Lowell House: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Lowell Tower.JPG|thumb|150px|right|The blue bell tower of Lowell House]]'''Lowell House''' is one of the twelve undergraduate residential houses at [[Harvard University]] for sophomores, juniors, and seniors. |
[[Image:Lowell Tower.JPG|thumb|150px|right|The blue bell tower of Lowell House]]'''Lowell House''' is one of the twelve undergraduate residential houses at [[Harvard University]] for sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Built in 1930 as part of Harvard President [[Abbott Lawrence Lowell]]'s drive to provide housing for all Harvard students, it is nominally named for the President Lowell's family as a whole; but an ornately scripted ''ALL'' woven into the ironwork of the House's Holyoke Place gate hints at a more specific dedication. Prior to his tenure, most students were housed in privately run dormitories; these eventually became so competitively lavish that the area between Mt. Auburn Street and Massachusetts Avenue, just south of Harvard Yard, was once known as the Gold Coast. |
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Lowell House is home to a number of curious and longstanding traditions, including Thursday Teas at the Masters' Residence, a [[May Day]] [[Waltz]] at dawn on the [[John W. Weeks Bridge]], the yearly [http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/lho Lowell House Opera] held in the dining hall, and the annual playing of the [[1812 Overture]] in the House courtyard during [[Arts First]] weekend. |
Lowell House is home to a number of curious and longstanding traditions, including Thursday Teas at the Masters' Residence, a [[May Day]] [[Waltz]] at dawn on the [[John W. Weeks Bridge]], the yearly [http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/lho Lowell House Opera] held in the dining hall, and the annual playing of the [[1812 Overture]] in the House courtyard during [[Arts First]] weekend. |
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During the latter, those not part of the official orchestral ensemble are encouraged to contribute on [[kazoo]]s; in lieu of cannons, hydrogen-filled balloons are ignited by the chemistry tutor or other qualified technician. Each spring, Lowell House also holds the Bacchanalia Formal that typically features a live swing band in the courtyard, a reception in the Junior Common Room, a DJ in the dining hall, and a promotional website with typographical errors. |
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Many House events are organized by the Lowell House Committee; as of Spring 2009, the co-chairs were Robert Niles and Susan DeWolf. |
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Lowell does not have an official party suite as do some others, it does boast the coveted "Labyrinth," an eight-man room (nine if juniors choose to occupy it) with several exceptionally large singles and a sizeable common room.<ref>"Zielinski, Catherine. "Where the Party At? Harvard's Sweetest Party Suites. ''Harvard Crimson'' March 19, 2009.[http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=527225]</ref> |
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[[Image:Lowell2.jpg|thumb|Lowell House in winter.]] |
[[Image:Lowell2.jpg|thumb|Lowell House in winter.]] |
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Lowell House's Sister College at Yale is [[Pierson College]]. |
Lowell House's Sister College at Yale is [[Pierson College]]. |
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The current Masters of Lowell House are [[Diana L. Eck]] and [[Dorothy Austin]]. The [[Allston Burr Resident Dean]] is Ryan Spoering. |
The current Masters of Lowell House are [[Diana L. Eck]] and [[Dorothy Austin]]. The [[Allston Burr Resident Dean]] is currently Ryan Spoering. |
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Notable Lowell alumni include [[John Berendt]], [[Harry Blackmun]], [[Michael Crichton]], [[Christopher Damm]], [[Matt Damon]], [[Philip F. Gura]], [[Walter Isaacson]], [[Vanessa Lann]], [[Tom Lehrer]], [[Alan Jay Lerner]], [[Robert Lowell]], [[Nicholas Kristof]], [[Anthony Lewis]], [[Crown Princess Masako]], [[Natalie Portman]], [[Frank Rich]], [[David Souter]], [[John Updike]], [[David Vitter]], [[Chris Wallace]], [[Andrew Weil]], and [[Ned Lamont]]. |
Notable Lowell alumni include [[John Berendt]], [[Harry Blackmun]], [[Michael Crichton]], [[Christopher Damm]], [[Matt Damon]], [[Philip F. Gura]], [[Walter Isaacson]], [[Vanessa Lann]], [[Tom Lehrer]], [[Alan Jay Lerner]], [[Robert Lowell]], [[Nicholas Kristof]], [[Anthony Lewis]], [[Crown Princess Masako]], [[Natalie Portman]], [[Frank Rich]], [[David Souter]], [[John Updike]], [[David Vitter]], [[Chris Wallace]], [[Andrew Weil]], and [[Ned Lamont]]. |
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== The bells == |
== The bells == |
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For three-quarters of a century, |
For three-quarters of a century, a distinctive feature of Lowell House was the set of Russian in the House belltower, one of only a handful of complete sets of pre-revolutionary Russian bells remaining anywhere. They were bought around 1930 — reportedly for just the value of their bronze content — by Chicago industrialist [[Charles R. Crane]] to save them from being melted down by Soviet authorities. When Lowell House was built, Crane donated the set of 18 bells to Harvard. |
