Pforzheimer House
Encyclopedia
Pforzheimer House, nicknamed PfoHo (FOE-hoe) (and formerly named North House or NoHo), is one of twelve undergraduate residential Houses at Harvard University
. It was named in 1995 for Carol K. and Carl H. Pforzheimer, major University benefactors, and their family.
Located in Harvard's Quadrangle
, PfoHo comprises Ada Louise Comstock, Daniel Henry Holmes, Mary Buckminster Moors, and Wolbach Halls, in addition to Faculty Row and the Jordan North and South buildings.
PfoHo's shield features black and crimson squares on a crimson and black field; its mascots are the polar bear
and the Pf bigram
. The present House Masters are Nicholas A. Christakis
and his wife Erika Christakis, who have been in this capacity since 2009.
students first took up residence on campus in 1901, and the oldest parts of PfoHo date to that year.
Moors opened in time for the 1949-1950 academic year, the year plans for Holmes were first drawn up. Construction of Comstock began in 1957.
The Jordans, two separate buildings located at the corner of Walker and Shepard Streets, began as an experiment in cooperative living in 1961. They gradually became used as overflow housing in 1985, although one building persisted as a co-op until at least until 1997.
Wolbach, formerly an apartment building, was purchased by Harvard by 1964.
The townhouses of Faculty Row joined the House in 1971.
Male students were first assigned to North House around 1971.
House Master and Co-Master Woody and Hanna Hastings began their term in 1975.
- or less."
Accordingly, when plans were drawn up for a major renovation in the mid-1980s, the Hastings rejected an early proposal that would have segmented the house into disconnected vertical "entryways", opting instead for a plan that connected "the bricks" to one another more closely and in the process allowed the construction of the Holmes junior common room, the PfoHo Grille, the Comstock Library, and the centralized balconied dining hall. The duplex suites on the top floors of "the bricks" were also created during this renovation.
Until a major renovation in 2002, Wolbach Hall consisted of one and two bedroom apartments, complete with kitchens. Renovations to Wolbach were done in order to increase the number of students housed in the dorm and to provide suites on campus accessible and appropriate to disabled persons.
A breezeway connecting Wolbach to Moors, long advocated by Hastings, was constructed in 2002.
However, North House Masters J. Woodley and Hanna Hastings said they were "thrilled!" and Hanna was quoted as saying "It's just what we've been asking for. We wanted to be more than a direction." The naming represented the first time that one of Harvard's houses had been named for a Jewish family or person.
Pretty quickly, students grew used to the new name. The letters f or ph were replaced by pF in House-related words, hence Pformal, PfoHo Pfora, and Pfreshman Welcome. (Notable exceptions: Faculty Row, Thursdayfest.)
In 1996, the House welcomed new Masters, the McCarthys, to go with its new name. A central common room in Moors was named for the Hastings upon their retirement.
In 1996, The New York Times noted that, "many black and Hispanic students lived in the Radcliffe quadrangle, in the Pforzheimer House", while the Boston Globe observed that "Pforzheimer, formerly North House, [had] evolved into a base for black student activism and a mecca for premeds" and observed that "the distinct cultures" of the residence halls was about to be broken up by the then-new policy of assigning students randomly to residence halls.
began enforcing a long-standing policy of closing its dining hall to non-residents during peak hours, a policy particularly inconvenient to Pforzheimer House residents, who live farthest from the main class buildings at Harvard Yard. Adams House residents, often unable to find a seat at lunch, enacted a series of measures designed to keep members of other houses out. The most infamous of these actions was "The Gong Show" wherein members of the Adams community sat by the ID swipe station and rang the gong when nonresidents came in. A running tally of the number of nonresidents attempting to eat in Adams was kept on a large chalkboard.
Pforzheimer, isolated to the Quadrangle and not suffering from the same dining hall ills, responded by attempting to pass in House Committee a tongue-in-cheek, non-binding measure (proposed by Rick Wedell '01) denying Adams house residents access to the Pforzheimer dining hall. However there was no real support for the measure and it didn't pass, though the attempt was reported in the Crimson. Adams House residents discovered the proposal when the minutes of the meeting were sent to the Pforzheimer House mailing list, then retaliated by declaring war in their House Committee. The initial suggestion was raised by Senior Colin Wood, and formally proposed by Jessamyn Conrad, and seconded by a Sophomore called Kyle. That night, the Declaration and Articles of War were written, sent to the Pfoho list, and the War was officially on.
