
03215
Architect (Original)
Warren and Wetmore
Architect (Renewal)
Beyer Blinder Belle
Constructed
1898
Building Acquired 1920
Land Acquired 1920
Renewed 2021
Building Acquired 1920
Land Acquired 1920
Renewed 2021
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. The site was also named by Charles Wetmore (1866–1941), its developer (and later a partner in a famous New York architecture firm).Historical NotesWestmorly Court was built as a luxury apartment building for Harvard undergraduates near the Mount Auburn Street "Gold Coast" in 1898. It was designed by the prominent New York City architecture firm Warren and Wetmore who went on to design Grand Central Terminal. In 1902, an addition on the north side of the half-square building was added. Westmorly Court was purchased by the Harvard Corporation in 1920 and today is part of Adams House, one of Harvard's twelve undergraduate residential communities. From 1900 to 1904, Westmorly served as the home to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Foundation restored his original room to its 1904 appearance.
Additional Information
Vanderbilt Suite
FDR Suite
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.
"Baxter to Be Master of Adams House Harvard Unit." Daily Boston Globe, 3 Dec 1930, p. 34.
“Pres Lowell Leads Harvard Unit Survey.” Daily Boston Globe, 26 Sep. 1931, p. 13.
“House Profiles.” The Harvard Crimson [Cambridge, MA], 20 Mar. 1963, https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1963/3/20/house-profiles-pbia-foreword-to-freshmenib.
“Seven Harvard Colleges Where One Grew Before.” Daily Boston Globe, 27 Sep. 1931, p. B2.
"Harvard Buys Up the 'Gold Coast': Acquires Three Privately Owned Dormitories Maintained for Wealthy Students." New York Times. 25 Feb 1920: 32.
Photographic Views of Adams House, 1931-1961. (1931). Harvard University Archives call number HUV 569
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.
Harvard University Archives. Construction Management Records, ca. 1953-1986. Harvard University Archives call number UAV 298.8000
This building has been designated by the University Planning Office as having a Notable Interior.
