The Chronicle
B6 Features
Oct. 1
Big names
By Sophie Kupiec-Weglinski
ogy to find a cure for cancer. A dozen of Mudd’s relatives, including chilames like Seaver, Chalmers, Rugby dren and grandchildren, attended Harvard, and Mudd are all used daily to de- with the first student graduating in 1913. scribe where classes are taught, Mudd has also donated to Stanford Univerwhere a test will take place or where sity, Columbia University and a variety of other to meet up with a friend. Before the names institutions. were signs on buildings, they were the names of Any student who has taken a science class people who taught at, donated to or studied on is familiar with Munger, named after this campus, or emblems of the type of educa- lawyer Charles Munger, vice-chairtion that the Harvard School for Boys wanted man of Berkshire Hathaway, who to offer. donated the funds for the science The oldest building on the upper school building in 1995. campus, St. Saviour’s Chapel, was dedicated in A long-time trustee, his 1914, making this school year the chapel’s 100- three sons, Charles Munger year anniversary. It first dwelled in the original ’74, Barry Munger ’80, Phillip campus of Harvard School on Western Avenue Munger ’86, and two stepin Venice, so when Harvard moved to Coldwater sons, David Borthwick ’66, Canyon, the chapel was cut into 16 pieces and David Borthwick ’70, gradumoved to the new campus, where it was then ated from Harvard school reassembled, according to “Harvard-Westlake: along with a grandson, Wil100 Years,” a commemorative book on the his- liam Borthwick ’09, who attory of the school by Susan Wels. tended Harvard-Westlake. Modeled after a chapel at the Rugby School Taper Gymnasium, dediin England, St. Saviour’s takes its name from cated in 1980, was named afthe Saint Saviour’s Cathedral in Southwark, ter Mark and Amelia Taper, England, where John Harvard, founder of Har- grandparents of Andrew Taper vard University, was baptized. ’78. Mark Taper, born in Poland in The chapel’s name is another example of 1902, was a real estate investor and Harvard’s debt to the university, along with founded Biltmore Homes, which prothe name of the school itself. Harvard School duced suburban housing for returning solfounder Grenville C. Emery wanted to give diers from World War II. his new school a good name, so, with permisIn 1952, the Tapers created the S. Mark sion from then Harvard University president Taper Foundation, which continues to doCharles W. Eliot, he named it after the college. nate to various institutions. The chapel is now a cultural and historical Home to the publications and mainmonument of the city of Los Angeles. tenance departments, Weiler Hall has a Rugby Hall is named after the same school more obscure moniker. whose chapel inspired St. Saviour’s. However, Ralph J. Weiler has no personal conthe present day Rugby, which dates back to nection to the school, but his nephew Bart 1962, is not the original. The building where Burnap ’50 is a Harvard alumnus. BurRugby now stands was a Turkish bath house, nap was named the director of Weia remnant of the Coldwater campus’ former ler Foundation in Weiler’s will. owner. Harvard School replaced the Hollywood “I presume the building is Country Club, which sold the land after strug- named in Mr. Weiler’s memory gling during the Great Depression. by his nephew,” school archivist When Harvard moved in, it painted the Allan Sasaki said. walls and replaced the lockers with desks and Feldman-Horn Center for chairs, while a study hall replaced the baths. the Arts bears the names of Chalmers Hall, dedicated Nov. 24, 1968, is former trustee Janis Horn named after Father William Scott Chalmers, (Jennifer ’91, Jason ’91, Hali an Episcopalian priest who headed Harvard ’97) as well as Horn’s father, School from 1949 to 1969. Leonard Feldman. Feldman’s During his tenure, he introduced the pre- granddaughter Lindsay Feldfect system and the foreign exchange program man ‘96 also attended Harvardand raised $3.5 million to construct the build- Westlake. One of the newer building that bears his name. ings on campus, it was completed Chalmers was born in Scotland in 1907, at- by Michael Maltzan Architecture in tended Howe Military Academy in Indiana 1998 and cost $5.5 million. The bronze and graduated from Princeton in 1925. In 1938, cougar statue that sits in the FeldmanChalmers joined Kent School Horn plaza also came from in Connecticut. When Kent’s the Feldman-Horn family. headmaster had a stroke a When the gallery was dediyear later, Chalmers took his cated, the family displayed its I presume the place. personal art collection inside, building is named in Mr. and some faculty members After 10 years at Kent, Harvard offered Chalmers liked the cougar so much that Weiler’s memory by his the job as headmaster. they donated a recast copy nephew.” Dedicated in October 1969, to the school. The Blanche and Frank R. Kutler Center —Allan Sasaki for TheInterdisciplinSeaver Academic Center was School Archivist ary Studies, which named after Frank Seaver and his wife Blanche. debuted Sept. 28 A total of 10 members of 2012, is dedicated the Seaver family attended Harvard School, to Brendan Kutler ’10, who died beginning in 1964. Seaver’s grandchildren Carl- in his sleep during his senior year. ton Seaver ’64, Patrick Seaver ’64, Christopher He cultivated interests in Seaver ’65, Hannah Seaver ’07. Jennie Dean ’02, many different fields, rangKyle Dean ’04, Nathan Dean ’06, Ann Seaver ing from astronomy to Japanese ’06, Claire Seaver ’07, and Nicholas Seaver ’03 culture to music, which he often all attended Harvard or Harvard-Westlake. wished to combine in interdisciThe Seaver Foundation was donated to the plinary fashions. school in Frank and Blanche’s names. Seaver’s The Kutler Center was financed son, Richard, was a trustee of Harvard School. by Kutler’s parents, Jon and Sara Not too long after Seaver came Mudd Li- Kutler, and donations from the Harbrary, built in the early 1970s. The library vard-Westlake community. owes its name to Seeley G. Mudd, a physician who practiced cardiology in Los Angeles while working at the California Institute of Technol- **Additional reporting by Julia Aizuss
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FATHER FIGURE: Father William Scott Chalmers served as headmaster of Harvard School from 1949 to 1969, instituted the current prefect system and raised $3.5 million to fund the construction of the math building now known as Chalmers Hall, top. READING ROOM: Mudd library is named after Seeley G. Mudd and is dedicated to long-time librarian Naomi Javitz, middle. POWER COUPLE: Seaver Academic Center is named for Frank Seaver and his wife Blanche, dedicated in 1969, bottom. HOLY GROUND: St. Saviour’s chapel, which has served as a place of worship for students and faculty for 100 years, center.
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