Boylston Hall

At the southeast end of the Old Yard, on the west side of, and adjacent to Widener, stands Boylston Hall. This Italian Renaissance-style building, with outer walls of Rockport granite, was designed by Schultze and Schoen, and its original construction cost was $50,000. In 1871, the top two floors were added. Public areas on the first floor and mezzanine include a renovated 144-seat Fong Auditorium, three classrooms, and Ticknor Lounge. Of special interest to anyone who has ever sat through a class or meeting in a Boylston Hall seminar room is the fact that seminar rooms are now located on the outside wall of the building, and thus have natural lighting as well as windows that open. Romance Languages has two seminar rooms of its own, with an additional seminar room shared between the various Boylston departments. The days are over when visitors to a Boylston department will need to wander the oval corridors of the building wondering where the "main office" is. Visitors to the fourth floor are drawn, by the lighting and the design of the building itself, toward the brightly lit "center," where they can find the main office, mailboxes, teaching fellow offices and the departmental lounge. Within the Department, the overall response to the "New Boylston" has been delight.