Harvard Renovated

An autumn walk reveals construction progress, as the campus changes while most people are away.

The new Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences building in Allston.

The new Harvard SEAS building in Allston is almost ready for November move-in.

Photograph by Kristina DeMichele/Harvard Magazine

Fall has come to campus, but the trees are not the only scenery that has changed in recent months. Harvard Magazine took advantage of some sunny days and walked through campus to prepare this update on Harvard’s new construction in Cambridge and Boston.  

The new School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) facility in Allston, scheduled pre-pandemic to open this semester, is now nearly finished; faculty and staff will begin their move-in in November. The windows are placed, shiny and new with manufacturing stickers still present. The sidewalk is completely paved, and benches invite passersby to sit. Academic Way—beginning across the street, at the corner of North Harvard and Western Avenue, and extending alongside the new complex, is shaping up to be a picturesque new approach to SEAS. (Right next door to swissbäkers, may we add.)

 
Houghton Library construction
Photograph by Kristina DeMichele/Harvard Magazine

Houghton Library’s renovation and relandscaping are proceeding. Pedestrians peek over the tall, decorated fence that surrounds the construction site. The project is scheduled for completion in November 2020.


Linden St. closed (left); Plympton St. entrance to Adams House (right)
Photograph by Kristina DeMichele/Harvard Magazine.

Progress continues on Adams House’s complex renewal, originally scheduled for completion in August 2023 but now deferred considerably. Pictured above is the current state of Linden Street, closed to both vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The entryway on Plympton Street is as regal as ever. Completion of Claverly Hall is scheduled for Spring 2021.


Swartz Hall (formerly Andover Hall) construction
Photograph by Kristina DeMichele/Harvard Magazine.

The Harvard Divinity School’s Andover Hall, now Swartz Hall, will be, according to Harvard’s construction website, “a true campus center that brings core academic resources together with student services and unifies the Divinity School’s social spaces, student services, and academic resources, while maintaining the building’s historical character.” The library is still open, but everything else in the vicinity is closed. Read the latest updates on the renovation from the HDS.


The Lewis International Law Center in March 2020 (left) and October 2020 (right)
Photograph by Kristina DeMichele/Harvard Magazine

Harvard Law School’s Lewis International Law Center (Lewis Hall) renovation and expansion (with a western addition and new top floor) has progressed swiftly in recent months (see comparison above from this past March on left to October, on right). The most notable and visible change is the building’s brand-new windows.


New campus maps help guide new visitors and returning community members.
Photograph by Kristina DeMichele/Harvard Magazine

Finally, to help visitors, Harvard has installed campus maps in various locations, like this one outside Lamont Library. Given how long so many people have been away from campus, these maps may be helpful not only to visitors, but to returning members of the community, too.

Read more articles by Kristina DeMichele
Related topics

You might also like

What of the Humble Pencil?

Review: At the Harvard Art Museums’ new exhibit, drawing takes center stage

Harvard Research Funding Will Resume, Government Signals

Notices of grant reinstatements follow a court ruling, but the Trump administration could still appeal. 

At Harvard College Convocation, an Emphasis on Open-Mindedness

Garber, other leaders sidestep politics but welcome international students.

Most popular

How MAGA Went Mainstream at Harvard

Trump, TikTok, and the pandemic are reshaping Gen Z politics.

Free Speech, the Bomb—and Donald Trump

A Harvard cardiologist on the unlikely alliances that shaped a global movement to prevent nuclear war

Explore More From Current Issue

Catherine Zipf smiling, wearing striped shirt and dark sweater outdoors.

Preserving the History of Jim Crow Era Safe Havens

Architectural historian Catherine Zipf is building a database of Green Book sites.  

Room filled with furniture made from tightly rolled newspaper sheets.

A Paper House in Massachusetts

The 1920s Rockport cottage reflects resourceful ingenuity.

Man, standing in small group of people outside the courthouse, holding a sign that reads "HANDS OFF HARVARD" in red letters

Harvard’s Summer in Court

What Columbia’s settlement means for the University