Pforzheimer House, affectionately called PfoHo (and formerly named North House or NoHo), is an undergraduate residential House at Harvard University. It was named in 1995 for Carol K. and Carl H. Pforzheimer, major University benefactors, and their family.
Located in Harvard's Quadrangle, PfoHo comprises Ada Louise Comstock, Mary Buckminster Moors, Daniel Henry Holmes, and Wolbach Halls, the Jordan North and South buildings, and Faculty Row. Moors Hall features the storied Bell Tower Suite.
PfoHo's shield features black and crimson squares on a crimson and black field; its mascots are the polar bear and the pf bigram. The present House Master and Co-Master are Jim and Sue McCarthy. They have served in this capacity since 1996.
History
Rise of the Halls
Radcliffe College students first took up residence on campus in 1901; apparently, the oldest parts of PfoHo date to that year.
Moors opened in time for the 1949-1950 academic year, the year plans for Holmes were first drawn up. Construction of Comstock began in 1957.
The Jordans opened for business as an experiment in cooperative living in 1961. The use of Jordan as a co-op persisted at least until 1997.
Wolbach, formerly an apartment building, was purchased by Harvard at least by 1964.
The townhouses of Faculty Row joined the House around 1971.
Crystallization
The name "North House" first appeared in 1961 and consisted of Comstock, Moors, and Holmes. It appears that Wolbach did not yet belong to Harvard at this point. The Jordans were initially assigned to a no-longer-existent East House.
Male students were first assigned to the House around 1971.
Legendary House Master and Co-Master Woody and Hanna Hastings began their term in 1975.
The Hastings Doctrine and the Great Renovation of 1986-1988
PfoHo today owes much of its flavor to the Hastings' visionary leadership. They quickly set about the task of cultivating spirit in a House that to seemed lack it. At the same time, they worked to integrate and interconnect the House as closely as possible. Woody Hastings remarked, "Any student in North House ought to be able to get from any place in the House to any other place in the House in his PJs - or less."
Accordingly, when plans were drawn up for a major renovation in the mid-1980s, the Hastings rejected an early proposal that would have segmented the house into disconnected vertical "entryways", opting instead for a plan that connected "the bricks" to one another more closely and in the process allowed the construction of the Holmes junior common room, the PfoHo Grille, the Comstock Library, and the centralized balconied dining hall. The unique duplex suites on the top floors of "the bricks" were also created during this renovation.
Woody Hastings's dream of a totally interconnected House came closer to reality in 2002 with the construction of the Wolbach Breezeway - connecting Wolbach to Moors - which he had originally designed, and which he had continued to press for even after his term as Master.
Rechristening
In 1995, the House was renamed Pforzheimer House. This caused consternation at first. Residents were by now zealously loyal to their House and its now-traditional name. Since the Pforzheimers were known primarily as major University donors, there was a widespread sense that naming rights to the building had been sold off for mere money.
(The Harvard Noteables wrote not one but five song parodies lamenting the name change.)
Pretty quickly, though, the name seems to have picked up in popularity. The letters f or ph were replaced by pf in House-related words, hence Pformal, PfoHo Pfora, and Pfreshman Welcome. This practice, of course, continues unabated today. (Notable exceptions: Faculty Row, Thursdayfest.)
In 1996, the House welcomed new Masters, the McCarthys, to go with its new name. A central common room in Moors was named for the Hastings upon their retirement.
War With Adams
In October of the 1999-2000 academic year, Adams House closed its dining hall to non-residents during peak hours. (Because of Adams's proximity to Harvard Yard, it is the most conveniently located dining hall for upperclassmen to grab a quick lunch between classes.)
Of course, the exiled Quadlings were the most impacted by this policy.
To enforce the interhouse dining restrictions, Adams issued special ID-card stickers to its residents. A large gong in the dining hall became Adams's mascot. It was banged when non-residents were caught sneaking into the dining hall; these outsiders were then boisterously ejected.
PfoHo replied with two symbolic gestures. It banned students with Adams stickers from eating in PfoHo during the contested hours. PfoHo students also stole the gong and placed it on display in the PfoHo dining hall.
An infuriated Adams responded by declaring war. Its rather absurdist declaration of war named PfoHo an upstart colony, levied a "tax" of "two napkins" on any PfoHo resident who ever dined in Adams (by invitation), and claimed possession of the pf. (Adams was thenceforth to be called Pfadams; PfoHo would become Oho.)
A time and place for the war was eventually scheduled; it consisted of a football game, a tug-of-war, and a theatrical competition. PfoHo won decisively. The peace agreement gave Pforzheimer residents unrestricted dining privileges in Adams, including the right to bring a guest.
The Silken Renovation of 2002
The summer of 2002 saw the Quad transmogrified temporarily into a parking lot as renovations began on Wolbach and Jordan. The Jordans in particular were thoroughly gutted down to their glimmering skeletons, which stood exposed to the elements for several weeks. Wolbach was also fitted with brand-new suites and a Breezeway to Moors.
One of the main purposes of the Silken Renovation was to increase housing capacity; since square footage was not changed, space per capita obviously decreased. However, most students later agreed that improvements in their housing quality vastly compensated for the decrease in quantity, especially in the Jordans. There were a few true downsides, like the loss of kitchennettes in Wolbach and the disappearance of Jordan's snooker table.
Trivia
- Like all dorms in the (Radcliffe) Quad, PfoHo originally housed females only. Doors were equipped with special hooks to help residents comply with the Radcliffe College rule that required their doors to remain ajar a certain distance when gentlemen came to call. While this rule is now obsolete, many of the hooks remain as historical curiosities, intentionally retained through various rounds of renovation.
