A detail of architect H.H. Richardson’s original plan for Austin Hall

“A new building upon a new site is urgently needed.”

So wrote Harvard’s President Eliot of the Law School in 1880. His call for help soon proved fruitful: Boston merchant Edward Austin offered to pay for a new classroom and faculty office building. Dean Langdell — working with famed architect H. H. Richardson — seized the opportunity to design a building that would allow him to put his new “case method” of instruction into practice. Classes began in Austin Hall on October 1, 1883 — arguably the first day in the life of the modern Law School.

Today, the Law School’s leaders have a new vision of facilities that will support outstanding legal education both today and tomorrow. They have worked with renowned architect Robert A. M. Stern to make that vision a reality. Like Austin Hall more than 120 years ago, the Northwest Corner project will transform the Harvard Law School experience — and shape the School for decades to come.