The Summer of Bricks and Nails

Construction workers wandering in and out of Harvard buildings are as much a part of the summer months here as aspiring high school students littering the Yard with frisbees. At the same time that Harvard extends its academic hand to a broad spectrum of students, the University's physical side retreats to heal the wounds inflicted by fierce weather and the passage of time.

The repair efforts underway this summer are the most extensive in Harvard history. The three major projects--renovations of Harvard Stadium, two Houses and Sever Hall--signal the end of a recent policy of deferred maintenance which had forced the University to forego all but the most dire repair jobs.

University officials finally concluded that delaying this work essentially meant refusing to recognize their inevitable responsibilities and that costs would only increase with time. The ambitious projects now underway illustrate the culmination of that new thinking. Recent projects like the installation of a new roof on Widener Library and the rehabilitation of Briggs Cage pale in comparison to the current flurry of activity. At Lowell House alone last week, 170 workers swarmed over the four-story scaffolding, working doubleshifts to make up for a late start this spring.

The most striking of these work efforts is the salvaging of the 78-year-old football stadium, which in recent seasons had literally kept Harvard officials on the edge of their seats. Director of Athletics John P. Reardon '60 and others have publicly acknowledged that the concrete decay created a danger of collapse during well-attended games in 1981.

Battling what had become rapid deterioration. Harvard has embarked upon a comprehensive $7 million overhaul of the stadium which will actually leave the football fortress unchanged architecturally. The traditional and incomparably uncomfortable concrete seats have all been removed, but they are being replaced rapidly by new and equally rock-hard concrete. In addition, new steel beams and freshly painted seat numbers will complement the work now being done by mammoth cranes, which dangle the cement tonnage far above the field and then gently drop each segment into place.

Reardon and Project Manager Robert J. Burbank say that the stadium work is progressing on schedule and that the football team's home games will, despite some fears, be played right across the River. A few lost work days in June due to the rain has had little effect on the overall schedule, Burbank says, and a two-week painters' strike has so far not hurt progress.

The officials guiding the renovations of Lowell House and the Standish half of Winthrop are more cautious when expressing optimism over the prospect for completion by September. The project, with costs roughly equivalent to that of the stadium work marks the first segment of a seven to 10 year rehabilitation of the Houses, estimated to cost $35.40 million when completed.

This summer's work covers only about 7 percent of the total space in the Houses, but officials still say they worry that the project may prove too ambitious for a "trial run." The work entails repairs of roots, gutters, floors, walls, wiring and plumbing. It also includes touching up brick work and giving the buildings a good scrubbing. The extensive work on the 50 year old Houses presents an unprecedented assignment to builders, and Project Manager Roger Caver says "it's too early to tell" whether all work will be finished by the target date, now seven weeks away The House renovations were slowed initially by a two week delay in June.

The least glamorous and least pressure-packed work is at Sever, the project which will actually affect students the most. A year from now, the widely used classroom building will sport entirely new and modernized rooms within its renowned 100-year-old H H Richardson exterior. The cost $6 million.

Despite famous outer architecture. Sever has for generations been criticized for its banging steam pipes and poor acoustics. Those complaints should decrease when the building opens for business again in 1983-84, according to planners. It remains unclear what sort of complaints will arise when students discover that some Tuesday-Thursday classes will begin at 8:30 a.m. this year to compensate for the temporary loss of the Sever space.

The summer is still too young to know whether the renovations slated for completion this fall will have happy endings fans stomping the solid stands without fear after a Crimson touchdown, and Lowell and Winthrop residents unloading trunks and pounding in nails in their assigned rooms. For now, the abundance of construction workers signifies more than added inconvenience, noise and curious sights. The work shows a major and slightly daring venture aimed at preserving Harvard without interrupting it.