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.
