Chemical Coat Won't Mar Graduate Center

A minor tiff between Harvard and the Cambridge Fire Department was settled peaceably yesterday afternoon after a quick conference between the city Board of Appeals and two University representatives.

Fire officials wanted to swab the base-boards of the unfinished Graduate Center with a fireproofing chemical. According to Cambridge law, they said, "wood wainscotting" can't be left bare in large buildings.

But Walter Gropius, professor of Architecture, and Irving B. Parkhurst, director of Buildings and Grounds, thought a chemical wash would ruin the color scheme. At yesterday's meeting, they persuaded the Board to let them use a fireproofing paint instead.

"We didn't want the place looking like a basement," Parkhurst said last night.