“The building itself was very controversial at the time. It was very striking,” says Tobias M. Lederberg ’86, adding that one oft-heard quote about the building was, “Someone better put some Ivy on that real quick.”

In a 1984 Crimson article entitled “Warehouse or Museum?” Stirling’s unorthodox exterior was described as “gorgeous” and “hideous” by Rosenfield and Sackler security guard Michael Pelham, respectively.

“Design students and professors come over from Gund Hall to laugh at it,” added Pelham in the article.

Uncertainty about the design was compounded by Harvard’s inability to secure community approval to build a proposed bridge over Broadway Street that would have linked the Sackler and the Fogg, Rosenfield says.

Local citizens charged that the connector—which would also have served as a way to transport artwork—would block out sunlight, detract from its surroundings, and might even be a traffic hazard. A vote on the proposal by the mid-Cambridge Neighborhood Association led the Association to adopt no formal position on the bridge, though the majority of members were opposed to the plan.

University officials decided to indefinitely postpone the building of the bridge, and Stirling finished construction of the building with the Fogg and Sackler still not visibly connected.

But despite the controversies, Slive says he was thrilled with the completed museum, which represented the fruit of a decade’s worth of his efforts.

“People are very critical of new architecture,” he says. “You can argue that it looks like a warehouse. But I found it brilliant.”

ENJOYING THE ARTS

Despite the complications that had marked its inception and construction, the opening gala at the Sackler was, by all accounts, a joyous affair.

“We had a big ball,” Slive says of that October night. “Sackler came with a big red sash [and] my assistant ... wore a wonderful hat which was a model of the building. There was so much to celebrate.”

Abrams says the opening represented an “exciting moment” for the art community.

“There was great anticipation for how the Sackler Museum would provide wonderful new facilities for the Harvard art collections,” he says.

Harvard undergraduates were also welcome at the black-tie affair, and many say they chose to attend the celebration.

“What was especially unique about it was that students were encouraged to attend this worldwide event with luminaries,” Lederberg says. “It was one of the more unique social events of the whole time I was there.”

And in the months that followed, many students were able to gain a new appreciation of Harvard artwork, some of which had not been displayed for years due to the space constraints at the Fogg.

“Going to experience the Sackler was a little pressure release, a stress release, by focusing your thoughts on and enjoying something beautiful,” says Georgette A. Farkas ’86. “As a student, it felt like a place to escape and be inspired.”

—Staff writer Laura G. Mirviss contributing reporting for this story.

—Staff writer Evan T.R. Rosenman can be reached at erosenm@fas.harvard.edu.