{"nrhp_refnum":"72000128","name":"Austin Hall","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Harvard University campus","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cambridge","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.376943503000064,"lon":-71.11886318499995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-04-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Austin Hall is a stone academic building at Harvard University (Harvard Law School) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, built 1881-1883 to a design by H.H. Richardson to house the law school.","why_significant":"It is the second Harvard building designed by H.H. Richardson, a leading figure in American Romanesque architecture, and the only stone academic building he designed. The nomination quotes Henry Russell Hitchcock calling it one of Richardson's greatest works. Its asymmetrical facade, strong horizontal emphasis and carved interior details, especially the reading room fireplace and tie beams, are cited as part of its significance.","narrative":"Austin Hall is a Richardsonian Romanesque building on the Harvard Law School campus in Cambridge, constructed in 1881-1883 to house the law school. H.H. Richardson designed it on a basic T plan: a two-storey central block with a triple-arched entrance porch and a small circular stair tower, flanked by lower single-storey wings, with a reading room wing extending behind. Light and dark Longmeadow sandstone form the walls, with yellow Ohio sandstone around the entrance arches. It was Richardson's second Harvard building and the only stone academic building he designed. The nomination describes his asymmetrical facade, strong horizontal lines balanced by the stair tower, and low, deeply recessed entrance. Inside, Romanesque arches, wainscoting, fireplaces and carved dragons and boars' heads on the reading room tie beams reflect his close supervision. Henry Russell Hitchcock regarded the building as among Richardson's greatest works. The only noted exterior change is a small modern entrance addition.","period_of_significance":"1881-1883","architect_builder":"H.H. Richardson","architectural_style":"American or Richardsonian Romanesque","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in good condition and unaltered apart from a small copper and glass entrance added on the eastern wing; occupied and in educational use.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.145081-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/79/7958/63795879/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/72000128.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000128/2d3eb585d8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000128/2d3eb585d8-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Daderot","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Austin_Hall,_Harvard_University.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:Austin_Hall,_Harvard_University.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795879","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Hall_(Harvard_University)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4823114"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/austin-hall-72000128/"}