University May Choose Tenth-House Site Soon

The Corporation feels that a decision must soon be made on where and when to build Harvard's Tenth House, President Pusey said yesterday.

"We're going to have to find a place and a way to get on with this," he said. "We can't wait very much longer."

Pusey's statement signaled a new phase in Harvard's attempt to find land for an addition to the House system. Although the University has long recognized need for a new House, it has been unable to purchase what it considers the most desirable site--the 12-acres Bennett St. MTA Yards.

Now, after a six-year battle to gain control of the Yards--for which it finally bid over $5 million--the University seems close to admitting defeat and announcing an alternate location for the House. The selection of an architect is expected to be announced at the same time.

Pusey indicated that the Corporation's decisions would take into account a report filed by the Committee on the Tenth House, a five-man group headed by Arthur D. Trotenberg '48, Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for Resources and Planing. The report was prepared in cooperation with students selected by the Harvard Council on Undergraduate Affairs.

No formal anouncement has been made, but Harvard is known to have bought land near existing Houses as a form of insurance should the MTA Yards prove unavailable. One reason for the official silence, it is believed, is that several property-owners have refused to sell to the University, thus making it impossible to assemble a continuous plot.

In the past, however, the University has sometimes built around obstancles, and Pusey hinted that the Corporation might decide to do so again.

The MTA Yards were the University's most desired location for the Tenth House as long as the MTA planned to move the existing yards to Dorchester. But when the MTA was unable to secure the new site, the University began to look elsewhere.