 |
The House of the Academy
136 Irving Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Take a Tour! |
|
The House of the Academy
The first home of the American Academy was the Philosophy Chamber
of Harvard College. It was there, in 1779, that John Adams proposed to the
Reverend Samuel Cooper his idea for the formation of an Academy. One year
later, the Massachusetts legislature enacted the Charter of the Academy. For
the next sixty years the new society used the Philosophy Chamber as its meeting
place.
During the 19th century the Academy shared quarters with the Boston
Athenæum and later the Massachusetts Historical Society. It next
moved to 28 Newbury Street in 1904 and remained there until 1955. For a few
years the Academy was again peripatetic, borrowing meeting places from
neighbors. Then an arrangement was worked out with the Brandegee Charitable
Foundation, and the Academy moved to Faulkner Farm in Brookline. The Academy
remained there until the completion of a brand new house, the Academy's first
permanent home, designed for the Academy at 136 Irving Street in Cambridge in
1981. Click here for directions.
 |
|
Breaking ground on the new house
|
|
The completion of the new building brought form to a
two-hundred-year history of intellectual endeavor. Made possible through the
vision and generosity of Edwin Land, the House of the Academy was created to
provide an intimate home for scholarly thought. Its award-winning design, by
the architectural firm Kallmann McKinnell & Wood, incorporates many metaphors,
borrowing elements from ancient Greek cities, Renaissance Tuscan villas, and
the 20th-century American and British Arts and Crafts style. The House now
stands as a "House of the Mind," the American Academy’s national headquarters,
and a center for scholarly exchange. Hosting an event? Learn
more about our public conference facilities
Back to About Us
|