"magisterial Harvard, theatrical Yale and private Princeton"

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>A relative just forwarded me this article from the Princeton Alumni Weekly from the 80s on the different "styles" of the schools as reflected in their architecture and alumni bodies, among other things. It's longish, but quite well-written and a lot of fun: though a Princeton alum, the author seems to have intimate knowledge of all 3 schools. Much of what he says remains true, I think.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.princeton.edu/%7Etenner/Ten...P_PAW_1984.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.princeton.edu/~tenner/Ten...P_PAW_1984.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

2

<p>Sorry for bad link. Correct link is:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/~tenner/Tenner_HYP_PAW_1984.pdf[/url]”>http://www.princeton.edu/~tenner/Tenner_HYP_PAW_1984.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>Harvard’s architecture is actually very plain and simple. It embodies 16th century Colonial, and Puritan ideals. The Puritans did not like grandiouse architecture as they were anti-materialistic, hard-working, and very religious. If you walked into the dorms, you would see walls crumbling a part, old sinks and bathroom fixtures, and unpolished wooden floors. However, the cafeteria, Annenberg looks like something out of a Harry Potter film. Very elaborate. </p>

<p>I think the descriptions of Yale and Princeton are more accurate.</p>

4

<p>this is a great article… I’ve always been fascinated by collegiate architecture and the Big Three never seem to amaze anyone. Cleverly written and still a good read over 20 years later.</p>

5

<p>Annenberg is a recent invention. I took my GREs there a long time ago, and it was as dreary a space as one could think of. Not in the least like Hogwarts.</p>

6

<p>What’s Annenberg? The Harvard dining hall really does look like Hogwarts to me, though…</p>

7

<p>This is dreary? It looks just like Hogwarts’ dining hall…
<a href=“http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~memhall/images2/annen2.jpg[/url]”>http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~memhall/images2/annen2.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

8

<p>I don’t think it was so dreary in my day, but definitely unloved. All the bones were there, (hammerbeam trusses, stained glass windows), but dusty and unpolished. They had freshman mixers there, and registration for classes.</p>