Adams House gained the element of surprise when students blanketed "O-Ho" with the Declaration of War overnight. Adams House declared that it was in possession of the Pforzheimer "Pf", and would henceforth be known as Pfadams House. The "Adams House" sign above C-Entry was actually changed at this time. The next day, when Pforzheimer students awoke, they discovered that every "Pf" in their dormitory had been "stolen" (covered with masking tape). A week of pranks followed, the most extensive of which occurred when Pforzheimer residents forged notices from the Freshman Dean's office, informing all freshmen that Annenberg Hall was closed, and to go to the Adams dining hall for Sunday brunch. Enterprising "Orzheimers" also stole the gong that had begun the whole affair, and cleverly closed the gates of C-Entry (which contains the dining hall at the center of the controversy) with a bike lock at lunch hour one day, creating chaos. Adams residents, including both Masters, took to reading the declaration of war over the "Orzheimer" call boxes, which someone managed to get the number to, during lunch and dinner.
To settle this war, Adams and Pforzheimer House agreed to a binding field day competition, including a football game, a tug-of-war, and a fifteen minute musico-theatrical presentation to be done in drag. An Adams win would result in a return of the gong, continued dining hall ban, and continued use of "Pfadams House" with Pfoho becoming "Orzheimer House", though Adams generously offered to supply the rival library with a copy of "Hooked on Phonics." A Pfoho win would result in a return to "Adams" from "Pfadams", the return of the gong, and grant Pfoho residents perpetual dining hall privileges at Adams House. Led by Masters McCarthy, presiding over the event in full academic regalia, Pforzheimer House secured a resounding victory (trouncing Adams in the football and tug-of-war and putting up a brave but wholly inadequate showing in the musico-theatrical segment) and Adams accordingly agreed to provide its residents with ID stickers granting them access to the Adams dining hall, an arrangement that stands to this day.
For several years, a "War Memorial" stood in Adams House, commemorating the event.
As of 2011, the House co-masters of Pforzheimer House were Professor Nicholas Christakis
and his wife Erika Christakis. The House administrator was Sue Watts. The Allston Burr Resident Dean was Lisa Boes.
Student life and house events are administered by the House Committee, or HoCo, whose voting members must be from the Junior Common Room, i.e. the undergraduate student body of the house. Members of the Senior Common Room may attend HoCo meetings as non-voting participants. The committee operates separately from the Harvard Undergraduate Council
, to organize student events and manage funding. The HoCo, as with the other student government organizations in the Houses, are funded by the UC. The current co-chairs of the HoCo are Maya Ayoub and Graham Frankel, both members of the class of 2012.
's Ground Zero, Cabot House
's Library Suite, Quincy House
's Terrace (formerly known as the Balcony Suite), and Currier House
's Ten-Man Suite. It is named for its access to the Pforzheimer belltower.
The core Belltower Suite is Moors Hall #410, which connects by internal fire-escape passageways to Moors #403 and #404. The Belltower suite also connects to the belltower itself, which is not used for housing. Frequently, a single group of friends shares Moors #410 and #403 or, more rarely, all three of the suites; in this case, the entire area occupied by the friends becomes "the Belltower suite" / "the Belltower".
One of the largest housing arrangements on the Harvard campus, it can comfortably house twelve students with individual bedrooms, four bathrooms (three full and one half), and three common rooms.
The belltower itself faces out over the Quadrangle
and is accessed by a ladder and trap door. Access to the tower begins in the passageway that connects Moors Hall #410 and #403. A first ladder leads through a ceiling trapdoor to the carpeted mezzanine level (the "chill pad"). A second, longer ladder leads via a small hatch to the lantern of the tower called the "crow's nest
". Expansive windows on all four sides of the lantern allow for a majestic view of the greater Boston
area. An access door located halfway between the mezzanine and the lantern provides access to an outdoor inter-level widow's walk
.
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. It was named in 1995 for Carol K. and Carl H. Pforzheimer, major University benefactors, and their family.
