Photographs of the Harvard Stadium taken by John R. Nichols

John R. Nichols, structural engineer in Boston, Massachusetts and received his A.B. from Harvard College in 1906. He was born in Somerville, Massachusetts in 1883 and was a graduate of Latin High School in Somerville. While a student at Harvard, Nichols participated in the Engineering Society and the fencing team. In 1906, he married Alice B. Berry of New York, New York. The couple had five children. He was a consulting structural engineer and a partner in the firm of John R. Nichols and Paul W. Norton, Boston. During the depression of 1929, Nichols participated in relief projects, including editing a new building code for Boston. Later, during World War II, he constructed war plants. His professional memberships included the American Concrete Institute, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the Boston Society of Civil Engineers. He was also the treasurer of and a teacher at the Henry George School of Social Science in New York, New York. Nichols died while traveling in Rome, Italy on September 29, 1952.

Harvard Stadium was built in 1903, and was the first large vertical structure to be constructed in the United States from reinforced structural concrete. More than 250,000 cubic feet of concrete was used in construction. The stadium was built with funds gifted by the Harvard College Class of 1879. The stadium site was Soldiers Field, which was gifted to Harvard by Major Henry L. Higginson in commemoration of his Harvard classmates who fought in the Civil War. Work began with surveys of Soldiers Field on Class Day, June 19, 1903, and the first football game was held on November 21, 1903 between Harvard and Yale. The stadium seated approximately 40,000 for the inaugural game. Ira N. Hollis (1856-1930), professor of mechanical engineering at Harvard from 1893-1913, oversaw the project from inception to completion. The architectural plans were designed by Charles F. McKim (1847-1909), with the assistance of George Bruno de Gersdorff (1866-1964). The chief engineer was Louis J. Johnson (1867-1952), professor of civil engineering at Harvard. In addition to football games, Harvard Stadium has hosted events ranging from rugby, track and field, and Olympic soccer to political rallies and musical concerts. On December 18, 1986, the Boston Society of Civil Engineers (BSCE) named the stadium a Massachusetts Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. It was the 14th structure to receive this distinction. Harvard Stadium became a National Historic Landmark on February 27, 1987.