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98-577: Great Dome may refer to: Great Dome (MIT) , a building on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus Great Dome (railcar) , a type of lounge car built by the Budd Company Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Great Dome . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change

196-601: A "grand tetra-style Corinthian portico" modeled on the Duke of Wellington 's remodeled Apsley House . MIT quickly outgrew this space as new schools, departments, and laboratories were founded. In 1886, the five-story (original) Walker Memorial building housing the Physics and Chemistry departments was built in the space to the west of the Rogers building. This original Walker Memorial building, designed by Carl Fehmer , consisted of

294-521: A "relaxed classical style with a generous convex portico overlooking the Charles River". However, cost overruns forced the scale of many planned buildings to be altered. A gymnasium, which had previously been separate from the Memorial, was integrated into the top floor of the combined structure. Today, the gymnasium is used for dance and martial arts classes, informal basketball games, and for

392-587: A formal name over its half-century of existence. The structure was removed in 1996–98 to make way for the Stata Center . Some of its previous occupants moved into the Stata Center upon its completion, while other "Building 20 refugees" moved to Building N51/N52 or dispersed to other locations on campus. Westgate was first established to provide student housing for the large numbers of veterans returning to study after World War II . The demand for housing

490-450: A higher incidence of drug use than other dorms. The administration began a turnaround project that closed the dorm to freshmen and increased tutoring, mental health, and addiction services. After continued evidence of drug dealing in the building, the administration cancelled the 2017 Steer Roast, and in July announced conversion to graduate housing. Students protested and some faculty supported

588-421: A large "E" with the base aligned to the river, with "cloistered" courtyards and a pedimented Doric exterior. Freeman also rejected using masonry walls, and proposed using reinforced concrete , a relatively new material that was then thought to be both expensive and unconventional. President Maclaurin and MIT's executive committee sought to hire an established architect, rather than an ambitious engineer, to design

686-437: A more subdued, industrial arcade motif compared to the surrounding fashionable buildings. As Jarzombek suggests, "the choice of this style, even for such a prominent urban space, was clearly MIT's and a testament to its desire to promote the ideals of scientific professionalism." More annexes, given utilitarian names "Engineering Buildings A, B, and C" were designed in the same industrial manner, and built between 1889 and 1900 on

784-466: A new Theater Arts Building (Building W97) located at 345 Vassar Street at the far western end of campus. Since the intent of the new building was to consolidate Music and Theater Arts into a single location, the future plans for the Walker Memorial building are unclear. Senior House is an L-shaped building, designed by William Welles Bosworth . The Doric portico over the entrance was added in

882-418: A red-white-and blue skull logo, the nickname "Haus", and the motto "Sport death, only life can kill you". The annual Steer Roast festival featured loud music, pit roast of a cow, and mud wrestling. Former residents include Roger Dingledine , developer of Tor . In 2016, MIT cited data that 21.1% of Senior House residents failed to graduate, compared to the campus average of 7.7%, and a confidential survey found

980-659: A room they may never have seen before. This numbering system contrasts with the building identification at other nearby colleges. For example, at Harvard University , knowing the location of "Maxwell-Dworkin" will not help in locating "Claverson" or "Larsen"—no matter how many years of experience one may have, one either knows these locations or has no idea where they may be. Under the MIT numbering scheme, community members will know approximately where Building NW95 must be, even if they have never been near there. Most MIT buildings do have names, which can be found on many maps, or carved near

1078-713: A rowing and sculling locale, with many boathouses and the three-mile Head of the Charles Regatta , the world's largest long-distance rowing regatta. The major boathouses, starting up stream near Watertown, are Community Rowing, Inc. , housing competitive, recreational, and learning programs along with the Boston College Crew; Northeastern University's Henderson; Cambridge Boat Club; Newell , home of Harvard Men's Rowing; Weld , home of Harvard Women's Rowing; Riverside Boat Club; Boston University's DeWolfe; Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Pierce; and, in

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1176-638: A site south of the Trinity Church . After MIT's move to Cambridge in 1916, the original Rogers and Walker buildings were eventually torn down in 1939 to make way for the New England Mutual Life Insurance Company building. Their sibling structure, the Natural History Society building, has survived to the present day by hosting a succession of retail stores after its original tenant moved to

1274-424: A small dome that rejects the neoclassical tradition of reducing scale between the interior and exterior, with the result that the "inner space remains at the less intimate urban scale." The glass oculus at the top was blacked out during World War II but was restored during a renovation in 2000. The School of Architecture and Planning is housed around the dome and the lobby court. The Alumni Pool (Building 57)

