Daring to Be Bourgeois

For the last 20 years, Harvard's architectural endeavors have had two things in common. They are all very modern. And they are all very ugly.

But with the construction of the University's two newest buildings, Harvard seems to have outgrown its obsession with flat roofs and concrete, giving the nod to the bourgeois pleasures of red brick, pitched roofs and adorned windows.

While the long-awaited but pretentiously-titled Inn at Harvard is not set to open until next month, the new residential dorm on DeWolfe St. is already hosting undergraduates, most of them pleasantly surprised at the hedonistic pleasures contained within.

While the manager of the new hotel says he is striving to emulate the feel of a small-town inn, the new residents of DeWolfe are the ones who say they feel like they are staying at the Ritz.

"It's like a hotel," said Greg Davis, a Mather sophomore who will share a three-room DeWolfe suite with three other roommates.

Davis moved into his room Friday with the help of a Winthrop sophomore, Traci Wright, who could barely contain her jealousy.

"It's better than a hotel," she said. "You've got a kitchen."

That's not all Davis has.

Wall to wall carpeting. Huge common room with bay windows. And, Davis points out, the rooms are ready for cable TV.

Is he going to take advantage of that?

"Oh yes," he said.

Next door to Davis, Renati Ferrari, another Mather sophomore, moved in with the help of her family. Ferrari, who said she was disappointed when she heard of the DeWolfe assignment this summer, was plenty pleased on Friday as she showed off her room to her family.

DeWolfe, which will also be home to some junior faculty and tutors, will house undergrads from six houses: Mather, Dunster, Leverett, Winthrop, Eliot, Kirkland and Quincy.

A few blocks away, the Inn at Harvard, still has bare walls and floors, sans furniture. The red-brick Inn, facing Massachusetts Ave. on the site of the old Gulf station, is architecturally similar to DeWolfe, its facade vaguely resembling that of Lehman Hall.

But the 113-room inn will offer special introductory bargains as it trys to woo Harvard-affiliated visitors to Cambridge. The introductory rate for a room in the Inn will be $125 and there is already a lengthy waiting list for Commencement '92, according to General Manager Richard Carbone.

The Inn, which was developed by Harvard Real Estate, is being leased to the Phoenix-based Doubletree hotels, which employs Carbone and will operate the inn.

The rooms are all centered around a skylighted open space in the center of the building, where, Carbone says, the inn will serve breakfast and dinner. Carbone says the Inn should have an intimate feel, with valet parking and newspapers door-delivered in the morning.

The Inn will also have a wealth of art. On display in the lobby are three groups of architectural ornaments designed by Louis Sullivan in the late 1800s. And each room will have a black and white photograph purchased from the Fogg art museum.