GROWTH OF SOLDIERS FIELD

Soldiers Field was given to the University in 1890 by Major Henry Lee Higginson '55 in commemoration of the soldiers of the University who lost their lives in the Civil War. Major Higginson suggested that it be used as a playground to take the place of Holmes Field which had become inadequate on account of the increased number of students using it.

The original field consisted of about 20 acres lying on the Charles River Parkway and North Harvard street, the land which is now in use. Since 1898 the Longfellow Marsh, which is the unreclaimed land to the west of the Stadium has been acquired and enclosed to form part of Soldiers Field. In 1903, before deciding definitely on the location of the Stadium, the Athletic Committee purchased two pieces of property, amounting in all to about two acres, on the south side of the field. This gave the field a square shape entirely surrounded by streets and public reservations, but with an irregular boundary line on the south side. This line has since been made straight by exchanging small pieces of land with the city of Boston. Eventually there will be a street along this side of the field, and a fence built which will entirely enclose it. A road is now being built around the field inside the fence which will be lined with trees and used as a driveway.

The progress of reclamation of Soldiers Field has been slow and irregular. In 1905 and again in 1906 small portions of the land now available were reclaimed, but since then nothing has been done except of a rudimentary nature. The total area of the field as it is now bounded is about 61 acres. Of this about 24 acres are entirely developed, about 9 acres are underdrained but not ready for use until a proper surface has been placed upon it, and about 28 acres are entirely undeveloped.

The Athletic Committee has taken steps toward reclaiming more land this spring, and already surveys have been made and estimates are being prepared. It has been prompted to act by the necessity for providing more playgrounds in order to accommodate the rapidly increasing number of class teams, scrub teams, and teams representing new branches of athletic sports.

The tennis courts recently built on Soldiers Field were to relieve the increased demand upon Jarvis Field caused partly by the building of Landell Hall. This transfer of courts from Holmes Field has greatly increased the congestion on Soldiers Field, and taken two diamonds formerly used for scrub baseball or the so-called "Leiter Cup Series." The Athletic Committee is desirous of developing Soldiers Field as soon as possible in order to encourage sport among undergraduates, who wish to take part without severe training or excessive expenditure of time