Weathervane Wednesday ~ Above a famous University

 I post another in a series of weather vane photographs every Wednesday.  This started with images of weathervanes from the Londonderry, New Hampshire area, but now I've found interesting weather vanes all across New England and across the globe.  Sometimes my weather vanes are whimsical, or historical, but all are interesting.  Often my readers tip me off to some very unique or unusual weathervanes, too!  If you know a great weather vane near you, let me know if you'd like to have it featured on this blog.

Today's weather vane was photographed in Massachusetts.

Do you know the location of weathervane post #326?  Scroll down to find the answer.

This weathervane was photographed above the central tower of Dunster House on the Harvard University campus, from a boat in the middle of the Charles River.

Like Hogwarts, Harvard University has houses for the students (they are not known as dorms).   First year students live in Harvard Yard.  Upper class students participate in a lottery to live in the houses (again, the Hogwarts comparison to the "sorting hat" ceremony).  Along the Charles River are the River Houses known as Adams, Dunster, Eliot, Kirkland, Leverett, Lowell, Mather and Quincy Houses.  The three Quad houses are Pfohozeimer, Currier and Cabot. There are a total of 12 residential houses on campus, and a thirteenth house, Dudley House, serves graduates and non-residents. 

The house system was instituted in the 1930s at Harvard.  Each house has about about 350 student residents.  There are living quarters, as well as a dining hall, libraries, common rooms, and rooms for activities.  Each house has about 20 resident tutors.

Dunster House was named for Henry Dunster, the first president of Harvard.  The houses of Harvard all have specific colors, and so the tower roof of Dunster House is red.  It’s mascot is a moose.  It was completely renovated in 2014 - 2015, and the weathervane is looking especially shiny now above replacement cupola (the old one was crumbling away).   Dunster House is located at 945 Memorial Drive in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

This is a traditional swallow-tailed banner weathervane, based on medieval designs and popular in colonial America.  It appears to be newly gilded or perhaps a new replacement altogether since the Dunster renovation. 

Stay tuned for a few more weather vanes from Harvard Houses in the next few weeks!

Harvard Housing and Residential Life link:  https://osl.fas.harvard.edu/residential-life 

Wikipedia information on Dunster House:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunster_House 

Weathervane Wednesday at Eliot House:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/09/weathervane-wednesday-another-harvard.html  

Weathervane Wednesday at Lowell House:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/09/weathervane-wednesday-and-yet-another.html   

Click here to see the entire collection of Weathervane Wednesday posts!

-------------------------------

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Weathervane Wednesday ~ Above a famous University", Nutfield Genealogy, posted August 30, 2017, (https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/08/weathervane-wednesday-above-famous.html: accessed [access date]).