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(One of these eighteen, considered too close in tone to one of the others, went to [[Harvard Business School]]'s Baker Library.) <!-- Did this one go back to Danilov as well, does anyone know? --> |
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The bells originally came from [[Moscow]]'s [[Danilov Monastery]] (now the seat of the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church) and were installed with the help, at first, of [[Konstantin Konstantinovich Saradzhev]], and later with the assistance of "a Russian émigré who ... claimed to have rung the Danilov bells before the Revolution."<ref>Elif Batuman, "The Bells," ''The New Yorker'', April 27, 2009, pp. 26.</ref> They range in weight from 22 pounds (10 kg) to 26,700 pounds (12,100 kg, and known as "Mother Earth"). |
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The bells are consecrated, and are of great significance to the Russian Orthodox Church, in whose liturgy bells play an important role. |
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At Lowell, the bells were usually rung on Sundays from 1:00 to 1:15 pm by a group of Lowell residents known as the ''Klappermeisters.'' |
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The bells originally came from the [[Danilov Monastery]] in [[Moscow]], now the seat of the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, and were installed with the help first of [[Konstantin Konstantinovich Saradzhev]] and then that of "a Russian émigré who ... claimed to have rung the Danilov bells before the Revolution."<ref>Elif Batuman, "The Bells," ''The New Yorker'', April 27, 2009, pp. 26.</ref> They range in weight from 22 pounds (10 kg) to 26,700 pounds (12,100 kg) (the largest bell is known as "Mother Earth"). The bells are consecrated, and are of great significance to the Russian Orthodox Church, where bells are regularly rung as part of the liturgy. At Harvard, the bells are rung every Sunday from 1:00 to 1:15 pm, and on certain special occasions, by an interested group of Lowell residents known as the ''Klappermeisters''. The Bells had been rung for generations of students, for instance, following the [[Harvard-Yale football games (The Game)|Harvard-Yale football game]], with Harvard's score rung on the "Mother Earth Bell" and [[Yale University|Yale's]] rung on the "Bell of Pestilence, Famine, and Despair." Visitors are welcome. They can also be heard on [http://lowell.harvard.edu/Bells/Bells.html the Lowell House Virtual Bell Tower]. |
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But some Klappermeisters, overcome with love |
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for their pastime, and putting heedless self-indulgence ahead of the welfare of their sleep-deprived fellow scholars, |
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would initiate their infernal clanging much, much earlier than the officially appointed hour on |
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that traditional day of rest; these wicked souls were hated and reviled by each and every suffering creature unfortunate enough to dwell within the radius of action of these sonic torture machines, and thereafter had trouble getting help with chemistry homework, even unto the twelfth generation. |
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At times, following the annual [[Harvard-Yale football games (The Game)|Harvard-Yale football game]], Harvard's score would be proclaimed on the "Mother Earth Bell", and [[Yale University|Yale's]] score dirged on the "Bell of Pestilence, Famine, and Despair." |
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The bells can also be heard on [http://lowell.harvard.edu/Bells/Bells.html the Lowell House Virtual Bell Tower]. |
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With the revival of Christianity in Russia and the reopening of the Danilov Monastery, a request |
With the revival of Christianity in Russia and the reopening of the Danilov Monastery, a request was made for the return of the bells to their native homeland. After prolonged negotiations, the bells returned to Russia in the summer of 2008, and replicas took their place in Lowell House. The exchange was made possible by the financial and administrative support of the Russian industrialist [[Victor Vekselberg]].<ref>Elif Batuman, "The Bells," ''The New Yorker'', April 27, 2009, pp. 28-29.</ref> |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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Revision as of 01:57, 7 May 2009
 |
Lowell House is one of the twelve undergraduate residential houses at Harvard University for sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Built in 1930 as part of Harvard President Abbott Lawrence Lowell's drive to provide housing for all Harvard students, it is nominally named for the President Lowell's family as a whole; but an ornately scripted ALL woven into the ironwork of the House's Holyoke Place gate hints at a more specific dedication. Prior to his tenure, most students were housed in privately run dormitories; these eventually became so competitively lavish that the area between Mt. Auburn Street and Massachusetts Avenue, just south of Harvard Yard, was once known as the Gold Coast.
