Radcliffe Infirmary Site Chosen For Construction of New Theatre

The new $1.5 million University theatre will be constructed on the site of the present Radcliffe Health Center, President Pusey announced Saturday at a dinner honoring the 85th anniversary of the CRIMSON.

Under terms of an agreement worked out between the two colleges, Radcliffe will vacate its infirmary, situated at the corner of Brattle St. and Hilliard St., at the end of the spring term. The construction will force the University Health Services to find a new health center for use by Radcliffe.

Although final details have not been worked out, Radcliffe students will possibly use Stillman Infirmary. The projected Harvard-Radcliffe Health Center could not be completed before the summer of 1960, at the earliest date.

A 1933-35 Design School student, Boston architect Hugh A. Stubbins will complete the design within three months, and architectural blueprints in time for groundbreaking by next November.

"The most important part of the planning will be conceiving ideas for the structure," Stubbins commented. Present plans call for a stage which would represent a compromise between the conventional proscenium type and the newer "apron" type used for theatre in the round.

In his statement, Pusey emphasized the advantageous location of the new theatre. He cited its central position between the two colleges and its proximity to public transportation. "However, the parking problem is as bad at that site as it would be anywhere else," the President stated.

Loeb Gives Funds

John L. Loeb '24, New York investment banker, donated $1 million for construction last May. The Program for Harvard College is providing $350,000 and Radcliffe $150,000 for the remainder of the cost.

The theatre will seat about 600 people, approximately one-half the capacity of Sanders. In addition to a single large auditorium, the new structure will contain several conference rooms and a small stage and auditorium for rehearsals and "Workshop" productions.

A special faculty committee recommended construction of the theatre in December, 1950. Members of the group, included Dean Bundy, Harry T. Levin '33 professor of English, Archibald MacLeish, Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory, and Jose L. Sert, Dean of the Faculty of Design.

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences voted a resolution in 1950, reading, "The Faculty of Arts and Sciences deplores the lack of an auditorium adequate to the needs of the Harvard student body and the University community and expresses the hope that action may be taken to remedy this lack in the near future."