Memorial Hall

Memorial Hall is a Gothic Revival university building in Cambridge, built in red brick with light stone trim that rises above the campus. The facade shows pointed arch windows, turrets, and a tall bell tower, while inside colored glass windows filter the daylight.

Construction started in the 1870s as a memorial for fallen students and finished in 1878 after years of work. The architects chose the Gothic style to recall European cathedrals and universities.

The name honors university graduates from the Civil War and their memory still shapes how visitors perceive the structure. Large name lists appear on the walls and the architecture recalls the idea of medieval halls of honor.

The building sits centrally on campus and can be reached on foot or by bus. Interior spaces have some steps, but ramps ease access for wheelchair users.

Originally the building housed a large dining hall for students that no longer serves that function today. The wooden roof structure in that hall ranks among the largest self-supporting timber roofs in the country from that era.