The Agassiz Theater is part of Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute. Built in 1904, the structure was originally home to Radcliffe College’s student center, and is now home to the Agassiz Theater, where hundreds of undergraduates partake in theater productions annually. A Greek Revival-style structure with red brick facades, the front portico consists of four monumental Corinthian columns and two pilasters supporting a flat entablature. 

As part of an extensive exterior restoration, M&A was contacted to complete restoration of the columns and pilasters, including fabrication and installation of new monumental column and pilaster bases and installation of new capitals. Due to water penetration, both the ornamental components of the capitals as well as the bases exhibited signs of cracking and deterioration. The pilaster and column capitals were exactly replicated by removing the existing capitals and casting molds.

The project also involved restoration of three French doors in the historically-significant Horner Room as well as the 12-lite theater door. Opening out onto the portico balcony, the French balcony doors showed signs of deterioration and wear over time, particularly to the bottom rails. The theater door exhibited similar issues. M&A removed the doors, stripped them of existing paint, and brought back to their restoration shop for work. The existing glass was removed and historic replacement glass was installed to achieve an appropriate feel to the historically important room.

Door hardware for these three sets of doors required the trained eye of Rich Muckle to assure it was both appropriate for the time period as well as functional. Due to the narrow width of the strike side stiles, Rich recommended the use of special-order lock bodies to replace existing, no longer functional ones. The cremone bolts (fasteners with vertical rods that move up and down and engage at the top and bottom of the frame via a central locking mechanism) were in poor condition—missing parts and pieces, inoperable components, and one was missing entirely. M&A’s metal specialist fabricated the missing elements and replicated exactly one entire cremone bolt while the preservation carpenters refurbished the existing components. The new and newly restored bolts were installed on the doors, ensuring the historic character of these doors remained preserved.

M&A worked tirelessly and met the completion date of this project despite the extensive and varied work. The project was praised by the local preservation community and received a 2015 Cambridge Historical Commission Preservation Award.

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