ASTP, School of Education Fighting Peabody Decay

Set back from Kirkland Avenue and shielded by shrubbery, from prying eyes, Peabody House today is tottering between salvation and decay. The building is now used daily by the Graduate School of Education and the ASTP, but spiders still spin undisturbed in the attic.

Peabody House was built over sixty years ago by Francis Greenwood Peabody, and was used as his home for nearly 50 years. The building was vacant for a time before purchase by the University in 1938.

When the Graduate School of Education moved in, they found that the old building had been condemned by the fire marshal. A tinder-box of old spider webs, and wood, it was declared definitely unfit for habitation.

Under the supervision of the fire marshal, the Graduate School had the building cleaned up and made ready for new occupants. The job was too much, however, and even today the banister shakes, the roof shows splotches from the many leaks in the recent history of the building, and the attic is still a source of worry to the Cambrdge Fire Department.

When Education moved in, it found that the former occupants had left but two things in the house--a large banner, reading "W. Rodman Peabody", body. On this basis Philip J. Rulon, and a book by Francis Greenwood Pea-associate professor of Education, named his headquarters Peabody House.

Today the newest machines in the University are installed on wood that may any day plunge them through to the cellar, and Rulon's private library obscures the doors to the old dining room and pantry.

During the absence of the students of Education, whose summer term ended August 15th, Peabody's classroom is being used by a group of ASTP men, and two of the front offices of the building are occupied by ASTU officers.