NEW MEDICAL BUILDINGS

The new buildings of the Harvard Medical School in Brookline are practically completed and will be ready for occupancy by the end of May. The seven buildings are situated on a 26-acre lot of peculiar shape, fronting on Longwood avenue and bounded on the other sides by Huntington avenue, Wigglesworth, Van Dyke, Francis and Vila streets. This site is about a mile distant from the present quarters of the School behind the Boston Public Library.

Of the five main buildings for the School, four are for laboratory purposes and one for administration. They are placed on three sides of a longitudinal court. The Administration Building will contain the necessary offices, lecture rooms and the Warren Anatomical Museum. Each of the other four is constituted of two wings joined by an amphitheatre, above which is a large departmental library. About 500 feet to the north-west is the engine-house, which has the largest hot-water system in the country and furnishes the power for heating, lighting, refrigerating and mechanical requisites. The Animal House, in which will be kept animals for experimental purposes, stands in a corresponding position, about 25 feet to the south-east.

The five main buildings are constructed of white marble, instead of limestone and brick as originally intended, and are connected by an esplanade of the same material as well as by surface and underground passages. Marble is used in the floors of the vestibules, but the other floors are of hard pine. The walls are of plaster, which will be painted, and are finished throughout in stained oak. The hot-water system is being used and both gas and electric lighting have been installed. The Power House, constructed of brick, and the Animal House, of plaster, are also connected by tunnels with the Physiology and Bacteriology Buildings respectively.

In November 1903 the work of construction commenced under a contract calling for completion in two years, but, owing to bad weather conditions and strikes, progress has been considerably delayed. The Power House has been providing light and heat to the buildings since November and is complete except for some minor machinery. The Animal House is finished. The four large laboratory buildings are completed outside, but the interior requires painting throughout and some other details. The Administration Building is rapidly nearing completion. Some stone-work on the cornice remains to be set in place besides a number of floors, light fixtures, and woodwork.

It is expected that the buildings will be opened to the American Medical Association, at the time of its annual meeting in Boston from June 5 to 8, for a thorough inspection and for some of its meetings. The School will move its apparatus during the summer vacation and will open its year at the same time as the College term in September.