The University therefore bought out the private owners of the Gold Coast dorms. Claverly was purchased for $190,000 in 1920, $160,000 less than it cost to build. In 1892 the original estimate placed the price of the building at $175,000, but Wetmore changed his plans completely and Claverly ended up costing twice as much.

A newspaper reporter visited Claverly in its first year and described a typical suite: The walls were "sheathed up to five feet in rich old carved wood, and above that covered with a red rich wall-paper of the costliest material."

He was impressed with the six-foot fire places, bounded by great oaken pillars jutting into the room. The window shades he described as "dark red silk, hanging from solid brass, and the window seat below is of a like color in plush." Bed rooms were furnished "In the regulation style: a heavy braze bedstead, a bureau, and a dressing case with a big swinging mirror."

Electricity and Gas

The hall was equipped with both electricity and gas. "A chandelier hung from the ceiling with four electric jots and a like number of gas candles."

The most expensive suites were the four famous "ebony rooms" which were furnished "In the richest of the darkest shades of antique oak clear to the ceiling."

A handball court was built at the south east corner of the building, but this has long fallen into disuse, as has the swimming pool of white tile and marble next to the court. The pool is usually kept locked; firemen had to break down the door during Tuesday's blaze.

Several famous men lived in Claverly during the Gold Coast days; among them was Theodore Roosevelt Jr. '09, who came to Harvard in 1905 while his father was President. He lived a "moderate" life, though not the "simple undergraduate life" that his father preached when addressing the College the preceding spring. The President, while an undergraduate during the 1870's, had lived in a wooden house on Winthrop Street, but son "went Gold Coast" with a $350-a-year Claverly suite.