Lowell House
Encyclopedia
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
, located on Holyoke Place facing Mount Auburn Street between the Harvard Yard
Harvard Yard
Harvard Yard is a grassy area of about , adjacent to Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that constitutes the oldest part and the center of the campus of Harvard University...
and the Charles River. It is officially named for the Lowell family
Lowell family
The Lowell family settled on the North Shore at Cape Ann after they arrived in Boston on June 23, 1639. The patriarch, Percival Lowle , described as a "solid citizen of Bristol", determined at the age of 68 that the future was in the New World.Massachusetts Bay Colony Governor John Winthrop needed...
but an ornate ALL woven into the ironwork above the main gate discreetly alludes to Abbott Lawrence Lowell
Abbott Lawrence Lowell
Abbott Lawrence Lowell was a U.S. educator and legal scholar. He served as President of Harvard University from 1909 to 1933....
, Harvard's president at the time of construction. Its majestic neo-Georgian design, centered on two landscaped courtyards, received the 1938 Harleston Parker Medal
Harleston Parker Medal
The Harleston Parker Medal was established in 1921 by J. Harleston Parker to recognize “such architects as shall have, in the opinion of the Boston Society of Architects. ....
and might be considered the model for later Harvard houses nearby. Lowell House is simultaneously close to the Yard, Harvard Square
Harvard Square
Harvard Square is a large triangular area in the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street, and John F. Kennedy Street. It is the historic center of Cambridge...
, and other Harvard "River" houses, and its blue-capped belltower, visible for many miles, is a local landmark.
History and traditions
Lowell was one of the first Houses built in realization of President Lowell's long-held dream of providing on-campus accommodations for every Harvard College student throughout his entire career in the College. (See Harvard College house system.) Its first Master was Mathematics Department chairman Julian Lowell Coolidge, who also instituted Monday-night High Table. Historian Elliott Perkins was the first to hold the position of Resident Dean (until recently known as the Allston Burr Senior Tutor) then was Master from 1942 to 1963. Classicist Zeph Stewart was the third Master, and William and Mary Lee Bossert served from 1975 to 1998. Current co-Masters Diana Eck and Dorothy Austin are thus only the fifth Masters in Lowell's 80 years. Lowell's sister college at Yale University is Pierson CollegePierson College
Pierson College is a residential college founded in 1933 at Yale University. The College takes its name from Abraham Pierson , one of the founders of the Collegiate School, which later became Yale University. A statue of Abraham Pierson stands on Yale's Old Campus...
.
House traditions include Masters' Tea on Thursday afternoons, a May Day
May Day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
Waltz at dawn on the Weeks Footbridge
John W. Weeks Bridge
The John W. Weeks Bridge, usually called the Weeks Footbridge , is a pedestrian bridge over the Charles River connecting Cambridge, Massachusetts with the Allston section of Boston.John W. Weeks was a longtime U.S...
, High Table, and the annual Lowell House Opera mounted in the dining hall. Springtime brings the Bacchanalia Formal, often with a live swing band in the courtyard.
Each ArtsFirst weekend, the first weekend in May, there is a courtyard performance of the 1812 Overture
1812 Overture
The Year 1812, Festival Overture in E flat major, Op. 49, popularly known as the 1812 Overture or the Overture of 1812 is an overture written by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1880 to commemorate Russia's defense of Moscow against Napoleon's advancing Grande Armée at the Battle of...
, during which those not part of the official orchestral ensemble are encouraged to assist on kazoos; in lieu of cannon, hydrogen-filled balloons are ignited by the House chemistry tutor; and until recently (see below) the performance would climax with the role originally scored by Tchaikovsky for authentic Russian zvon (a set of bells similar to a carillon), being played (appropriately enough) by Lowell's own authentic Russian zvon.
There is a winter holiday dinner, and various sophomore, senior, Roundtable and faculty dinners take place throughout the year. Language tables and special-interest tables are common features of everyday lunches and dinners. Many House events are organized by Lowell's "House Committee" of elected undergraduates from within the House. The committee operates separately from the Harvard Undergraduate Council
Harvard Undergraduate Council
The Harvard Undergraduate Council, colloquially known as "the UC", is the representative student government of Harvard College. The Council was established in 1982 by a vote of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences and student referendum...