Located in Harvard's Quadrangle
Quadrangle (Harvard)
The Quadrangle at Harvard University, formerly called the Radcliffe Quadrangle or the Harvard Annex dorms, is part of Harvard's undergraduate campus, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Generally just called the Quad, it is a traditional college quad except that it is not located in, or even...
, PfoHo comprises Ada Louise Comstock, Daniel Henry Holmes, Mary Buckminster Moors, and Wolbach Halls, in addition to Faculty Row and the Jordan North and South buildings.
PfoHo's shield features black and crimson squares on a crimson and black field; its mascots are the polar bear
Polar Bear
The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...
and the Pf bigram
Bigram
Bigrams or digrams are groups of two written letters, two syllables, or two words, and are very commonly used as the basis for simple statistical analysis of text. They are used in one of the most successful language models for speech recognition...
. The present House Masters are Nicholas A. Christakis
Nicholas A. Christakis
Nicholas A. Christakis is a Greek American physician and sociologist known for his research on social networks and on the socioeconomic and biosocial determinants of health, longevity, and behavior...
and his wife Erika Christakis, who have been in this capacity since 2009.
Early years
Radcliffe CollegeRadcliffe College
Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was the coordinate college for Harvard University. It was also one of the Seven Sisters colleges. Radcliffe College conferred joint Harvard-Radcliffe diplomas beginning in 1963 and a formal merger agreement with...
students first took up residence on campus in 1901, and the oldest parts of PfoHo date to that year.
Moors opened in time for the 1949-1950 academic year, the year plans for Holmes were first drawn up. Construction of Comstock began in 1957.
The Jordans, two separate buildings located at the corner of Walker and Shepard Streets, began as an experiment in cooperative living in 1961. They gradually became used as overflow housing in 1985, although one building persisted as a co-op until at least until 1997.
Wolbach, formerly an apartment building, was purchased by Harvard by 1964.
The townhouses of Faculty Row joined the House in 1971.
North House
The name "North House" first appeared in 1961 and consisted of Comstock, Moors, and Holmes. Wolbach did not yet belong to Harvard at this point. The Jordans were initially assigned to the no-longer-existent East House.Male students were first assigned to North House around 1971.
House Master and Co-Master Woody and Hanna Hastings began their term in 1975.
Major renovations of 1986, 1988, and 2002
They attempted to cultivate house spirit by integrating and interconnecting the buildings. Woody Hastings remarked, "Any student in North House ought to be able to get from any place in the House to any other place in the House in his PJsPajamas
Pajamas, also spelled pyjamas , can refer to several related types of clothing. The original paijama are loose, lightweight trousers fitted with drawstring waistbands and worn in South and West Asia by both sexes...
- or less."
Accordingly, when plans were drawn up for a major renovation in the mid-1980s, the Hastings rejected an early proposal that would have segmented the house into disconnected vertical "entryways", opting instead for a plan that connected "the bricks" to one another more closely and in the process allowed the construction of the Holmes junior common room, the PfoHo Grille, the Comstock Library, and the centralized balconied dining hall. The duplex suites on the top floors of "the bricks" were also created during this renovation.
Until a major renovation in 2002, Wolbach Hall consisted of one and two bedroom apartments, complete with kitchens. Renovations to Wolbach were done in order to increase the number of students housed in the dorm and to provide suites on campus accessible and appropriate to disabled persons.
A breezeway connecting Wolbach to Moors, long advocated by Hastings, was constructed in 2002.
Renamed as Pforzheimer
In 1995, North House was renamed Pforzheimer House. This caused consternation at first. Since the Pforzheimers were known primarily as major University donors, there was a widespread sense that naming rights to the building had been sold off. A Boston Globe columnist referred to "the Pforzheimer House flap," saying that "Harvard renamed the Radcliffe-owned house after a loyal donor without consulting [Radcliffe President Linda] Wilson & Co." The Harvard wrote five song parodies lamenting the name change.However, North House Masters J. Woodley and Hanna Hastings said they were "thrilled!" and Hanna was quoted as saying "It's just what we've been asking for. We wanted to be more than a direction." The naming represented the first time that one of Harvard's houses had been named for a Jewish family or person.
Pretty quickly, students grew used to the new name. The letters f or ph were replaced by pF in House-related words, hence Pformal, PfoHo Pfora, and Pfreshman Welcome. (Notable exceptions: Faculty Row, Thursdayfest.)