1372-420: A three-story structure with a simple, rectangular floor plan that incorporates a ballroom on the top floor. The Rogers Building, named for MIT founder William Barton Rogers , is the second building of that name, the original having been demolished on its Back Bay site some years after MIT moved to Cambridge. Located at 77 Massachusetts Avenue, it is the official address of the entire Institute and serves as

1470-618: A way to use the Charles to power mills. In 1639, the town dug a canal from the Charles to a nearby brook that drained to the Neponset River . By this action, a portion of the Charles's flow was diverted, providing enough current for several mills. The new canal and the brook together are now called Mother Brook . The canal is regarded as the first industrial canal in North America. It remains in use for flood control . Waltham

1568-497: Is common along the Charles. With catches from the Charles from Natick to Boston the public is advised not to eat carp , and for non-pregnant, non-nursing adults, to limit large mouth bass consumption to no more than twice a month. Children and pregnant or nursing women should eat nothing from the Charles River. Both cautions are due to PCB and pesticide contamination. Up river from Natick, similar advisories are in effect for all fish on account of mercury , chlordane , and DDT in

1666-586: Is home to a wide range of freshwater fish species and some diadromous species. There are over 25 species able to be found in the Charles and some of the most common freshwater fish include the Redfin Pickerel, Largemouth Bass, Golden Shiner, Yellow Perch, a variety of sunfish (such as Bluegills, Redbreast Sunfish, and Pumpkinseeds), and some species of catfish (Yellow Bullhead, Brown Bullhead, White Bullhead). The diadromous fish (fish that spend parts of their lives in fresh and salt water) that can be found in

1764-506: Is popular with runners and bikers. Many runners gauge their distance and speed by keeping track of the mileage between the bridges along the route. After two decades of water quality improvement efforts spearheaded by the Environmental Protection Agency, on July 13, 2013, swimming for the general public was officially permitted for the first time in more than 50 years. Fishing from the banks or small craft

1862-626: The 9 + 1 ⁄ 2 -mile (15 km) tidal estuary from Watertown Dam to Boston Harbor. From 1816 to 1968, the U.S. Army operated a gun and ammunition storage and later production facility known as the Watertown Arsenal . While it was key to many of the nation's war efforts over its several decades in operation, not the least of which being the American Civil War and World War I , its location in Watertown so near

1960-737: The Atlantic Ocean . The indigenous Massachusett named it Quinobequin , meaning "meandering" or "meandering still water". The Charles River is fed by approximately 80 streams and several major aquifers as it flows 80 miles (129 km), starting at Teresa Road just north of Echo Lake ( 42°12′54″N 71°30′52″W  /  42.215°N 71.514444°W  / 42.215; -71.514444 ) in Hopkinton, passing through 23 cities and towns in eastern Massachusetts before emptying into Boston Harbor . Thirty-three lakes and ponds and 35 municipalities are entirely or partially part of

2058-483: The Charles River and set amongst dirty factories and tenement housing, was ultimately selected for the construction of a new campus. Thomas Coleman du Pont , a graduate of MIT's Chemistry department, donated $ 500,000 to be used towards the purchase of the land under a promise from President Maclaurin that the first building constructed would be for Chemistry. The site abutted Massachusetts Avenue (which crossed

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2156-756: The Charles River Speedway operated along part of the river. Today's Charles River basin between Boston and Cambridge is almost entirely a work of human design. Owen A. Galvin was appointed head of the Charles River Improvement Commission by Governor William E. Russell in 1891. Their work led to the design initiatives of noted landscape architects Charles Eliot and Arthur Shurcliff , both of whom had apprenticed with Frederick Law Olmsted and Guy Lowell . This designed landscape includes over 20 parks and natural areas along 19 miles (31 km) of shoreline, from

2254-725: The Environmental Protection Agency graded the river's 2017 bacterial water quality "A−". A study published in the Journal of the American Water Resources Association in April 2008 and completed by researchers at Northeastern University, found high concentrations of E. coli bacteria in the Charles River after a long period of no rain. Using a mathematical model , the researchers then determined that two major tributaries,

2352-572: The Grand Junction Railroad tracks paralleling Vassar Street are prefixed with N , while those northerly structures that are also West of Massachusetts Avenue are designated with NW . Two buildings at the far west end of campus are designated "WW15" and "WW25". The prefix NE is used for buildings north of Main Street, even for structures actually located due north of other buildings designated with N . Buildings that are far from