(UC), to organize student events and manage funding. The HoCo, as with the other student government organizations in the Houses, are funded by the UC.
Lowell House was the residence of Silas (Method Man
Method Man
Clifford Smith , better known by his stage name Method Man is an American hip hop artist, record producer, actor and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He took his stage name from the 1979 film The Fearless Young Boxer, also known as Method Man. He is one half of the rap duo Method Man...
) and Jamal (Redman
Redman
Reginald "Reggie" Noble , better known by his stage name Redman, is an American MC, rapper, DJ, record producer and actor. He came to fame in the early 1990s as an artist on the Def Jam label. He is also well known for his collaborations with Method Man, including their starring roles in films and...
) in the 2001 stoner comedy How High
How High
How High is a 2001 stoner comedy starring Method Man and Redman, written by Dustin Lee Abraham, and director Jesse Dylan's debut feature film. Entertainment Weekly rated it third in their "Best Stoner Movie" top ten list...
.
Architecture
Designed by the firm of Coolidge Shepley Bulfinch and Abbott and constructed in 1930 for $3,620,000,the House was named for the prominent Lowell
Lowell
- In the United States :* Lowell, Massachusetts** Lowell National Historical Park** Lowell * Lowell, Arkansas* Lowell, California* Lowell, Florida* Lowell, Indiana* Lowell, Bartholomew County, Indiana* Lowell, Maine* Lowell, Michigan...
family, closely identified with Harvard since John Lowell graduated in 1721. President Abbott Lawrence Lowell
Abbott Lawrence Lowell
Abbott Lawrence Lowell was a U.S. educator and legal scholar. He served as President of Harvard University from 1909 to 1933....
(1909–1933) instituted the House system, tutorials, the concentration system and reading period. His bust, and that of poet James Russell Lowell
James Russell Lowell
James Russell Lowell was an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He is associated with the Fireside Poets, a group of New England writers who were among the first American poets who rivaled the popularity of British poets...
, are featured in the main courtyard. In the Dining Hall are portraits of President Lowell and his wife;
his sister, poet Amy Lowell
Amy Lowell
Amy Lawrence Lowell was an American poet of the imagist school from Brookline, Massachusetts who posthumously won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1926.- Personal life:...
; his brother. astronomer Percival Lowell
Percival Lowell
Percival Lawrence Lowell was a businessman, author, mathematician, and astronomer who fueled speculation that there were canals on Mars, founded the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, and formed the beginning of the effort that led to the discovery of Pluto 14 years after his death...
; and his grandfather John Amory Lowell
John Amory Lowell
Hon. John Amory Lowell was an American businessman and philanthropist from Boston. He became the sole trustee of the Lowell Institute when his first cousin, John Lowell, Jr. , the Institute's endower, died...
.
Prior to the transition to complete randomization of Housing assignments in the spring of 1996, Harvard students were often placed into Houses with certain characters. Lowell House's location, picturesque courtyard, elegant dining hall, and historic traditions are often cited as reasons for its popularity among freshmen and upperclassmen. Lowell also boasts the coveted "Labyrinth," an eight-man room (nine if juniors choose to occupy it) with several exceptionally large singles and a sizable common room.
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
are those of the Lowell family, blazoned: Shield: sable, a dexter hand couped at the wrist grasping three darts, one in pale and two in saltire, all in argent. Crest: a stag's head cabossed, between the attires a pheon azure. Motto: Occasionem Cognosce. (In more prosaic terms: A shield with black field displaying a right hand cut off at the wrist and grasping three arrows, one vertical and two crossed diagonally, in silver. Above, a male deer's head mounted behind the ear, and between its antlers a barbed, broad arrowhead in blue. The motto means "Recognize the opportunity.") The house colors are blue and white.
The Lowell House Bells
For three-quarters of a century, the pride of Lowell House had been its authentic Russian zvon— one of the few complete sets of pre-revolutionary Russian bells surviving anywhere — hanging in the House's signature belltower. Eighteen bells were bought in Russia around 1930 by Thomas Whittemore with the financial aid of millionaire Chicago plumbing industrialist Charles R. Crane — who reportedly paid merely their value as scrap — just as they were to be melted down by Soviet authorities. Crane donated them to Harvard in 1930 just as plans for Lowell House were nearing completion.Like those seen today on Dunster
Dunster House
Dunster House, built in 1930, is one of the first two Harvard University dormitories constructed under President Abbott Lawrence Lowell's House Plan, and one of the seven Houses given to Harvard by Edward Harkness. In the early days, room rents varied based on the floor and the size of the room...
and Eliot
Eliot House
Eliot House is one of twelve residential houses for upperclassmen at Harvard University and one of the seven original houses at the College. Opened in 1931, the house was named after Charles William Eliot, who served as president of the university for forty years .-Traditions:Before Harvard opted...
