Commission Names Old Yard New National Historical Site

The National Register of Historic Places has named Old Harvard Yard a national historic site because of its historical and architectural significance.

The Old Yard is the section of the Yard between University Hall and Mass Ave.

Partial Federal funding is available for projects on the site, according to Mary Herbert of the Massachusetts Historical Commission(MHC). But the University has no immediate plans to apply for a grant, Donald C. Moulton, assistant vice president for Community Affairs, said yesterday.

In nominating the Old Yard to the National Park Service in May 1972, the MHC described the site as "a large three-shaded, roughly rectangular open space and smaller peripheral spaces to the west and south."

All the buildings in the Old Yard were built as dormitories or academic buildings except Wadsworth House, the official residence for Harvard Presidents. Massachusetts Hall, the oldest surviving building, dates from 1718 and is already listed in the National Register.