The newest live in the oldest
When Tom Keefe received his Harvard dorm assignment this summer he was perplexed. “What’s Massachusetts Hall?” the freshman from Sherborn, Mass., wondered. While he had heard about Lionel, Holworthy, Mower, and Weld halls, he had heard nothing about this one. But Keefe quickly realized “this one was a lot different.” The oldest building at Harvard and the second oldest-academic building in the country (William & Mary’s Sir Christopher Wren Building in Virginia holds that title), Massachusetts Hall was built in 1720 to meet the growing need for residential space at Harvard College. The top floor of Mass Hall, as it is commonly known, is still used as a dorm for a small group of students. The remainder of the building serves as office space for Harvard’s top administrators. Fourteen freshmen, a mix of young men and young women from across the globe, spend their first year at Harvard living three floors above the University president’s...