Austin Hall
One of the oldest buildings in continuous use for law teaching in the country, Austin Hall was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson in the style of architecture known as Romanesque Revival. The arches that grace the entryway are characteristic of the form. A major rehabilitation of the building was completed in 1985 with careful attention to the integrity of Richardson's design.
The first floor contains three large classrooms, in which today's students still learn the law under the watchful eyes of the English judges whose portraits are part of the Law School's unique art collection. Notice the graceful gothic archways that frame the long first-floor hallway.
Up the stairway, on the second floor, you'll find the Ames Courtroom, named for Dean James Barr Ames (1895-1910). Here, second- and third-year students argue moot court cases before panels of practicing judges. A justice of the United States Supreme Court usually presides over the final round of the Ames moot court competition. Ames Courtroom originally housed the law library until Langdell Hall was built in 1906. It has undergone several renovations in its lifetime, the most recent in 2001.
The Office of Clinical Programs is located on the first floor of Austin Hall and on the second floor you will find the law school's Admissions Office. The Criminal Justice Institute occupies the third floor, sharing space with a small courtroom. Several student organizations have offices in the building, including the Harvard Defenders, Prison Legal Assistance Project, the Mediation Program, and the Tenant Advocacy Project (TAP).
To continue the tour, leave Austin Hall through the front door. Diagonally to your right, you'll see a white porticoed Greek Revival building - Gannet House, #2 on our tour.