{"nrhp_refnum":"70000736","name":"University Hall, Harvard University","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Harvard Yard","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cambridge","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.37445113350006,"lon":-71.11707726333086,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1970-12-30","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1970-12-30","areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"University Hall is a three-story granite college building in Harvard Yard, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Charles Bulfinch designed it in 1812, and it was built in 1813-15.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it a superb example of a large college building in the Federal or Classical Revival style. It was designed by the Boston architect Charles Bulfinch and built under Loammi Baldwin, Jr. The exterior is little altered, though the interior has been revised many times.","narrative":"University Hall is a granite college building in Harvard Yard, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Charles Bulfinch designed it in 1812, and Loammi Baldwin, Jr. directed construction beginning in 1813, with Bulfinch supervising the work to completion in 1815. The building is about 140 feet long, 50 feet wide and 40 feet high, with a rusticated basement, a hipped roof and four giant wooden Ionic pilasters on the painted middle section of each long side. It was originally built to hold college dining rooms, or commons, on the first floor and a large chapel above. A west-front portico added in 1813 was removed in 1842, the same year the commons ended. The interior has been altered many times, and the chapel now serves as the faculty room. The exterior remains little changed. The building is valued as an outstanding Federal or Classical Revival college building. It now houses deans' offices and is open to visitors.","period_of_significance":"1813-15","architect_builder":"Charles Bulfinch (architect); Loammi Baldwin, Jr. (builder)","architectural_style":"Federal or Classical Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in excellent condition and open to visitors; it houses the offices of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the Deans of Harvard College.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.591532-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/19/7937/63793719/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/70000736_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000736/bc8e38955e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000736/bc8e38955e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Daderot.","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:University_Hall_(Harvard_University)_-_east_facade.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Daderot.</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:University_Hall_(Harvard_University)_-_east_facade.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793719","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_Hall_(Harvard_University)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7894712"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/university-hall-harvard-university-70000736/"}