Langdell Hall is the largest building of

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

. It is home to the school's library, the largest academic law library in the world, named after pioneering law school dean

Christopher Columbus Langdell Christopher Columbus Langdell (May 22, 1826 – July 6, 1906) was an American jurist and legal academic who was Dean of Harvard Law School from 1870 to 1895. As a professor and administrator, he pioneered the casebook method of instruction, whi ...

. It is built in a modified neoclassical style.

Construction and design

Harvard_Law_School_Library_in_Langdell_Hall_at_night

The building was commissioned in 1905 by law school dean

James Barr Ames James Barr Ames (June 22, 1846 – January 8, 1910) was an American law educator, who popularized the "case-study" method of teaching law. Biography Ames was born in Boston, Massachusetts on June 22, 1846; son of Samuel T. and Mary H. (Barr) Am ...

, as the school was outgrowing H. H. Richardson's Austin Hall. It was designed by Richardson's successor, the firm

Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge was a successful American architectural firm based in Boston. As the successor to the studio of Henry Hobson Richardson, they completed his unfinished work before developing their own practice, and had extensive commissi ...

. The southern wing of the current building was completed and occupied by the autumn of 1907 and the first lecture in the new building was delivered on October 17, 1907. By the start of 1908, nearly the entire building was being used. The building was built with buff limestone in a modified neoclassical style. The

frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...

is inscribed with the maxim, "Non Sub Homine Sed Sub Deo Et Lege" from

Henry de Bracton Henry of Bracton (c. 1210 – c. 1268), also known as Henry de Bracton, Henricus Bracton, Henry Bratton, and Henry Bretton, was an English cleric and jurist. He is famous now for his writings on law, particularly ''De legibus et consuetudinib ...

, meaning "Not under Man, but under God and Law." The front features

Ionic columns The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite ...

and the interior woodwork throughout the building was dark oak. The library stack was designed to ultimately hold 300,000 volumes. A subway was built to connect neighboring Austin Hall. The cost of construction was $365,000. The same firm, under the name

Coolidge, Shepley, Bulfinch and Abbott Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge was a successful American architectural firm based in Boston. As the successor to the studio of Henry Hobson Richardson, they completed his unfinished work before developing their own practice, and had extensive commissi ...

, completed a $1,500,000 enlargement of the building in 1929 and including the addition of the northern and western wings. In 1959, the International Legal Studies building, now the Lewis International Law Center, was constructed to house approximately 300,000 volumes in open-stacks. In 1997, Shepley, Bulfinch, Richardson and Abbott was appointed once again, this time to renovate the building. The renovations expanded the library, which now takes up most of the building, with the exception of two classrooms—the Vorenberg and Kirkland & Ellis. The renovation also included the installation of air conditioning and additional women's restrooms. Other notable parts of the building include the Caspersen Room, named for HLS alumnus Finn M. W. Caspersen (J. D. 1966). The Caspersen Room, formerly called the Treasure Room, once housed part of the library's collection of rare books and manuscripts. The lobby of the building is graced by a statue of

Joseph Story Joseph Story (September18, 1779September10, 1845) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1812 to 1845. He is most remembered for his opinions in ''Martin ...

, Harvard professor and Supreme Court justice, sculpted by his son,

William Wetmore Story William Wetmore Story (February 12, 1819 – October 7, 1895) was an American sculptor, art critic, poet, and editor. Life and career William Wetmore Story was the son of U.S. Supreme Court judge Joseph Story and Sarah Waldo (Wetmore) Story. ...

References

External links

History of the Harvard Law School LibraryHLS Walking Tour: Langdell Hall

{{Authority control Harvard Law School School buildings completed in 1907 1907 establishments in Massachusetts Law libraries in the United States Harvard Library