哈佛纪念堂是哈佛校园里一座壮丽的建筑，是为纪念美国内战中为联邦军而战的 哈佛毕业生而建的，其风格是新维多利亚哥特式风格。

　　Following the Civil War, a group of Harvard alumni petitioned the college to let them raise funds for a memorial to those Harvard graduates who fought for the Union cause. Their petition was sanctioned. The new committee of fifty alumni suggested that the proposed memorial take the form of a building, one that would not only testify to the heroism of those who fell but also meet the college’s urgent and practical needs for a theatre and a gathering space for alumni.

　　内战结束以后，一些哈佛校友请求学院同意他们筹款建立一个纪念碑或纪念馆， 以纪念为美国联邦事业而战的哈佛毕业生。他们的请求得到了批准。那时学院急需一个剧院和校友们聚会的场所，于是这个由55名校友组成的新委员会提议把纪念堂建 成一座楼的形式，这样不仅可以彰显那些离去的人的英雄事迹，而且也可以满足学院 的实用需求。

　　The committee proposed a Hall of Alumni in which students might be Inspired by the pictured and sculptured presence of her founders, benefactors, faculty, presidents and most distinguished alumni. The vision was a compelling one: between 1865 and 1868，members of the committee collected a staggering $370,000，a sum equal to one-twelfth of the endowment of the University. At the same time, Charles Sanders, who was a member of the class of 1802 had bequeathed to the College $40,000 for the purpose of erecting “a hall or theatre to be used on Commencement days, Class days, Exhibition days, days of the meetings of the society of Alumni, or any other public occasion connected with the College.” The two projects were thus joined.

　　该委员会提议建一个校友堂，在里面放入其创建者、捐赠者、教师、校长和著名 校友的照片和雕像，这样可以激励学生。这一设想很引人注目：从1865年到1868年， 委员会成员筹集到了惊人的37万美元，相当于整个哈佛大学捐款的1/12。与此同时， 一位1802年毕业的校友查尔斯桑德斯把4万美元的财产遗赠给了哈佛学院，目的是 建“一个大堂或剧院，在毕业典礼日、班级聚会日、展览日、校友协会欢聚日或其他 任何与哈佛学院有关的公共节日时使用。”于是这两项工程被结合到了一起。

　　In December of 1865，the committee invited several prominent architects (all Harvard alumni) to submit designs in competition. The design of William Robert Ware, class of 1852，and Henry Van Brunt, class of 1854, was selected. The building received its formal name, Memorial Hall, in September of 1870. A month later its cornerstone was laid. From conception to cornerstone, it only cost five years. In 1874，less than four year’s time, the hall and the transept were dedicated for use. Sanders Theatre was substantially? completed in the spring of 1875 but not used until Commencement exercises in the spring of 1876. Thetower was completed in 1877.

　　1865年12月，委员会邀请了几名出色的建筑师（都 是哈佛校友)来竞标设计。1852年毕业的威廉姆?罗伯特?威 尔和〗854年毕业的亨利·凡?布朗特的设计很幸运地中标 了。1870年9月，该建筑被正式命名为纪念堂，一个月以 后奠基仪式启动。从构思到开工只用了 5年时间。1874年 大堂和耳堂开始投入使用，这前后仅用了不到4年时间。 1875年桑德斯剧院大体上建成了，但直到1876年的毕业 典礼才开始使用。纪念塔则于1877年完工。

　　In 1878 the memorial finally culmi-nated with the official turnover of the building to the University. In accepting Memorial Hall on behalf of The University from the Memorial Hall building committee, President Eliot said “…the most valuable gift the University has ever received, with respect alike? to cost, daily useftilness, and significance."最后，纪念堂在1878年被正式移交给哈佛大学。艾略 特校长在代表哈佛大学从纪念堂建筑委员会手中接过纪念 堂时，说这是“哈佛大学迄今为止收到的最有价值的礼物，不管是从其代价、日常用途、 还是重要性来说。”