Austin Hall (Harvard University) Austin Hall (Harvard University) Austin Hall is a classroom building of the Harvard Law School designed by noted American architect H. H. Richardson. The first building purposely built for an American law school, it was also the first dedicated home of Harvard Law School. It is located on the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The hall was built 1882–1884 in Romanesque Revival style. Single-story wings flank a heavy, two-story central mass, with the reading room extending rearwards to form an overall T shape. A central entryway framed
Heraldry of Harvard University coat of arms, or shield, has a field of the color "Harvard Crimson" and, in the foreground, has three open books with the word "VERITAS" (Latin for "truth") inscribed across them. This shield provides the basis for the shields of Harvard University's various schools. The Harvard Board of Overseers originally designed the shield during meetings in December 1643 and January 1644. However, the design was forgotten until rediscovered by University President Josiah Quincy and revealed in the bicentennial celebrations of 1836. In 1843, the Harvard Corporation officially adopted it as a seal, and the seal in use today is very