STOP 5 - Memorial Church and Tercentenary Theatre

● Built in 1932, The magnificent memorial church was dedicated on Armistice

day to honor those who fought and died in WWI, as a gift of the alumni of the
University. Inside is the memorial room, which contains a carved stone pieta as
well as inscriptions of the names of the Harvard men and women who fell in the
first world war. This was later expanded to include the fallen of WWII, Korea,
Vietnam. Every year, a remembrance service is still held on the 11th of November
which begins in this incredibly intimate and beautiful room.
● Nowadays, Mem church as it is fondly known, is home to a non-
denominational church service held each Sunday as well as the longest standing
daily morning prayer service, which takes place at 8:45am, and is accompanied by
the choral fellows of Harvard’s university choir. I know that because I live in
Thayer which is right there, and its difficult to forget when every morning the
bells go off at exactly 8:45.
● Not the only building in the area, with Robinson Hall, Sever Hall, Emerson
Hall, University Hall to the left and Widener Library behind.
● Tercentenary Theatre—also known as “New Yard” as opposed to old yard
which stands to the left— refers to this entire area between the buildings. It was
opened on the 300th anniversary of the founding of Harvard, serves as the
current site for commencement, convocation, and special events, as well as art
exhibitions in the normal times of the year. To elaborate, commencement is the
annual service for the graduating class of Harvard degree-seeking students,
usually involving an esteemed speaker, this year it will be Chancellor Angela
Merkel, convocation is the reversal of that, in that it welcomes the incoming class
of undergraduates, and special events include the recent inauguration of
President Larry Bacow, which I was lucky enough to have the privilege of singing
at. In all these events, thousands of chairs are lined up to seat students, faculty,
friends and family, and it is a truly awe-inspiring sight to see this place filled.
George Bernard Shaw, famous playwright and activist. Responding to the
prospect of being nominated for an honorary degree as part of the celebration. As
a firm anti-establishment critic of the system of education, he refused and wrote-
 If Harvard would celebrate its three hundredth anniversary by burning itself to
the ground and sowing its site with salt, the ceremony would give me the greatest
satisfaction