Langdell Hall
When the Law School outgrew Austin Hall, Dean James Barr Ames in 1905 engaged the architects Shepley Rutan & Coolidge (the firm that succeeded Henry Hobson Richardson, designer of Austin Hall) to design a new building that would contain classrooms, faculty offices, and the Library. The new building--the southern portion of the present Langdell Hall--was occupied in 1907. In 1929 the northern and western portions were completed under the direction of the same architects, then renamed Coolidge, Shepley, Bulfinch and Abbot. The building was named for Christopher Columbus Langdell, the first dean of the Harvard Law School (1870-1895) and the father of the case method of teaching law.
In 1997 Langdell Hall was completely renovated and once again the successor firm (now renamed Shepley, Bulfinch, Richardson and Abbott) of the original architect was chosen. The Library now occupies the entire building, except for a large classroom at each end. The collections, which include more than 1.5 million bound volumes, support the teaching and research of the Law School and serve as a resource for legal scholars throughout the world.
The main Reading Room on the fourth floor is open to the public. Guest passes are available at the Circulation Desk. At the north end of the reading room is the Caspersen Room, where rare books, manuscripts, and the most valuable paintings in the Schools Art and Visual Materials Collection are displayed. Visitors are welcome.
Before leaving Langdell Hall, walk to the main entrance of the building, just a few steps from the Circulation Desk. In the entrance foyer is the magnificent statue of Joseph Story, Harvard Law School professor (1829-1845) and United States Supreme Court Justice (1811-1845). The sculptor was Storys son, William Wetmore Story.
Leave Langdell by walking back through Areeda Hall. When you exit the building, turn right. The next building on your right is the Lewis International Law Center, number 8 on our tour.