2450-613: The Johnson Athletic Center . Charles River The Charles River ( Massachusett : Quinobequin ), sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles , is an 80-mile-long (129 km) river in eastern Massachusetts . It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along a highly meandering route, that doubles back on itself several times and travels through 23 cities and towns before reaching

2548-755: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology are located along the Charles River. Near its mouth, it forms the border between downtown Boston and Cambridge and Charlestown . The river opens into a broad basin and is lined by the parks of the Charles River Reservation . On the Charles River Esplanade stands the Hatch Shell , where concerts are given in summer evenings. The basin is especially known for its Independence Day celebration. The middle section of

2646-575: The Neoclassical style by William Welles Bosworth . They were named in honor of MIT president Richard C. Maclaurin , who was instrumental in organizing MIT's move from Boston to "The New Technology" campus in Cambridge. The facade of Building 10 is dominated by a colonnade of 10 monumental columns of the classic Ionic order. The Brass Rat , MIT's class ring, features the Building 10 facade on

2744-545: The Stony Brook and Muddy River , are the predominant sources of E. coli in the lower Charles River. Starting in 2007, the Charles River Swimming Club has organized an annual race for its members, but obtains a special permit and must monitor water quality and rainfall in the days leading up to the race. The "first public swim" in the Charles since the 1950s was conducted on July 13, 2013, by

2842-602: The "barbarous names" for "English" ones. The Prince made many such changes, but only four survive today, one of which is the Charles River which Charles named for himself. The native name for the Charles River was Quinobequin , possibly meaning "meandering" in Massachusett from quinnuppe or "it turns." Other sources state this name was transferred from the Kennebec River in Maine to Cambridge by Prince Charles at

2940-599: The 1620s, Captain John Smith of Jamestown explored and mapped the coast of New England, originally naming the Charles River the Massachusetts River, which he derived from the Massachusett people living in the region, not from their actual name for the river, Quinobequin . When Smith presented his map to Prince Charles, future King Charles I , he suggested that the Prince should feel free to change any of

3038-712: The 1960s, and the program to clean up the Charles for good took shape in 1965 with the creation of the Charles River Watershed Association. In 1978, a new Charles River Dam was constructed downstream from the Science Museum site to keep salt water out of the basin. In 1995, the United States Environmental Protection Agency declared a goal of making the river swimmable by 2005. In 1996, Governor William Weld plunged, fully clothed, into

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3136-405: The 1990s. It was used from its construction as a dormitory for undergraduates, until its name was removed and the building was converted to unmarried graduate housing in fall 2017. From the 1960s to 2017, the dorm had a counterculture that included student-painted murals, tolerance for drug use, acceptance of people who did not fit into mainstream culture (including LGBT students), a tire swing,

3234-506: The Barker Engineering Library – and lecture hall (10–250) instead filled the space. Architectural historian Mark Jarzombek later described the library space as a "capacious oculus [admitting] light into its center, and its perimeter surrounded by a row of Corinthian columns. Four curved topped aedicules [add] a counter-punctual element. More baroque in flavor that what one normally might have expected from Bosworth,

3332-569: The Boston campus, the new Cambridge campus before World War II, the "Cold War" development, and post-Cold War buildings. Each era was marked by distinct building campaigns characterized by, successively, neoclassical , modernist , brutalist , and deconstructivist styles which alternatively represent a commitment to utilitarian minimalism and embellished exuberance. 42°21′33″N 71°05′36″W  /  42.3591°N 71.0934°W  / 42.3591; -71.0934 The geographical organization of

3430-572: The Charles River drainage basin . Despite the river's length and relatively large drainage area (308 square miles; 798 km ), its source is only 26 miles (42 km) from its mouth, and the river drops only 350 feet (107 m) from source to sea. The Charles River watershed contains more than 8,000 acres (32 km ) of protected wetlands, referred to as Natural Valley Storage. These areas are important in preventing downstream flooding and providing natural habitats to native species. Harvard University , Brandeis University , Boston University , and

3528-659: The Charles River Basin. In the 1950s a highway, Storrow Drive , was built along the edge of the Esplanade to connect Charles Circle with Soldiers Field Road, and the Esplanade was enlarged on the water side of the new highway. The Inner Belt highway was proposed to cross the Charles River at the Boston University Bridge , but its construction was canceled in the 1970s. As sewage , industrial wastewater and urban runoff flowed freely into

