The Radcliffe Quadrangle at Harvard University, formerly the residential campus of

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and functioned as the female coordinate institution for the all-male Harvard College. Considered founded in 1879, it was one of the Seven Sisters colleges and he ...

, is part of Harvard's undergraduate campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Nicknamed the Quad, it is a traditional college

quad Quad as a word or prefix usually means 'four'. It may refer to: Government * Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States * Quadrilateral group, an informal group which inc ...

slightly removed from the main part of campus.

Geography

The term "the Quad" can refer to the rectangular green field bounded by

Cabot Cabot may refer to: Businesses * Cabot Corporation, an American chemicals company * Cabot Creamery, an American dairy cooperative Fictional characters * Alexandra Cabot, in the ''Law & Order'' universe * Leigh Cabot, from Stephen King's 1983 no ...

and Pforzheimer Houses, or it can refer to the entire section of campus bounded by Garden, Linnaean, Walker, and Shepard Streets, plus the Jordans, which are east of Walker Street. This larger area consists of the Quad green itself as well as all of Pforzheimer,

, and

Currier A currier is a specialist in the leather processing industry. After the tanning Tanning may refer to: * Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather * Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin ** Indoor tanning, the use o ...

Houses (the Quad Houses); plus the Hilles building, which formerly contained the Quad Library and now houses the Student Organization Center. Currier House and Hilles are separated from the rest of the Quad by a landscaped walk and paved road, a private way used mainly by campus shuttlebuses, that runs north-south through the Quad. Other adjacent portions of campus, such as the Botanic Gardens, Kittredge, the Quadrangle Recreational Athletic Center (Q-RAC), and the Observatory, are often also grouped as part of the Quad.

Buildings

*Hilles Library *Pforzheimer House **Wolbach Hall, built 1938, purchased by Radcliffe College in 1964 **Moors Hall, built 1947 **Holmes Hall, built 1951 **Comstock Hall, built 1957 **Jordan House North, built 1960 **Jordan House South *Cabot House **Bertram Hall, built 1901 **Eliot Hall, built 1906-1907 **Barnard Hall, built 1911-1912 **Whitman Hall, built 1911-1912 **Briggs Hall, built 1923 **Cabot Hall, built 1936 * Currier House, built 1969

Quadlings

The ''Quad Houses''—Cabot, Currier, and Pforzheimer—are three of the 12 residential houses in which most Harvard undergraduates reside after their first year. Residents of these Houses are often called ''Quadlings'' (after the

Quadling The Quadling Country is the southern division of L. Frank Baum's fictional Land of Oz, first introduced in ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900). It is distinguished by the color red, worn by most of the local inhabitants called the Quadlings as we ...

s of the Oz books). The Quad is separated from and about half a mile northwest of the main part of campus surrounding Harvard Yard, where almost all undergraduate classrooms and department offices are located. The other nine Houses, called "River Houses", all neighbor each other south of Harvard Yard, in an area near the Charles River.

History and nomenclature

The Quad began as housing for female

students in 1901 with the construction of

Bertram Hall Bertram Hall at Radcliffe College is an historic dormitory building on the Radcliffe Quadrangle of Harvard University at 53 Shepard Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Built in 1901, it was the first dormitory building constructed for Radcliffe ...

; male students first moved in around 1970 as part of an exchange program between Radcliffe and Harvard (Women from Radcliffe moved into Winthrop House at about the same time). The Quad became fully coresidential in 1972, when Radcliffe College and Harvard University agreed to let their respective students live on the other institution's campus. Early in its history, Radcliffe College was unofficially called "the Harvard Annex," and its dorms were called "Annex housing" by Harvard students. Within Radcliffe culture, however, the collection of dormitories was officially called the "Radcliffe Quadrangle". Because of the terms of the merger agreement between Harvard University and Radcliffe College, the Radcliffe Quadrangle and the

Radcliffe Yard Radcliffe or Radcliff may refer to: Places * Radcliffe Line, a border between India and Pakistan United Kingdom * Radcliffe, Greater Manchester ** Radcliffe Tower, the remains of a medieval manor house in the town ** Radcliffe tram stop * ...

are both designated as "Radcliffe" in perpetuity. For more on Radcliffe's shifting role in the University, see

References

Official history of Pforzheimer House, somewhat out of date

External links

Street map
{{coord, 42.38140, N, 71.12424, W, type:edu_region:US-MA, display=title 1901 establishments in Massachusetts Harvard University buildings Courtyards Squares in Cambridge, Massachusetts Radcliffe College and Institute