Widener Crane Will Be Removed This Weekend

Constructed on the day after Commencement in 1999, the yellow crane towering over Widener Library was not supposed to mar the Harvard landscape.

But adorned with Christmas lights last winter and decked with patriotic flags, the crane, for some students, became another Harvard landmark.

Now, after completing its job, the crane will be retired this weekend.

The endeavor will reduce Mass. Ave. traffic to two lanes and close off the sidewalk starting Friday as construction workers prepare to take down the 189- foot crane. Several nearby entrances into the Yard will be blocked as well, according to Harvard Capital Projects Manager Jeffrey J. Cushman '69.

"We will need to bring in a crane to take down the crane," Project Superintendent Bruno Maunsell said. He said the additional crane will be brought in on Saturday to lower the 270-foot horizontal boom, which will then be disassembled on the street in front of the construction site.

As part of the $41million Widener renovation project, the crane was built to help install the climate-control system and construct the two reading rooms that were also added to the library.

"There is no other way to get inside," Maunsell said, explaining why the crane was necessary. A crane was the only means to transport materials--including Bobcats and wet cement--into the 100-foot-deep interior courts and to dispose of debris.

But while the towering symbol of construction might be leaving, the actual project will not be completed for some time.

Cushman said the reading rooms will be complete by next spring. The ventilation system, which is being worked on a half-stack at a time, should be complete in a year and a half.

"I think a lot of people have gotten used to seeing [the crane]," Cushman said. "It's a good weather vane."

For some, the massive crane has been as much a part of Harvard as the John Harvard statue itself.

Ryan C. Wilder '04 said he enjoyed showing those two landmarks to visiting friends. He is disappointed that he will be unable to show his parents, he said.

"I think the crane was a good symbol of the ever-improving College we [attend]," Wilder said.

And while not everybody is sentimental over the loss, most can think of something they will miss.

"I probably won't cry in my sleep," said Alaina F. Aguanno '03, "but the Christmas lights were nice."

Nisha Nagarkatti '04, who lives in Wigglesworth Hall, the dorm closest to the site, said that she is happy that the crane is coming down.

"It will be nice to go through here without the crane being in the way," Nagarkatt said. "We will be able to see more of Widener, which is good."

Those concerned with convenience should not let out a sigh of relief too soon. According to Cushman, the area will remain a construction site for several more years and, as before, will only be open at night.