Houses, Lowell's tower was originally meant to be a clock-tower — Lowell's in particular is reminiscent of Philadelphia's Independence Hall, although it was actually modeled after a Dutch church. With word of Crane's gift, the planned tower was changed to the blue-capped belltower seen today.
(One of the eighteen bells did not harmonize with the others; it was hung in the Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
's Baker Library.)
The bells originally hung in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
's Danilov Monastery
Danilov Monastery
Danilov Monastery, in full Svyato-Danilov Monastery or Holy Danilov Monastery , is a monastery on the right bank of the Moskva River in Moscow, Russia...
(now the seat of the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church) and were installed with the help, at first, of musician Konstantin Konstantinovich Saradzhev
Konstantin Konstantinovich Saradzhev
Konstantin Konstantinovich Saradzhev was a Russian bell ringer, composer, and musical theorist.The son of the conductor and violinist Konstantin Saradzhev, K.K. Saradzhev was strongly affected by hearing a powerful church bell at the age of seven and became a musician specializing in bells...
, and Vsevolod Andronoff, a former resident of the monastery They range in weight from 22 pounds (10 kg) to 26,700 pounds (12,100 kg, and known to Lowell House students as "Mother Earth"). The bells are consecrated, and are of great significance to the Russian Orthodox Church, in the liturgy of which bells play an important role.
At Lowell, the bells were usually rung on Sundays at 1pm by resident Klappermeisters. After the annual Harvard-Yale football game, Harvard's score would sometimes be proclaimed on the Mother Earth, with Yale's
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
score tolled on the Bell of Pestilence, Famine, and Despair.
With the reopening of the Danilov Monastery, it was suggested that the bells be returned to their original home. At Harvard's June 2008 Commencement they sounded for the last time at Lowell House, after which the belltower was partially dismantled so that the bells could be withdrawn.
In their place were hung newly cast near-replica bells obtained with the financial assistance of the Link of Times Foundation, created by Russian industrialist Victor Vekselberg.
The now-departed bells may still be heard on the Lowell House Virtual Bell Tower. The new bells can be heard every Sunday from 1-1:30pm, and visitors are welcome to visit the tower.
Notable alumni
Notable former residents and alumni of Lowell House include:- John BerendtJohn BerendtJohn Berendt is an American author, known for writing the best-selling non-fiction book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which was a finalist for the 1995 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction....
, American author (Room M31) - Harry BlackmunHarry BlackmunHarold Andrew Blackmun was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1970 until 1994. He is best known as the author of Roe v. Wade.- Early years and professional career :...
, Justice of the United States Supreme CourtSupreme courtA supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, instance court, judgment court, high court, or apex court...
(Room C12) - Michael CrichtonMichael CrichtonJohn Michael Crichton , best known as Michael Crichton, was an American best-selling author, producer, director, and screenwriter, best known for his work in the science fiction, medical fiction, and thriller genres. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and many have been adapted...
, American author and producer (Room D42) - Matt DamonMatt DamonMatthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, screenwriter, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting , from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck...
, actor and philanthropist (Room M42) - Philip F. GuraPhilip F. GuraPhilip F. Gura is an American scholar, writer, editor, and educator. He currently serves as William S. Newman Distinguished Professor of American Literature and Culture at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he holds appointments in the Departments of English and Comparative...
, American literature scholar (Room J52) - Walter IsaacsonWalter IsaacsonWalter Isaacson is a writer and biographer. He is the President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C. He has been the Chairman and CEO of CNN and the Managing Editor of TIME...