- PfoHo residents are formally known as PfoHosers. The term actually existed as "NoHoser" before the House acquired its current name. Combined with the fact that the House was once all-female, this was apparently some sort of joke. "PfoHoser" has fallen somewhat out of use in recent years, but alternatives like "Pforzheimerite" have not caught on.
- Comstock, Moors, and Holmes are known collectively as "the bricks". "The bricks" together with Wolbach are called "the House", as in the exchange Do you live in Jordan? —No, I live in the House.
- The squares on the PfoHo shield represent the four original halls: Holmes, Moors, Comstock, and Wolbach. The colors were chosen because Harvard's color is crimson and Radcliffe's were black and white. The design evokes the design of the Radcliffe shield.
- Pforzheimer is the most recently named House; at least as recently as 2002, House administrators' "department" was still listed as NORTH in Harvard's internal directory database.
- PfoHo inspired the name of North House, the band.
The Bell Tower Suite
The Bell Tower Suite is Moors Hall #410, which is located directly under Pfozheimer House's bell tower. It is part of a larger Bell Tower Complex of rooms interconnected by internal fire-escape passageways: the student suites Moors #410, #403, and #404 as well as the bell tower itself (not used for housing). Frequently, a single group of friends shares Moors #410 and #403, or, more rarely, all three of the suites; in these cases the term "Bell Tower Suite" or even "Bell Tower" refers by extension to all the suites in question. The residents of these suites are called "the belltower". In practice all these terms get used interchangeably.
The complex is located on the fourth and attic floors of Moors with windows facing out over the Quadrangle, and the tower itself which is accessible by a ladder and trap door on the attic level. One of the largest housing arrangements on the Harvard campus, it can comfortably house twelve students with individual bedrooms, four bathrooms (three full and one half), and three common rooms. Due to current housing regulations at Harvard College, each of the three suites that connect to form the complex must remain single-sex; hence, it either houses twelve same-sex residents or four residents of one sex and eight of the other.
Of the interconnected three suites, the largest, Moors #410, has over 1000 square feet of space and has often served as a party venue for hundreds of students. The suite is popular among students of Harvard College because it features a ten foot bar of sturdy construction that allows it to be danced upon when alcohol is not being served. After years of dancing abuse, the bar was restained in 2004.
The Bell Tower Suite is one of several flagship "named suites" at Harvard College, including Eliot House 's Ground Zero, Cabot House 's Library Suite, and Currier House 's Ten-Man Suite.
The bell tower itself is an architectural affectation without actual bells, as are most of the bell towers above houses at Harvard College, with the notable exception being the Lowell House bell tower, which features a set of antique bells from a Russian monastery. Access to the belltower is possible only via a ladder and trap door in the fire-escape passageway that connects Moors Hall #410 and #403. The first ladder leads to the carpeted mezzanine level, which contains the bell tower steel superstructure and an array of overhead lighting. A long ladder leads via a small hatch from the mezzanine to the the highest point in Pfozheimer House, the crow's nest, or lantern of the tower. An access door located halfway between the mezzanine and the lantern provides access to an outdoor inter-level widow's walk. Windows in the lantern allow for an expansive view of the greater Boston area. Lighting fixtures in the lantern, which are generally not used, can illuminate the windows from the inside. Both the widow's walk door and the bell tower entrance door are usually locked by university and house administration following two incidents: some students who had accessed the widow's walk threw light bulbs at students on the quadrangle; at another time, a small fire occurred in the lantern.
Administration
As with all houses at Harvard College, Pforzheimer House consists of two classes of members/residents, the Senior Common Room (SCR) and the Junior Common Room (JCR). The official university administration of the house consists of the resident members of the Senior Common Room, such as the House co-Masters, Allston Burr Senior Tutor, Associate Senior Tutors, and the Junior Tutors. There is also often a non-academic house administrator and a house superintendent.
As of March 31, 2005, the House co-Masters of Pforzheimer House were Professor James McCarthy, chair of the Department of Environmental Science and Public Policy, and his wife Sue McCarthy. The House administrator was David Woodberry. The Allston Burr Senior Tutor was Matthew Peatie.
Student life and house events are administered by the House Committee, or HoCo, whose voting members must be from the Junior Common Room, i.e. the undergraduate student body of the house. Members of the Senior Common Room may attend HoCo meetings as non-voting participants. As of March 31, 2005, the President of Pfozheimer House Committee, or PfoHoCo, was Andrew Stillman.
References
(Dec. 10, 1949). "Moors Will Speak At Hall Inaugural". The Harvard Crimson. Available online.
(Mar. 8, 1950). "Future Annex Dormitory To Be Called Holmes Hall". The Harvard Crimson. Available online.
Miller, Martha E. (Apr. 12, 1957). "'Cliffe to Break Ground For Ninth Dorm April 29". The Harvard Crimson. Available online.
Gale, Mary Ellen (Jun. 14, 1962). "Mrs. Bunting's Radcliffe". The Harvard Crimson. Available online.
Cliff, Mary F. (Feb. 9, 1984). "Hanging Out Up There". The Harvard Crimson. Available online.
Masters, Brooke A. (Sep. 28, 1987). "Quadlings Celebrate Renovations". The Harvard Crimson. Available online.
Resnick, Scott A. (Oct. 18, 1999). "Spirit Unleashed As House War Ends". The Harvard Crimson. Available online.
Fong, J. G. (Mar. 16, 2000). "Fifteen Minutes: Harvard Band on the Rise, Again". The Harvard Crimson. Available online.
Dolan, Meghan M. and Cornelia L. Griggs (Oct. 23, 2003). "Room With A Crew". Fifteen Minutes. Available online.
External links