3626-543: The Charles River Conservancy, Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA), Esplanade Association, and DCR. Both the annual race and the Conservancy event have been held in deep water with swimmers jumping in off a dock, to avoid the toxic sediments on the bottom of the river that still make beach swimming dangerous. Swimming without a permit is punishable by a fine up to $ 250. The Charles River

3724-665: The Charles River in Cambridge, in 1939 and 1916, respectively. By the turn of the century, demands for new space for laboratories, offices, housing, and student unions were outstripping the land available in the now-fashionable Back Bay neighborhood, where real estate prices had risen rapidly. Other institutes of technology in Chicago and Pittsburgh , state universities founded under the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act , and private universities like Harvard , Princeton , Columbia , and Stanford were closing

3822-474: The Charles River is often at its worst after a large rainfall because of pollutants carried by runoff, and sewage overflows. For 2011, the EPA reported that the Charles met state bacterial standards for boating and swimming 96% and 89% of the time on dry days, and 74% and 35% of the time on wet days, respectively. Overall boatability and swimability of 82% and 54% in 2011 compared with 39% and 19% in 1995. In June 2018,

3920-578: The Charles are mostly anadromous species (fish that migrate from sea to freshwater to spawn). These include the Alewife Herring, American Shad, White Perch, and Striped Bass. The only catadromous species (fish that migrate from freshwater to sea to spawn) in the Charles is the American Eel. With the many initiatives to improve the health of the river in the years since the formation of the CRWA,

4018-401: The Charles did great environmental harm. The arsenal was declared a Super Fund site, and after its closure by the government it had to be cleaned at significant expense before it could be safely used again for other purposes. Likewise, the many factories and mills along the banks of the Charles supported a buoyant economy in their time but left a legacy of massive pollution. For several years,

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4116-741: The Charles near the Museum of Science and river tour boat excursions depart from a lagoon near the museum. In early June, the Hong Kong Boston Dragon Boat Festival is held in Cambridge , near the Weeks Footbridge . The Charles River Bike Path runs 23 miles (37 km) along the banks of the Charles, starting at the Museum of Science and passing the campuses of MIT, Harvard and Boston University. The path

4214-848: The Lower Basin, Union Boat Club. The Lower Basin between the Longfellow and Harvard (Massachusetts Avenue) bridges has the sailing docks of Community Boating , the Harvard University Sailing Center, and the MIT Sailing Pavilion. Sailboat, kayak, and paddleboard rentals are available at the Boston University Sailing Pavilion. Charles River Canoe and Kayak has four locations along the Charles, renting kayaks, canoes, and paddleboards. Duck Boats regularly enter

4312-566: The MIT Sea Grant College Program and the Charles River Alliance of Boaters (CRAB). Online and hardcopy charts are available as a public service. The river is busy, apart from the winter months, with rowing , sculling , canoeing , kayaking , paddleboarding , dragonboating , and sailing , both recreational and competitive. Most of the watercraft activity occurs from the Museum of Science to

4410-531: The MIT campus is much easier to understand by referring to the MIT map, in online interactive, or downloadable printable form. There is also an MIT Accessibility Campus Map available for download, which is useful for mobility-impaired visitors. Buildings 1–10 (excepting 9) were the original main campus, with Building 10, the location of the Great Dome, designed to be the ceremonial main entrance. The actual street entrance leads from 77 Massachusetts Avenue into

4508-467: The MIT campus. The Maclaurin Buildings comprise Buildings 3, 4, and 10, and form a large U-shaped structure enclosing the section of Killian Court farthest from the Charles River. This is the outdoors area where formal Commencement (graduation) ceremonies occur every June, and is the classic view of MIT featured in many publicity photos. The buildings were built in 1913 to 1916 and were designed in

4606-650: The New Dam at the Charlestown Bridge to the dam near Watertown Square. Eliot first envisioned today's river design in the 1890s, an important model being the layout of the Alster basin in Hamburg , but major construction began only after Eliot's death with the damming of the river's mouth at today's Boston Museum of Science , an effort led by James Jackson Storrow . The new dam, completed in 1910, stabilized

4704-764: The Rockwell Cage was the venue for the Northeast regional matches in the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championships . The Rockwell Cage is part of the larger, interconnected Department of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation (DAPER) Complex, which is often referred to collectively as the Z-Center. Rockwell is in the center of the complex, and is connected to the DuPont Athletic Center , Zesiger Center , and