, magazine editor and foundation president (Room K22) - Nicholas Kristof, journalist (Room E31)
- Ned LamontNed LamontEdward Miner "Ned" Lamont, Jr. is a businessman and heir and most recently an unsuccessful candidate for the 2010 Democratic nomination for Governor of Connecticut. On May 22, 2010, Lamont received more than fifteen percent of the vote at the state Democratic convention, and appeared on the...
of the notable Lamont familyThomas W. LamontThomas William Lamont, Jr. was an American banker.- Biography :Lamont was born in Claverack, New York. He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1888 and earned his degree from Harvard University in 1892. He became a generous benefactor of the school once he had amassed a fortune, notably...
(Room C21) - Vanessa LannVanessa LannVanessa Lann has been a composer and pianist since the age of five. She studied at the Tanglewood Institutewith Ruth Schonthal. She also attended the Westchester Conservatory of Musicat Harvard University, where her main teachers were Earl Kim, Peter Lieberson, and Leon Kirchner...
, composer and pianist (Room N35) - Tom LehrerTom LehrerThomas Andrew "Tom" Lehrer is an American singer-songwriter, satirist, pianist, mathematician and polymath. He has lectured on mathematics and musical theater...
, singer-songwriter (Room R13) - Alan Jay LernerAlan Jay LernerAlan Jay Lerner was an American lyricist and librettist. In collaboration with Frederick Loewe, he created some of the world's most popular and enduring works of musical theatre for both the stage and on film...
, lyricist and librettist (Room D41) - Robert LowellRobert LowellRobert Traill Spence Lowell IV was an American poet, considered the founder of the confessional poetry movement. He was appointed the sixth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress where he served from 1947 until 1948...
, sixth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of CongressPoet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of CongressThe Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress—commonly referred to as the United States Poet Laureate—serves as the nation's official poet. During his or her term, the Poet Laureate seeks to raise the national consciousness to a greater appreciation of the reading and writing of...
(Room L12) - Anthony LewisAnthony LewisAnthony Lewis is a prominent liberal intellectual, writing for The New York Times op-ed page and The New York Review of Books, among other publications. He was previously a columnist for the Times . Before that he was London bureau chief , Washington, D.C...
, intellectual and former columnist for The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
(Room O21) - Crown Princess Masako, wife of Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan (Room E11)
- Natalie PortmanNatalie PortmanNatalie Hershlag , better known by her stage name Natalie Portman, is an actress with dual American and Israeli citizenship. Her first role was as an orphan taken in by a hitman in the 1994 French action film Léon, but major success came when she was cast as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel...
, Academy Award Winner actress (Room I43) - Frank RichFrank RichFrank Rich is an American essayist and op-ed columnist who wrote for The New York Times from 1980, when he was appointed its chief theatre critic, until 2011...
, columnist for The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
(Room O34) - Christian WolffChristian Wolff (composer)Christian G. Wolff is an American composer of experimental classical music.-Biography:Wolff was born in Nice in France to German literary publishers Helen and Kurt Wolff, who had published works by Franz Kafka, Robert Musil, and Walter Benjamin. After relocating to the U.S...
, composer (Room B24) - David SouterDavid SouterDavid Hackett Souter is a former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He served from 1990 until his retirement on June 29, 2009. Appointed by President George H. W. Bush to fill the seat vacated by William J...
, Justice of the United States Supreme CourtSupreme courtA supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, instance court, judgment court, high court, or apex court...
(Room C32) - John UpdikeJohn UpdikeJohn Hoyer Updike was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic....
, novelist, poet, and literary critic (Room K22) - David VitterDavid VitterDavid Vitter is the junior United States Senator from Louisiana and a member of the Republican Party. Previously, he served in the United States House of Representatives, representing the suburban Louisiana's 1st congressional district. He served as a member of the Louisiana House of...
, Republican Senator from Louisiana (Room M41) - Chris WallaceChris Wallace (journalist)Christopher "Chris" Wallace is an American journalist, currently the host of the Fox Network program, Fox News Sunday. Wallace has won three Emmy Awards, the Dupont-Columbia Silver Baton Award, and a Peabody Award. Wallace has been with Fox News since 2003...
, journalist (Room J32) - Andrew WeilAndrew WeilAndrew Thomas Weil is an American author and physician, who established the field of integrative medicine which attempts to integrate alternative and conventional medicine. Weil is the author of several best-selling books and operates a website and monthly newsletter promoting general health and...
, author and physician (Room D14)
External links
- Lowell House
- Lowell House Committee
- Lowell House Opera, established in 1938, New England's oldest opera company