Kirkland House - Smith Hall
Address95, Dunster Street, Cambridge, MA, United States of America, 02138
Alternate Address74, Boylston Street, Cambridge, MA, United States of America, 02138
Site Number930C
Alternate Names
George Smith Hall,
William Smith Hall,
Persis Smith Hall
Building Root Number
03274
Architect (Original)
Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge
Building Acquired
1913
Constructed 1913
Constructed 1913
StatusActive
Site Name HistoryThe site is named after John Thornton Kirkland (1770-1840), president of Harvard University from 1810 to 1828 and for George Smith (A.B. 1853) and for his benefactors, James and Persis Smith who raised him as a boy. Originally each portion of the building was a specific Smith Hall and was known as such.Historical NotesSmith Hall was designed for Harvard by Shepley Rutan and Coolidge of Boston and opened in 1916. It was funded from a bequest of George Smith (A.B. 1853). The building originally housed freshman undergraduates but was incorporated into the River House system under president A. Lawrence Lowell. Today it is part of Kirkland House, one of Harvard's twelve undergraduate residential communities.Smith Hall is connected to Hicks House (Kirkland House Library, constructed in 1931) by a passageway. Smith Hall is also connected to a central kitchen (constructed in the 1930s) between Kirkland and Eliot. This kitchen serves the River Houses.
There have been no major renovations (as of 2021), except for maintenance.
Additional Information
“To Harvard Instead.” Daily Boston Globe, 16 Dec. 1904, p. 7.
“Kirkland House Staff Announced.” Daily Boston Globe, 15 Nov. 1930, p. 7.
Mayall, Margaret W. and R. Newton Mayall. Sundials, Their Construction and Use. Mineola, NY, Dover Publications, Inc., 2000.
“Recent Collegiate Architecture.” The Brickbuilder, Nov. 1914, p.259-268, https://books.google.com/books?id=AVhNAQAAMAAJ&lpg=PA262&ots=sHZ8a31CFJ&dq.
“Seven Harvard Colleges Where One Grew Before.” Daily Boston Globe, 27 Sep. 1931, p. B2.
“Harvard Regiment Put in Freshman Dormitories.” Daily Boston Globe, 26 Jun 1917, p. 3.
“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.
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. "Persis Smith Hall, a dormitory of Kirkland House." The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1860 - 1920. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-b79b-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
Heskel, Julia. Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott: Past to Present. Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott, 1999.
Harvard University. 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, [include sketches and plans]. HOLLIS number 003160105.
"Harvard Names Five New House Units." Daily Boston Globe, 13 May 1930, p. 9.
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
Photographic Views of Kirkland House, 1913-1963. (1913). Harvard University Archives call number HUV 664
This building has been designated by the University Planning Office as having a Notable Interior.