4802-518: The Walker Memorial building interior has shown the effects of nearly a century of continuous use without major renovation. There were plans to make it the headquarters of the Music and Theater Arts Department, and to install new theatrical and performance spaces to accommodate a growing number of activities. As of 2015 , funds were being raised and an architect had been selected, but no start or completion date had been projected. In March 2017, MIT announced

4900-540: The administration of midterm and final exams for large classes. Morss Hall, the ground floor dining area, was formerly used (in the recent past, as of 2004) as a dining hall, but is no longer regularly used as such. It remains open for special campus events, including banquets and formal dances. The walls of this double-height full-floor space are decorated with classical allegorical murals painted by Edwin Howland Blashfield (1869, Civil Engineering), who

4998-578: The building seems in fact to be an inside-out quotation from Christopher Wren 's St. Paul's Cathedral ." Bosworth noted that the columns of the Pantheon's porch are not placed along a straight line, but bow out a bit toward the central axis. This is a classical optical illusion also used in the Parthenon of Athens to make the line of columns appear straight. Bosworth replicated this technique at MIT; to observe it, one has to lie down and sight along

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5096-403: The campus and briefly retained Cass Gilbert before conflicts with a determined Freeman drove him off. Under the advice of John D. Rockefeller Jr. , Maclaurin chose Rockefeller's personal architect, MIT graduate William Welles Bosworth , to lead the next round of designs. In no small part, he was chosen because of his willingness to work for clients with strong personal convictions. Bosworth

5194-461: The campus came from Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge ; Stephen Child ; Constant-Désiré Despradelle ; and John Ripley Freeman . Shepley's and Child's plans incorporated Georgian Revival styled, L-shaped, brick buildings set on symmetric grass avenues or quads, much like the recently completed Harvard Medical School , but were inappropriately sized for the industrial research that would occur within. Despradelle's Beaux-Arts proposal would have partitioned

5292-407: The campus into separate zones for academic, research, and residential activities, but its World's-Fair-like layout provided insufficient space for laboratories. His later iterations solved the laboratory space problems, but provided uncomfortable proximity and insufficient space for the residences as well as being enormously expensive. After Despradelle's sudden death in 1912, Freeman's "Study No. 7"

5390-401: The center of Watertown , above which is a dam. These 17 miles (27 km) see motorboat traffic from two marinas and a boat ramp near Watertown, as well as two marinas downstream and boats entering from Boston Harbor through an old lock next to the Museum of Science. A canoe and kayak ADA-accessible launch at Magazine Beach in Cambridge opened 23 September 2019. The Charles is renowned as

5488-470: The course of fifty-five years, its "temporary" nature allowed research groups to have more space, and to make more creative use of that space, than was possible in more respectable buildings. Professor Jerome Y. Lettvin once quipped, "You might regard it as the womb of the Institute. It is kind of messy, but by God it is procreative!" Building 20 was always regarded as "temporary", and thus never received

5586-567: The current location of the Museum of Science Boston in 1951. The city block that originally contained the Engineering Annexes is now the site where the John Hancock Tower stands. Thus, very few physical traces from MIT when it was "Boston Tech" remain in place in their original locations. The names of Rogers and Walker were both re-applied to new MIT buildings (Building 7 and Building 50, respectively) erected across

5684-407: The digit 6 (buildings 6, 16, 26, 36, 56 and 66, with building 46 across the street from 36). The "30s" series buildings run along Vassar Street on the north side of main campus. Buildings that are East of Ames Street are prefixed with an E (e.g. E52, the Sloan Building); those West of Massachusetts Avenue generally start with a W (e.g., W20, the Stratton Student Center). Buildings North of

5782-421: The entrance to the Infinite Corridor , the main pedestrian path connecting east campus with west campus. The Rogers Building was not a part of the original campus, but was built as a part of MIT's extension of the original Bosworth plan along Massachusetts Avenue. It was designed by Bosworth and Harry J. Carlson. The spacious lobby (called Lobby 7 after its building number) is an impressive vestibule topped by

5880-451: The entrance, molded into a bronze plaque, or lettered onto a glass window. Many buildings are popularly known by name (e.g. "Kresge Auditorium"), even as individual rooms are identified by number (e.g. W16-100). Some locations have dual designations in common use (e.g. "Huntington Hall", also known as "10–250", which is an auditorium located on the second floor, under the Great Dome in Building 10). Building names can also be obtained from either

