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Lowell House

Lowell House

Rooms in Lowell House

Several rooms are available for use by Lowell House tutors and students for classes and other events. Please plan ahead for your events. In order to guarantee consideration, all room requests must be received at least four days in advance. At least one week of advance notice is required to reserve the Tower Room, and special permission is required to reserve the JCR and SDR during blackout hours. These special permission requests should be explained in the 'Notes' section of the online room request form and for the SDR it must be submitted at least one week in advance, and for teh JCR, two weeks (to allow for HoCo to consider it in their meetings).

Dining Hall

The Dining Hall is used for certain House dances, parties and events, and by the Lowell House Opera.  It can be used only by permission of the Masters and House Office. For information on reserving it, see the instructions.

Small Dining Room

The Small Dining Room (SDR) is the room behind the dais at the Masters’ Residence end of the Dining Hall. It has a large table that can seat about 20 people, and is a good-sized, bright, airy room. It can be reserved for sections or language tables.  Note, however, that the room is frequently unavailable due to High Tables, Lowell House Dinners, and other special events that have priority over all other events. In addition to these special events, the hours of 6:00pm-8:00pm are blackout hours for student groups in the SDR. This time slot is reserved for use by the Masters unless special permission is granted to a student group. If you would like to apply for special permission to use the SDR during blackout hours, you must submit the online room request form at least one week in advance. (However, no student groups may reserve the SDR for recurring meetings during blackout hours.) In February and March, the SDR will always be unavailable for several weeks because of the Lowell House Opera. Furthermore, reservations in the Small Dining Room can occasionally be pre-empted on very short notice. Thus it is wise to consider an alternate room unless access to the dining hall is absolutely necessary.

JCR (Junior Common Room)

The JCR (or Junior Common Room) is intended primarily as a meeting room and lounge for members of Lowell House. The room has several sofas and chairs, a large television, and it is equipped with a piano available for practice. The room is located opposite the Dining Hall entrance; after going through the blue Dining Hall doors, turn left to enter the JCR. In keeping with the College's recent Report on Harvard House Renewal, we are not permitting the JCR to be reserved by student groups or outside groups for meetings, rehearsals, auditions during the day. However, Lowellians may follow the reservation instructions and contact the House Committee (2 weeks in advance) to reserve it at night for community events, get-togethers and such. The JCR Secretary this Fall will be Sylvia Chen (srchen@fas). Keep in mind that HoCo has listed blackout hours for the entire evening on Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays.

Grille

There is a Grille in the basement of O entry, consisting of a kitchen and lounge area with couches, cable TV and a DVD, a pool table, and a foosball table. The lounge area is available for general use 24 hours a day.

The Grille may be reserved by Lowellians for Lowell House private parties, with prior approval from the Resident Dean and the House Committee. Only one Grille party will be approved each weekend by the Grille Tutor and Resident Dean. Hosts must fill out and submit the Grille party forms to the House at least four days in advance of their party date. Please not that the Quiet Hours for a weekend party in the Grille begin at 1am.

The key to the kitchen adjacent to the Grille is available for checkout anytime from the Building Manager’s office. Please remember to keep it very clean or we will get an investation of bugs.

SCR (Senior Common Room)

Occupying the first floor of Q-entry in the small courtyard, the SCR (Senior Common Room) is primarily intended for use by SCR members for casual reading, informal get-togethers, study breaks, etc. It is, therefore, not generally used for classes or tutorials. It can be reserved, by SCR members only, for occasional special meetings or parties. The SCR member who sponsors an event in the Senior Common Room must be present to open and close the room and must supervise the event.

G-016

Equipped with 25 arm desks and a blackboard, G-016 is suitable for large sections and groups. It is located at the bottom of the G-entry stairs and adjacent to the G-entry laundry room.

N-012

The second basement classroom is N-012. It is a warm and cozy space which can accommodate about 12-15 people. It has two seminar tables, chairs and a blackboard.

Coolidge Room

The Coolidge Room is located in the archway between the large and small courtyards near the Dining Hall; it is on the left as one passes from the large to the small courtyard. The room seats about 10 people around a seminar table. It also has a blackboard, and is well lit and ventilated, making it suitable for small discussion sections or groups. For more than 10-15 people, the Small Dining Room or a basement classroom might be better. The Coolidge Room may only be booked between the hours of 11am and 11pm, 7 days a week.

Tower Room

The Tower Room is not for the faint of heart. The view, however, is well worth it! To get to the Tower Room, go to F-entry (across from the Building Manager’s office) and keep going up until you cannot go anymore. The room itself is large and bright, having windows on three sides. It houses a permanent collection of Bells artifacts and history and is also the student art exhibition space.  It has a few chairs, seminar table, a piano and a bathroom. It can be used for sections and piano practice, but any request to use the room for something other than a section requires approval, and these requests must be submitted at least one week in advance. Use by non-Lowell groups is strictly prohibited.

Special-Purpose Rooms

Art Room

Keys for the art room in the basement of L-entry may be borrowed from the Building Manager. Contacty Maggie Cao, our Art Tutor (cao@fas) for more information on art classes and use of the room.

Bicycle Storage

There are two bicycle storage rooms in the basement of G-entry, a bike rack in front of the Building Manager’s office and in the yard behind the Dining Hall. Bicycles must not be left in the entryway or attached to railings at any time; bicycles left in these places will have their locks cut and be impounded. Please note: bicycles should be tagged (tags are available in the Building Manager’s Office) or kept in your room during Christmas break as the Building Manager will be removing abandoned bikes at that time.

Dance Studio

Located in the basement of AA entry in one of the old squash courts, the Dance Studio is available for use by Harvard undergraduates during non-quiet hours, 11 am - 11 pm, 7 days a week. Students wishing to use the space will need to make a reservation, and will need to check in at the Building Manager’s Office (first floor F entry) and show their Harvard ID in order to get the key. Non Harvard ID holders may not use the Dance Studio.

Please note following stipulations:

1. No street shoes are to be worn on the floor. No tap or character shoes are allowed. Soft ballet slippers and jazz shoes are allowed.

2. Do not leave personal belongings behind; the space is not secure.

3. Please remember that the building Manager’s office is not staffed from 4:15 - 5:00 pm weekdays.

Gym

The Lowell House Gym, located in the basement of C entry in squash court #4, is stocked with free weights, machines, and exercise bikes. Access is by swipe card for Lowell House residents and affiliates.

Music Practice Rooms

There are pianos in the Music Practice Room (F-12, opposite the Building Manager’s office), the Tower Room, the Library, and the dining hall, which are available for everyone to use. In addition, there is a fine piano in the Junior Common Room but since the room is often occupied by people watching television, it is not an optimal place for daily practice. The Music Practice Room, F-12, can be used or reserved only between the hours of 11am and 11pm. It can be used for rehearsals by small performing groups or, when not reserved, it can be used by individuals for instrumental practice. There is also a band practice room under the Dining Hall. Contact Ben Burns (bcburns@fas), the Band Room Manager, for more information.

Squash Courts

The squash courts, in the basement of entries A through E, may be used free of charge by resident and nonresident members of the House. (Members of Eliot House and Kirkland House also use our courts.) Guests must be members of the University. Sign-up for the courts is in the Building Manager’s office. Please note that the courts are closed for all intersession recesses (when basements and entries are locked).

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