Lowell House is home to a number of curious and longstanding traditions, including Thursday Teas at the Masters' Residence, a May Day Waltz at dawn on the John W. Weeks Bridge, the yearly Lowell House Opera held in the dining hall, and the annual playing of the 1812 Overture in the House courtyard during Arts First weekend. During the latter, those not part of the official orchestral ensemble are encouraged to contribute on kazoos; in lieu of cannons, hydrogen-filled balloons are ignited by the chemistry tutor or other qualified technician. Each spring, Lowell House also holds the Bacchanalia Formal that typically features a live swing band in the courtyard, a reception in the Junior Common Room, a DJ in the dining hall, and a promotional website with typographical errors. Many House events are organized by the Lowell House Committee; as of Spring 2009, the co-chairs were Robert Niles and Susan DeWolf.
Lowell does not have an official party suite as do some others, it does boast the coveted "Labyrinth," an eight-man room (nine if juniors choose to occupy it) with several exceptionally large singles and a sizeable common room.[1]
Lowell House's Sister College at Yale is Pierson College.
The current Masters of Lowell House are Diana L. Eck and Dorothy Austin. The Allston Burr Resident Dean is currently Ryan Spoering.
Notable Lowell alumni include John Berendt, Harry Blackmun, Michael Crichton, Christopher Damm, Matt Damon, Philip F. Gura, Walter Isaacson, Vanessa Lann, Tom Lehrer, Alan Jay Lerner, Robert Lowell, Nicholas Kristof, Anthony Lewis, Crown Princess Masako, Natalie Portman, Frank Rich, David Souter, John Updike, David Vitter, Chris Wallace, Andrew Weil, and Ned Lamont.
The bells
For three-quarters of a century, a distinctive feature of Lowell House was the set of Russian in the House belltower, one of only a handful of complete sets of pre-revolutionary Russian bells remaining anywhere. They were bought around 1930 — reportedly for just the value of their bronze content — by Chicago industrialist Charles R. Crane to save them from being melted down by Soviet authorities. When Lowell House was built, Crane donated the set of 18 bells to Harvard. (One of these eighteen, considered too close in tone to one of the others, went to Harvard Business School's Baker Library.)
The bells originally came from Moscow's Danilov Monastery (now the seat of the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church) and were installed with the help, at first, of Konstantin Konstantinovich Saradzhev, and later with the assistance of "a Russian émigré who ... claimed to have rung the Danilov bells before the Revolution."[2] They range in weight from 22 pounds (10 kg) to 26,700 pounds (12,100 kg, and known as "Mother Earth"). The bells are consecrated, and are of great significance to the Russian Orthodox Church, in whose liturgy bells play an important role.
At Lowell, the bells were usually rung on Sundays from 1:00 to 1:15 pm by a group of Lowell residents known as the Klappermeisters. But some Klappermeisters, overcome with love for their pastime, and putting heedless self-indulgence ahead of the welfare of their sleep-deprived fellow scholars, would initiate their infernal clanging much, much earlier than the officially appointed hour on that traditional day of rest; these wicked souls were hated and reviled by each and every suffering creature unfortunate enough to dwell within the radius of action of these sonic torture machines, and thereafter had trouble getting help with chemistry homework, even unto the twelfth generation. At times, following the annual Harvard-Yale football game, Harvard's score would be proclaimed on the "Mother Earth Bell", and Yale's score dirged on the "Bell of Pestilence, Famine, and Despair." The bells can also be heard on the Lowell House Virtual Bell Tower.
With the revival of Christianity in Russia and the reopening of the Danilov Monastery, a request was made for the return of the bells to their native homeland. After prolonged negotiations, the bells returned to Russia in the summer of 2008, and replicas took their place in Lowell House. The exchange was made possible by the financial and administrative support of the Russian industrialist Victor Vekselberg.[3]