5978-449: The first and second floors, many internal windows—not only on office doors but above door-level, and skylights over huge stairwells. However, later revisions began to incorporate more elements originally found in Freeman's designs such as double-loaded corridors and "open-grid, concrete structure with crossbeams supported by pairs of columns in the middle." Not all of Bosworth's design was built. His plan for future expansion, which extended

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6076-414: The fish. Long before European settlers named and shaped the Charles, Native Americans living in New England made the river a central part of their lives. At the time of European colonization in the early 1600s, settlements of Massachusett people were present along the river at Nonantum in current-day Newton and Pigsgusset in current-day Watertown . Prior to the arrival of Puritan colonists in

6174-487: The front of the steps. Based on its psychological and numerical centrality to the main campus of the Institute, members of the MIT community sometimes humorously refer to the Great Dome as "The Center of the Universe". Bosworth's plan was notable for rejecting the prevailing conventions of separated buildings and retreat from the urban area, as was found in other new American campuses. The Great Court, renamed Killian Court in 1974 after President James Rhyne Killian , faces

6272-423: The gap on MIT's early lead on laboratory-based education, with large and modern laboratories placed amongst large, park-like campuses. MIT repeatedly resisted overtures from Harvard President Charles William Eliot to merge the schools, and after President Richard C. Maclaurin was elected in 1909, he began to search for sites to relocate the Institute. A 50-acre (200,000 m ) site in Cambridge, recovered from

6370-407: The health and variety of fish in the river have greatly improved. One example of this is the reintroduction of American Shad into the Charles. American Shad used to be one of the most common species in the river until the 1800s when population numbers decreased because of new dams and poor water quality. With improved water quality and partial dam breaches created in modern times, the CRWA, along with

6468-410: The interactive online or downloadable MIT map. There are numerous minor refinements, tweaks, and exceptions in the room numbering and naming, providing plenty of material for a trivia contest, or for sussing out would-be impostors. The student-written MIT guide How To Get Around MIT (HowToGAMIT) devotes almost 4 pages of small print to details of MIT geography. Boston's Back Bay neighborhood

6566-414: The interior floor and walls disappeared. Its walled-in garden to the south was removed altogether and replaced by a more open landscaping. Nonetheless, the building still retains much of its early modernist sensibility, unornamented surfaces and simple functional design. Building 20 was erected hastily during World War II as a temporary building to house part of the now-historic Radiation Laboratory . Over

6664-429: The leading digit(s) of the room number, with a leading digit 0 indicating a basement location and 00 for sub-basement. The practice of identifying buildings by number is a long-standing tradition at MIT. Although sometimes ridiculed as evidence of an "engineering mindset", and referred to as "a system that disorients outsiders", this system is somewhat logical, and allows members of the MIT community to quickly locate

6762-567: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Great_Dome&oldid=768257868 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Great Dome (MIT) The campus includes dozens of buildings representing diverse architectural styles and shifting campus priorities over MIT's history . MIT's architectural history can be broadly split into four eras:

6860-443: The little long pond"), and Quinnipiac River ("long pond") in present-day Massachusetts , Connecticut , and New Hampshire . As native populations were driven out by European settlers, the Charles River became an early center for hydropower and manufacturing in North America. Although in portions of its length, the Charles drops slowly in elevation and has relatively little current, early settlers in Dedham, Massachusetts , found

6958-469: The lobby of Building 7, at the western end of the " Infinite Corridor ", which forms the east-west axis of the main group of buildings. Buildings 1–8 are arranged symmetrically around Building 10, with odd-numbered buildings to the west and even-numbered buildings to the east. In general, higher numbers are assigned to buildings as distance from the center of campus increases. The east side of main campus has "the 6s", several connecting buildings that end with

7056-408: The main campus are prefixed OC , for off campus . There are no buildings prefixed with S , since the campus is bordered at its southern edge by the Charles River . To identify a particular room within a building, the room number is simply appended to the building number, using a "-" (e.g. Room 26–100, a large first-floor auditorium in Building 26). The floor number is indicated in the usual way, by

7154-478: The move. The murals were covered and remaining undergraduates assigned to other dorms. The Gray House is named after Paul Edward Gray , the fourteenth president of MIT (1980–1990). This residence for the MIT president is located adjacent to Senior House, and cradles inside the elbow of the L-shaped dormitory. The President's House was the last part of the original Bosworth campus to be constructed, and consists of

