Records of the Harvard Club of Boston, 1908-1990 (inclusive)
Overview
An organization of Harvard alumni living in and around Boston, Massachusetts, the Harvard Club of Boston was founded on March 19, 1908. The records document the history, activities, and interests of the Club.
Dates
- Creation: 1908-1990 (inclusive)
Conditions on use and access:
Some restrictions apply. Consult reference staff for details.
Extent
2.8 cubic feet (8 boxes)The records document the history, activities, and interests of the Harvard Club of Boston. Activities documented include annual meetings and events sponsored by the Club, and administrative details such as the election of officers and members, financial information, and committee work.
Documents include newsclippings, pamphlets, programs and menus, correspondence, notices, minutes, financial records, speeches and addresses, committee records, annual reports, and publications.
History of the Harvard Club of Boston
The Harvard Club of Boston was founded on March 19, 1908, more than fifty years after the first Boston-based Harvard club was established (see the Records of the Harvard Club, Harvard University Archives call number: HUD 3226). The original aim of the Harvard Club of Boston, summarized by its first five officers, was to "give effective expression to the Harvard spirit" through such activities as annual dinners and other social meetings. By the time the first meeting was held on June 23, 1908, there were more than 450 members. By its second year, the Club had almost 1,200 members, and by 1915, membership was over 4,000.
As membership continued to grow, the Club began to search for a permanent clubhouse. Land at the corner of Massachusetts and Commonwealth Avenues was purchased in May 1912, and the clubhouse was dedicated on November 12, 1913. Due to the higher than expected construction costs, the Club incorporated itself itself in January 1913 to facilitate funding.
In its early year, the Club began several long-standing traditions. These included attending the Harvard-Yale football game and crew races (the Club provided trains to New Haven in odd years), feting victorious Harvard athletic teams, and providing scholarships for local high school students to attend Harvard College. Annual meetings were held in late winter, and various recitals, concerts, talks, and lectures were sponsored by the Club throughout the year. The new clubhouse included eight squash courts, which were open to members' sons, as well as to wives and daughters in 1927.
The Harvard Club of Boston Foundation was established on July 10, 1950 to facilitate fund-raising for the scholarships offered by the Club. In 1954, a downtown "Harvard Banquet" room was opened at Purcell's Restaurant on School Street in order to give members a convenient place to gather for lunch. This facility moved in 1967, but a permanent Downtown Harvard Club was opened at One Milk Street in November 1976.
In the 1970s, the Club instituted a travel program, allowing members to travel at special group rates, and created a Travel Committee.
Arrangement
The records are organized into the following groups:
- General information and ephemera
- Administrative records
- Committee records
- Publications
Acquisition Information
- J.D. Phillips; 1910
- Harvard Club of Boston; 1913
- William S. Appleton; 1914
- Harvard Club of Boston; 1914
- Harvard Club of Boston; 1915
- Charles W. Eliot; 1917
- Harvard Club of Boston; 1917
- F. W. Taussig; 1919
- Harvard Club of Boston; 1920
- Landscape Architecture Library; 1922
- Harvard Club of Boston; 1922
- Harvard Club of Boston; 1924
- Harvard Club of Boston; 1931
- P.E. Sargent; 1931
- C.H. Haskins; 1931
- F. G. Peabody; 1932
- Harvard Club of Boston; 1936
- R. Fitz; 1947
- Harvard Club of Boston; 1948
- Estate of S.H. Cross; October 1948
- R.W. Lovett; Nov. 17, 1948
- Catalogue Dept; May 15, 1952
- Office of the Secretary to the University; 1954
- Harvard Club of Boston; 1962
- Class Secretary of 1910; 1970
Inventory update
This document last updated 2016 June 16.
Processing Information
The Records of the Harvard Club of Boston were first classified and described in the Harvard University Archives shelflist prior to 1980. In September 2008, Juliana Kuipers re-processed the material. Re-processing included integrating and reorganizing the records, re-housing materials in appropriate containers, establishing a series and subseries hierarchy, and the creation of this inventory. All call numbers were simplified.
An empty envelope labeled "Harvard Club of Boston seal, found in material of Class of 1898, from Paul V. Bacon, Secretary" was found in the collection. The empty envelope was placed in the control file.
- Title
- Harvard Club of Boston. Records of the Harvard Club of Boston : an inventory
- Author
- Harvard University Archives
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hua26008
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard University Archives Repository
Holding nearly four centuries of materials, the Harvard University Archives is the principal repository for the institutional records of Harvard University and the personal archives of Harvard faculty, as well as collections related to students, alumni, Harvard-affiliates and other associated topics. The collections document the intellectual, cultural, administrative and social life of Harvard and the influence of the University as it emerged across the globe.
Pusey Library
Harvard Yard
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2461
archives_reference@harvard.edu