Memorial Hall & Sanders Theater

Following the Civil War, The Harvard Corporation gave its official sanction to a group of distinguished and diverse Harvard alumni who petitioned the college to let them raise funds for a memorial to those Harvard graduates who fought for the Union cause. The new committee of fifty Alumni suggested that the proposed memorial take the form of a building, one that would not only testify to the heroism of those who fell but also meet the college's urgent and practical needs for a theatre and a gathering space for alumni.

The committee proposed a Hall of Alumni in which students and graduates might be inspired by the pictured and sculptured presence of her founders, benefactors, faculty, presidents and most distinguished sons. The vision was a compelling one: between 1865 and 1868, members of the committee collected a staggering $370,000, a sum equal to one-twelfth of the endowment of the University.

Photo 169, Sept 2012

Memorial Hall & Sanders Theater

Top of tower

Photo 167, Sept 2010

Memorial Hall & Sanders Theater

Photo 171, Sept 2010

Memorial Hall & Sanders Theater

Photo 195, Sept 2010

Memorial Hall & Sanders Theater

window from inside

Photo 194, Sept 2010