Hollis Hall
Address13, Harvard Yard, Cambridge, MA, United States of America, 02138
Site Number926
Building Root Number
03354
Architect (Original)
Thomas Dawes
Building Acquired
1763
Constructed 1763
Constructed 1763
StatusActive
Materials for this building in our collection are not fully processed at this time.
Site Name HistoryThe site is named for the family of Thomas Hollis, a merchant in London, England, who were benefactors of Harvard College and funded endowments for the library, professorships, and student scholarships.Historical NotesHollis Hall was built as a student dormitory in 1763 at the request of the Corporation who thought that students living with private families were "less orderly and well regulated than those" living on campus. In 1762 the colonial legislature of the Province of Massachusetts Bay provided £2,500 for its construction. Designed by master builder Thomas Dawes the main entrance originally faced west toward Cambridge Common. The main entrances to the building today are on the east side, facing what was once the college pump; this reorientation occurred in 1898.
During the American Revolution, Hollis Hall was taken over by colonial soldiers and suffered some damaged and during a 1959 renovation, five musket balls were discovered between floor boards. Several distinguished alumni residents include Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Edward Everett, Harvard President Charles W. Eliot and Charles Townsend Copeland.
Additional Information
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
Hale, Herbert D. “Recent Buildings at Harvard University.” The Architectural Review, vol. 8:6, June 1901, pp. 65-75, illus.
Harvard University. Corporation. Records of Early Harvard Buildings, 1710-1969. (1710). Harvard University Archives call number UAI 15.10.5
Records of Early Harvard buildings, 1710-1969, Harvard University Archives call number UAI 15.10.5 http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.ARCH:hua50010.
Items Related to the History of Hollis, Mathews and Stoughton Halls, Harvard University Archives accession number 12678.
Erginsav, Mehmed and José Obregón. Renovation of Hollis Hall, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., 1960. Loeb Design Library call number Thesis Erg.
General information by and about Hollis Hall, Harvard University Archives call number HUB 1452.2.
Baker, George Pierce. A Pageant of Hollis Hall, 1763-1913 : Given June 14, 1913 in Celebration of the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Building of the Hall, (available at multiple locations with various call numbers consult HOLLIS for details). Available on Google Books http://books.google.com/books?id=H0ouAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR5#v=onepage&q&f=false.
Manuscript Inventory of Personal Property of the College, 1828, Harvard University Archives call number UAI 20.828.
District Records, 1795-1855, Harvard University Archives call numbers UAIII 15.22.20, UAIII 15.22.30, UAIII 15.22.40.
Harvard University Archives. Construction Management Records, ca. 1953-1986. Harvard University Archives call number UAV 298.8000
"Hollis Hall Anniversary." Boston Daily Globe. 9 Jun 1913, p. 13.
Massachusetts Daughters of the American Revolution. Hannah Winthrop chapter, Cambridge. An Historic Guide to Cambridge. 2nd ed., rev. ed., Cambridge, Mass., 1907.
Hurlbut, Byron Satterlee. A Guide Book to the Grounds and Buildings of Harvard University. Cambridge: U, 1898. Print.
Harvard University Archives. Items Related to the History of Hollis, Mathews and Stoughton Halls. Harvard University Archives accession number 12678.