Less than a month later, free long-distance lines were installed by mistake rather than phones which would only call on-campus.

"One boy from Winthrop House made a two-hour call to his girl-friend in California," reported The Crimson. Total expenses were more than $10,000 before the phone company caught the error.

The focus of Currier House's architecture is its central entrance. To feel the pulse of the house only requires sitting by the bell desk at its entrance for a few minutes during term-time, says Graham.

A job working the graveyard shift at the desk from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. is particularly popular.

One can do homework and watch who comes home with whom--supplying the House with "good gossip" since the single door prevents Currier residents from sneaking into their rooms, says Currier resident Peter S. Cahn '96.

The large, central dining area also serves as a meeting place.

"You have to go by the dining hall to get anywhere. [The House] is set up like a funnel," Graham says.

Cahn notes that the inside of the house functions very well and that renovations completed this year have made the interior more beautiful.

"[Graham] redesigned the dining hall [and] added new carpets, a new fountain and landscaping this summer. There are new lights, new floors," Cahn says. "Apparently, the House was dingy before. Now there's a tree swing. People seem to take more pride in the House as a result."

Building a Community

But over the years, the House has developed a strong sense of unity through other commitments.

Herschbach says intramural sports played a large part in uniting the community in the early 1980s.

In the Adams House Raft Race that used to take place annually on the Charles River, Currier once entered a thirty-foot long Viking Ship. The ship did quite well, although "since no one ever knew what the rules were, if you crossed first, you never won," Hershbach says.

Over the years, other traditions have taken hold. There have been all-day readings of Moby Dick and Paradise Lost, ballroom dancing in the large meeting room known as "the Fishbowl" and the annual toga party.

One alumna, Dorina Abdullah '85, says she was especially fond of the foosball and the "strawberry and champagne brunches."