In 1996, the House welcomed new Masters, the McCarthys, to go with its new name. A central common room in Moors was named for the Hastings upon their retirement.
In 1996, The New York Times noted that, "many black and Hispanic students lived in the Radcliffe quadrangle, in the Pforzheimer House", while the Boston Globe observed that "Pforzheimer, formerly North House, [had] evolved into a base for black student activism and a mecca for premeds" and observed that "the distinct cultures" of the residence halls was about to be broken up by the then-new policy of assigning students randomly to residence halls.
Dispute with Adams on dining access (known as the Pfoho-Adams War)
In October 1999, Adams HouseAdams House (Harvard University)
Adams House is one of the twelve undergraduate houses at Harvard University, located between Harvard Square and the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Named to commemorate the Adams family, including John Adams, the second president of the United States and John Quincy Adams, the sixth...
began enforcing a long-standing policy of closing its dining hall to non-residents during peak hours, a policy particularly inconvenient to Pforzheimer House residents, who live farthest from the main class buildings at Harvard Yard. Adams House residents, often unable to find a seat at lunch, enacted a series of measures designed to keep members of other houses out. The most infamous of these actions was "The Gong Show" wherein members of the Adams community sat by the ID swipe station and rang the gong when nonresidents came in. A running tally of the number of nonresidents attempting to eat in Adams was kept on a large chalkboard.
Pforzheimer, isolated to the Quadrangle and not suffering from the same dining hall ills, responded by attempting to pass in House Committee a tongue-in-cheek, non-binding measure (proposed by Rick Wedell '01) denying Adams house residents access to the Pforzheimer dining hall. However there was no real support for the measure and it didn't pass, though the attempt was reported in the Crimson. Adams House residents discovered the proposal when the minutes of the meeting were sent to the Pforzheimer House mailing list, then retaliated by declaring war in their House Committee. The initial suggestion was raised by Senior Colin Wood, and formally proposed by Jessamyn Conrad, and seconded by a Sophomore called Kyle. That night, the Declaration and Articles of War were written, sent to the Pfoho list, and the War was officially on.
Adams House gained the element of surprise when students blanketed "O-Ho" with the Declaration of War overnight. Adams House declared that it was in possession of the Pforzheimer "Pf", and would henceforth be known as Pfadams House. The "Adams House" sign above C-Entry was actually changed at this time. The next day, when Pforzheimer students awoke, they discovered that every "Pf" in their dormitory had been "stolen" (covered with masking tape). A week of pranks followed, the most extensive of which occurred when Pforzheimer residents forged notices from the Freshman Dean's office, informing all freshmen that Annenberg Hall was closed, and to go to the Adams dining hall for Sunday brunch. Enterprising "Orzheimers" also stole the gong that had begun the whole affair, and cleverly closed the gates of C-Entry (which contains the dining hall at the center of the controversy) with a bike lock at lunch hour one day, creating chaos. Adams residents, including both Masters, took to reading the declaration of war over the "Orzheimer" call boxes, which someone managed to get the number to, during lunch and dinner.
To settle this war, Adams and Pforzheimer House agreed to a binding field day competition, including a football game, a tug-of-war, and a fifteen minute musico-theatrical presentation to be done in drag. An Adams win would result in a return of the gong, continued dining hall ban, and continued use of "Pfadams House" with Pfoho becoming "Orzheimer House", though Adams generously offered to supply the rival library with a copy of "Hooked on Phonics." A Pfoho win would result in a return to "Adams" from "Pfadams", the return of the gong, and grant Pfoho residents perpetual dining hall privileges at Adams House. Led by Masters McCarthy, presiding over the event in full academic regalia, Pforzheimer House secured a resounding victory (trouncing Adams in the football and tug-of-war and putting up a brave but wholly inadequate showing in the musico-theatrical segment) and Adams accordingly agreed to provide its residents with ID stickers granting them access to the Adams dining hall, an arrangement that stands to this day.
For several years, a "War Memorial" stood in Adams House, commemorating the event.
