The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

Annenberg Library

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Institution Name: Pine Manor College
Original/Historic Place Name: Coach House
Location on Campus:
Date(s) of Construction:

1891	original construction Jacques, Herbert Tantoul, Augustus
1971	conversion to library Carroll and Greenfield
1985	expansion

Designer: Herbert Jacques; Augustus Tantoul; Carroll and Greenfield
Type of Place: Individual building
Style: Romanesque revival (Glossary)
Significance: architecture, culture, education, history
Narrative: see below
References: see below

Materials:

Foundation:

Walls: conglomerate stone, wood

Roof: slate

Function:

ca. 1891	other (stable outfitted with stalls, tack rooms, storage area for hay, and storage room for carriages and sleighs on the second level; dog kennel on northeast side)
1974-present (2006)	museum (art gallery and studios)
1974-present (2006)	classrooms
1974-present (2006)	library

Narrative:
The most distinguishing feature of the architecture of the Coach House was, and is, the massive rubble, Syrian arch of the entrance. The banded windows above the arch--another Richardson innovation--are also notable. The basic plan of the House was designed on a T, with the eight-stall stable area perpendicular to the long cobblestone corridor into which horses and carriages drove. An elevator at the far end lifted the carriages and sleighs to the second floor for storage. Structurally the building was significant because the flattened domical vaulting of the lower level--sometimes referred to as "Gustavion vaulting"--completely supported the first floor irrespective of load, while the entire weight of the second floor was suspended from the rafters and trusses of the roof, the burden of which was transferred and carried down the exterior walls.

The interior was virtually gutted in 1974 and redesigned by Carroll and Greenfield to accommodate the Pine Manor College Library, an art gallery, an art studio, and classrooms. In 1985 the building was doubled in size by adding the Annenberg Communication Center, the work of Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbot. Its current use as library and communication center makes it an integral part of campus activity and an important reminder of the College's connection to the Annenberg family, especially PMC alumna and trustee emerita Wallis Annenberg.

References:

Henry, Rodman R. A Chronological Study and Assessment of the Pine Manor Land and Buildings. [Chestnut Hill, MA: Pine Manor College], 1971.

Henry, Rodman R. A Journey in Time: An Architectural History of the Pine Manor Campus. Revised Second Edition. [Chestnut Hill, MA: Pine Manor College], 1986.

"Roughwood: An Estate Marks Its Centennial." Pine Manor College Bulletin (Winter 1991).

Smith, Herbert L., Jr. "Richardsonian Recalls: Annenberg Library and Communication Center, Pine Manor College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, Shepley Bullfinch Richardson and Abbot, Architects." Architectural Record 175 (April 1987): 104-09.