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Ashdown House (Bldg. W1) (Riverbank Court)

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Bldg. W1
1900, H. B. Ball. 305 Memorial Dr.
  • Ashdown House (Bldg. W1) (Riverbank Court) (Keith Morgan)

This brick Tudor-style manor, originally known as Riverbank Court, was designed to be a luxurious apartment house facing the new Cambridge esplanade, today's Memorial Drive. When that real estate scheme failed, the building became a student dormitory under the auspices of MIT. It is best viewed from the Harvard Bridge (see EC2), where its prominent corner site and crenellated roof lend a distinctive image to the building's mass, relieved by the central open court fronting on the river. Ashdown House, by dint of its site, marks the beginning of the residential/recreational west campus of MIT.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Keith N. Morgan
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Citation

Keith N. Morgan, "Ashdown House (Bldg. W1) (Riverbank Court)", [Cambridge, Massachusetts], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/MA-01-MT13.

Print Source

Cover: Buildings of Massachusetts

Buildings of Massachusetts: Metropolitan Boston, Keith N. Morgan, with Richard M. Candee, Naomi Miller, Roger G. Reed, and contributors. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2009, 307-307.

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