Administration
As with all houses at Harvard College, Pforzheimer House consists of two classes of members/residents: the Senior Common Room (SCR) and the Junior Common Room (JCR). The official university administration of the house consists of the resident members of the Senior Common Room, such as the House co-Masters, Allston Burr Resident Dean, Senior Resident Tutors, and the Resident Tutors. There is also often a non-academic house administrator and a building manager.As of 2011, the House co-masters of Pforzheimer House were Professor Nicholas Christakis
Nicholas A. Christakis
Nicholas A. Christakis is a Greek American physician and sociologist known for his research on social networks and on the socioeconomic and biosocial determinants of health, longevity, and behavior...
and his wife Erika Christakis. The House administrator was Sue Watts. The Allston Burr Resident Dean was Lisa Boes.
House Committee
Harvard Undergraduate Council
The Harvard Undergraduate Council, colloquially known as "the UC", is the representative student government of Harvard College. The Council was established in 1982 by a vote of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences and student referendum...
, to organize student events and manage funding. The HoCo, as with the other student government organizations in the Houses, are funded by the UC. The current co-chairs of the HoCo are Maya Ayoub and Graham Frankel, both members of the class of 2012.
The Belltower Suite
The Belltower suite is one of several specially-named suites at Harvard College, including Eliot HouseEliot House
Eliot House is one of twelve residential houses for upperclassmen at Harvard University and one of the seven original houses at the College. Opened in 1931, the house was named after Charles William Eliot, who served as president of the university for forty years .-Traditions:Before Harvard opted...
's Ground Zero, Cabot House
Cabot House
Cabot House is one of twelve undergraduate residential Houses at Harvard University. Cabot House derives from the merger in 1970 of South and East House, which took the name South House , until the name was changed and the House reincorporated in 1984 to honor Harvard benefactors Thomas Cabot and...
's Library Suite, Quincy House
Quincy House
Quincy House may refer to:* Quincy House , a residential house at Harvard* Quincy House , graduate house in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington, DC* Quincy House , the U.S. ambassador's residence in Riyadh...
's Terrace (formerly known as the Balcony Suite), and Currier House
Currier House
Currier House is one of twelve undergraduate residential Houses of Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Opened in September 1970, it is named after Audrey Bruce Currier, a member of the Radcliffe College Class of 1956 who, along with her husband, was killed in a plane crash in 1967...
's Ten-Man Suite. It is named for its access to the Pforzheimer belltower.
The core Belltower Suite is Moors Hall #410, which connects by internal fire-escape passageways to Moors #403 and #404. The Belltower suite also connects to the belltower itself, which is not used for housing. Frequently, a single group of friends shares Moors #410 and #403 or, more rarely, all three of the suites; in this case, the entire area occupied by the friends becomes "the Belltower suite" / "the Belltower".
One of the largest housing arrangements on the Harvard campus, it can comfortably house twelve students with individual bedrooms, four bathrooms (three full and one half), and three common rooms.
The belltower itself faces out over the Quadrangle
Quadrangle (Harvard)
The Quadrangle at Harvard University, formerly called the Radcliffe Quadrangle or the Harvard Annex dorms, is part of Harvard's undergraduate campus, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Generally just called the Quad, it is a traditional college quad except that it is not located in, or even...
and is accessed by a ladder and trap door. Access to the tower begins in the passageway that connects Moors Hall #410 and #403. A first ladder leads through a ceiling trapdoor to the carpeted mezzanine level (the "chill pad"). A second, longer ladder leads via a small hatch to the lantern of the tower called the "crow's nest
Crow's nest
A crow's nest is a structure in the upper part of the mainmast of a ship or structure, that is used as a lookout point.This position ensured the best view of the approaching hazards, other ships or land. It was the best device for this purpose until the invention of radar.In early ships it was...
". Expansive windows on all four sides of the lantern allow for a majestic view of the greater Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
area. An access door located halfway between the mezzanine and the lantern provides access to an outdoor inter-level widow's walk
Widow's walk
A widow's walk also known as a "widow's watch" is a railed rooftop platform often with a small enclosed cupola frequently found on 19th century North American houses. A popular romantic myth holds that the platform was used to observe vessels at sea...
.
External links
- Official PfoHo site
- Harvard-Radcliffe Television
- Street map
- Official history of the House
- History of the shield, with images
- The Noteables: Parodies, vol. I. Search the text for the words "The following five" - it's about two-thirds of the way down.