7252-471: The neo-classical corridors in a grid fashion further north, was followed for Building 7 but not for later additions. Interior pedestrian circulation follows parts of the grid pattern, but thru access is not possible on all floors. North-south movement is possible through buildings 7, 9, 33, and 35; and 8, 26, and 36. East-west movement is possible through buildings 9, 13, 12, 16, and 56; and 35, 37, 39, 38, 34, 36, and 32. The 2018 construction of MIT.nano severed

7350-413: The previous north-south passage from building 4 to 12, 24, and 34. There are also semi-grid-like tunnels from building 14 north and east to buildings 18, 54, and 16/56. The exterior appearance of new buildings beyond 7 and 11 is completely different than the original set. The original plan included dormitory quads on either side of Walker Memorial, which explains why it was surrounded by empty land when it

7448-400: The river and the Boston skyline. Killian Court was originally hard-paved, but was converted into a park-like area of grass and trees in the late 1920s. Today, Killian Court is the site of the annual Commencement ceremony. Walker Memorial was dedicated to former MIT president (and general) Francis Amasa Walker , a staunch advocate for student life. The Memorial was to have been designed in

7546-849: The river between the Watertown Dam and Wellesley is partially protected by the properties of the Upper Charles River Reservation and other state parks, including the Hemlock Gorge Reservation , Cutler Park , and the Elm Bank Reservation . A detailed depth chart of the lower basin of the Charles River, from near the Watertown Dam to the New Charles River Dam , has been created by a partnership between

7644-494: The river from the surrounding city, the Charles River became well known for its high level of pollutants , gaining such notoriety that by 1955, Bernard DeVoto wrote in Harper's Magazine that the Charles was "foul and noisome, polluted by offal and industrious wastes, scummy with oil, unlikely to be mistaken for water." Fish kills and submerged vehicles were a common sight, along with toxic chemical plumes that colored parts of

7742-496: The river on the Harvard Bridge ) along which were many newly built neo-classical structures like Langdell Hall , Christian Science Center Church , and Symphony Hall on the Boston side, with which MIT's new Cambridge campus would have to compete. In Maclaurin's words, "We have a glorious site and glorious opportunities, but our task of design is not made more easy by the great expectations of Boston". Early proposals for

7840-456: The river pink and orange. The Standells sang about the sorry state of the Charles in their 1965 song " Dirty Water ". Once popular with swimmers, awareness of the river's high pollution levels forced the state to shut down several popular swimming areas, including Cambridge's Magazine Beach and Gerry Landing public beaches. Efforts to clean up the river and restore it to a state where swimming and fishing would be acceptable began as early as

7938-660: The river to prove his commitment to cleaning up the river. On November 12, 2004, Christopher Swain became the first person to swim the Charles River's entire length, in an effort to raise public awareness of the river's environmental health. In July 2007, the river hosted the Charles River Masters Swim Race, the first sanctioned race in the Charles in over five decades. A combination of public and private initiatives helped drastically lower levels of pollutants by focusing on eliminating combined sewer overflows and stormwater runoff . Since Weld's stunt,

8036-546: The river's condition has improved dramatically, although it was not deemed entirely swimmable by 2005. The Conservation Law Foundation opposes the permit given to Mirant for the Veolia Energy North America Kendall Cogeneration Station , an electricity plant near Kendall Square , charging that the water it releases causes blooms of hazardous microorganisms because of its warm temperature. The water quality of

8134-548: The roof, as well as on the nearby Green Building tower. MIT's Class A broadcast radio station, WMBR (Walker Memorial Basement Radio) has its studios in the basement, with an FM transmitter formerly located atop the Eastgate tower. The Muddy Charles Pub, administered by the MIT Graduate Student Council, is located on the first floor and has been serving MIT affiliates since 1968. Over time,

8232-603: The shank of each ring, including a portrayal of the Great Dome. The Great Dome, which sits atop Building 10, was adapted from McKim, Mead, and White 's Low Memorial Library at Columbia University , which was in turn a loose adaptation of the Pantheon in Rome. The Dome was originally planned to be a cavernous assembly hall, but budget limitations threatened to prevent construction of the Dome altogether. A smaller library – now

8330-532: The site, although the original plan for an "MIT Museum" was never built. The Natural History Society building , completed in 1862, occupied the easternmost third, facing Berkeley Street. The MIT building, later called the Rogers Building, occupied the center and faced Boylston Street. The building was not opened until 1865 owing to delays because of the Civil War . The five-story Rogers building featured

