Come fall, Harvard Yard will no longer have a Garden. That's not referring to some Harvard landmark unknown to casual acquaintances of America's oldest university. It simply means that after two years of using a former apartment building on 29 Garden St. as first-year housing, the College is once again placing all the frosh in Yard and Union dorms.

For first-years, that means no more shuttles and no more hassles with dining hall checkers, unfortunate ways of life for 29G residents.

But for Harvard, it means that the renovation of the Yard--a project costing about $65 million total--is nearing completion. In fact, when autumn arrives, Harvard will only have one more summer of scaffolding and dust sheets--and then, believe it or not, the Yard will be done.

The Story Behind the Scaffolding

Harvard Yard is undoubtedly one of the most well-known collegiate spots in the country. But one of the reasons for its fame is one of the headaches involved with its maintenance--age. Buildings range in years from 20 to 270. And, when the late 1980s arrived, the dorms had not been renovated for about 30 years.

None of the dorms were in danger of falling down, but all showed signs of wear and tear. And, lest the University forget, there was a nearby example of what could happen when reconstruction is delayed--the crumbling buildings a Yale.

The administration decided it was time to give the Yard a facelift. So, in 1992 managers from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), Harvard Real Estate (HRE) and the Planning Group banded together to handle the extensive undertaking.

All 16 first-year dorms were scheduled for the overhauls, which began in the summer of 1992. Lionel, the exterior of Massachusetts, Mower and Weld Halls went under the hammer at the end of May. But while all needed renovation, one dorm was more needy than the others--Weld, which was gutted and refitted.

Weld was finished in January, 1993. Days after its completion, the residents of its traditional rival Matthews Hall moved across the Yard into the newly-renovated dorm. And days later, the gutting and refitting of Matthews began. The process was finished in time for the Class of 1997 to move in last fall.

Matthews was joined in the summer of 1993 by Greenough, Hollis Hurlbut, Pennypacker, Stoughton and Thayer Halls, all of which underwent varying degrees of renovations. Then, in January 1994, the Great Dorm Switch was repeated, with residents of Pennypacker and Holworthy moving into a completely redone Thayer.

Got that straight?

Fortunately, the many people organizing and working on the project seemed able to maintain order among the hammering and tearing. Once the dust had cleared, Weld and Thayer had both lost their traditional physical entryway divisions--now, building residents didn't have to go outside to get to friends living on the other side of the dorm.

Matthews displayed a new staircase uncovered from a dry wall staircase installed in the 1960s. Matthews, Greenough and Weld now boasted elevators and new ramps to help bring Harvard into compliance with state and federal disabilities access standards.

Thayer's previously-unused top floor was transformed into attic suites with skylights, and Hurlbut got a new, more conspicuous entrance.

And even residents of dorms with less dramatic changes enjoyed the new paint, new heating and electrical systems and new bathroom fixtures brought by the renovations.