Dudley Delays Move to Lehman Hall

Delays in the renovation of Lehman Hall will prevent Dudley House -- as well as Radcliffe student lounge and Harvard extension facilities--from moving in until next January.

University officials had originally scheduled an early Fall target date for the project's completion.

Harold L. Goyette, University Planning Officer, explained yesterday that problems in transferring the architect's original proposals into engineer's drawings and construction schedules were the major causes of delay.

Goyette added that these delays were not unusual in a "major renovation" like Lehman Hall's and that they posed no serious obstacles to completion.

Architects --Shepley, Bulfinch, Richardson, and Abbott -- now plan to advertise for construction bids around May 1. The low bidder will receive the contract one month later and construction will begin soon after June 1. The renovation should be completed by the beginning of 1967.

University officials had expected construction to begin last January, after the comptroller's office left Lehman Hall for Holyoke Center II.

Redesigning the interior of Lehman Hall -- originally built as an administrative building -- has produced many of the planning delays.

For example, when the second floor is converted into the Dudley House dining room, it will fall under different Massachusetts heating and ventilation regulation. These will force major changes in Lehman's current systems.

"When you have an existing four walls for a building, you have to twist and turn until everybody's satisfied," Goyette said.

Plans Unchanged

The general plans for Lehman Hall remain unchanged. The ground floor will house a Radcliffe student lounge and a television-classroom for the extension school. The extension library will be on the third floor. The fourth floor will contain Dudley's library and lounges.

Until January, Dudley House will remain at 1737 Cambridge St. After that, "it's pretty girls and us," Crooks said.