8428-579: The time he renamed this river in his name. Still another explanation is that Quinobequin was a descriptive term for any long body of water for Eastern Algonquin peoples, which European explorers and settlers interpreted as a local proper name. Examples include the Kennebec River ("long water place") and Kennebunk in Maine , the Quinebaug River ("long pond"), Quinapoxet River ("at

8526-515: The water level from Boston to Watertown, eliminating the existing mud flats, and a narrow embankment was built between Leverett Circle and Charlesgate. After Storrow's death, his widow Mrs. James Jackson Storrow donated $ 1 million toward the creation of a more generously landscaped park along the Esplanade; it was dedicated in 1936 as the Storrow Memorial Embankment. This also enabled the construction of many public docks in

8624-417: The western academic half of campus with the residential eastern half of campus. Each half of campus would in turn be oriented around separate north-south axes, the western oriented its open green space towards the river and Boston while the eastern oriented its track and tennis courts northward into Cambridge. Bosworth's design was drawn so as to admit large amounts of light through exceptionally large windows on

8722-485: Was a top athlete while a student, and returned in 1927 as the president of the Advisory Council for Athletics. Rockwell is currently the official venue for MIT basketball and volleyball, although the space, which spans three and a half basketball courts, is also used for collegiate and non-collegiate tournaments in other sports (such as gymnastics), as well as recreational badminton. In the fall of 2006 and 2007,

8820-535: Was created from filled-in marshland along the Charles River over several decades. The City of Boston reserved several lots for churches, museums, and other community buildings. A lot bounded on the north and south by Newbury and Boylston streets, and to the east and west by Berkeley and Clarendon streets, was awarded to the Boston Society of Natural History and to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. William G. Preston designed three buildings to occupy

8918-485: Was designed by Herbert L. Beckwith and opened in 1947. The large structure was originally used by the military for indoor drills, and then declared as surplus. The structure was obtained by then-Athletic Director Ivan J. Geiger before the opening of the DuPont Athletic Center . Geiger was also key in transforming the Cage into MIT's basketball venue. Rockwell Cage was named for Dr. John Rockwell , MIT class of 1896. He

9016-514: Was designed by Lawrence B. Anderson (MArch 1930) and Herbert L. Beckwith (BArch 1926, MArch 1927). The building was one of the first significant examples of modernist , International Style design in the United States by a US trained architect. In 2000, during the building of the adjoining Stata Center , the building was restored and most of the elegant modernist detailing was replaced by clumsy updates. The sophisticated color palette of

9114-545: Was first constructed. Only the East Campus dorm was built in this area, and as larger parallels rather than a quad. Academic buildings and tennis courts now occupy most of this land, and most newer dorms were actually built or purchased west of Massachusetts Avenue. In the 21st century, new high-rise apartment dormitories for grad students have been built in the Kendall Square area, at the new easternmost extent of

9212-485: Was one of the best-known American artists and muralists of his time. Completed in 1923 and in 1930, the 5 large panels symbolically portray the role of education in society, and the immense power of science and engineering for both good and evil. Walker Memorial has also contained the administrative offices for many MIT student organizations. Among these organizations is W1MX , the MIT amateur radio society, which has installed several reconfigurable antennas visible on

9310-477: Was the site of the first fully integrated textile factory in America, built by Francis Cabot Lowell in 1814, and by the 19th century the Charles River was one of the most industrialized areas in the United States. Its hydropower soon fueled many mills and factories. By the century's end, 20 dams had been built across the river, mostly to generate power for industry. An 1875 government report listed 43 mills along

9408-482: Was thrust to the fore. His proposal, based on Taylorism , was "one-fifth architecture and four-fifths a problem of industrial engineering." He proposed connecting all departmental buildings to prevent the emergence of academic fiefdoms, to provide protection from bad weather, and to enable efficiencies of scale by building a massive, one million square-foot building incorporating the administrative, teaching, and research functions. The proposed five-story building resembled

9506-566: Was trained in the Beaux-Arts style and was influenced by the City Beautiful movement which was at its height at the time. Bosworth's proposal retained many elements of the previous proposals: a large, multi-armed building with room for future expansion and a large central court, but also successfully integrated the dormitories into the rest of the complex. The campus would be oriented around two major east-west cross axes connecting

9604-412: Was unprecedented both in quantity as well as in quality; students often were married and many had children to care for. A temporary community persisted for over a decade before the decision was made to create more-permanent housing for married students. In its current incarnation, completed in 1963, Westgate consists of several low-rise buildings associated with a high-rise tower. The Rockwell Cage (W33)

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