Cabot House

Fully encircling the Quad Lawn, Cabot is undoubtedly its one true ruler. ALL HAIL QUAD LEADER CABOT HOUSE!

Where We Live

So, where would you live in this mighty house? Mostly in singles. House Committee Co-Chair Zay J. Gomez ’27 said, “If you want a single, you will get a single,” but Cabot House is also “pretty big on suites,” according to Max Wagner ‘28, the other HoCo Co-Chair. The most common layout is a common room and four bedrooms, which is what Wagner said he lived in during his sophomore year. Wagner added that Cabot House bedrooms are generally larger than those in other houses. This assertion was proven true during my tour: there were four bedrooms in a two-story suite, with two rooms per floor, each easily fitting a bed, a desk, and more!

Quality over Quantity in Serenity

“Cabot is very community-based. We’re very small, one of the smaller houses,” Gomez said. Cabot House currently has just under 400 students, who are spaciously spread across six buildings surrounding the Quad Lawn. Nobody’s usually seen by themselves at the dining hall. Everybody has somebody to talk to,” Gomez said. It’s a house where everyone can find a friend. It’s a home.

Wagner said Cabot House is “relaxing,” with a suburban vibe. “We see all the families coming, walking their dogs, and kids just having fun, like playing tag,” Gomez said of the peaceful scenery of Cabot House. Whenever it’s warm outside, there will be spikeball and volleyball nets set up for anyone in the area, he said. The tranquility is definitely something you can only find in the Quad (really, no sirens, no noisy cars, and no tourists).

Nothing Fishy but Fish

Cabot House’s mascot is the fish, and by the time you graduate, this lovely creature that can be found all around Cabot will become an inseparable part of your identity. First, get rid of your boring alphabet for the entryways: each entryway of Cabot House begets a brand new fish name every year. Wagner told me last year that his entryway was the Barracudas. To those coming to Cabot House: who is your fish?

If fish entryways haven’t sold you on the house, wait until you hear this: Cabot House sticks to its mascot and goes beyond just naming things with fish – they actually have real fish swimming in the dhall! The fish are an integral part of each resident’s experience. In fact, Gomez says Cabot House has the “occasional, really sad fish funeral.” The most recent funeral happened last year, even with a memorial for the deceased fish. Talk about living up to your motto, “Semper Cor,” meaning “always heart.” What’s more heartfelt than a memorial for your dhall fish?

Cabot’s proud fishiness doesn’t stop with just that. Its party space, that residents love, is called the “aquarium,” and you can easily find murals of marine life painted by previous Cabot House classes across the hallways and tunnels connecting the buildings.

Is this a Resort?

If you aren’t the most aquatic person, don’t worry, Cabot House is quite amphibious in what it has to offer to you.

I suppose you’ve heard mentions of house grilles, but have you heard about a house café? Cabot Café is Cabot House’s very own café open until 1 a.m. every Sunday to Thursday with food, tea, and coffee. Say goodbye to your days of walking all the way to Annenberg for Brain Break or going down to the Lamont Café from the quiet floor. A cozy study spot (with fish decorations, obviously) with drinks and snacks is just within arm’s reach – and pajama-friendly, of course!

Was the walk to Hemenway Gym or the Malkin Athletic Center too much of a hassle for your already dreaded chest day workout? Living in Cabot, you will have convenient access to arguably the best House gym at Harvard. “Treadmills, cable setup, shoulder press, chest press, lat pulldown, rowing machine,” are just some of the machines Cabot boasts. What’s even more surprising? The gym has AC. Yes, you heard me right. AC. I stepped in, and it was nice and cool. Also, for the climbers out there: if regular pull-ups can’t hit your finger muscles, Cabot House has a hang board in the gym, too. What’s that I hear? Cabot House seems too good to be true? Well, there’s more…

Cabot House also houses Quad Bikes, which is the bike repair shop for all Harvard students. Wagner told me you can get your bike fixed or even learn how to do repairs. Got a flat? No worries, just go downstairs — there’s no need to drag your bike across the streets.

For our cooking and baking enthusiasts, Cabot House has a kitchen called H101. But even this is not your average regular house kitchen. Gomez said there is “a TV and a living room” in H101. Again, my tour provided all the proof I needed to endorse this statement wholeheartedly. H101 is the nicest house kitchen I’ve ever seen.

Nice café, great gym, awesome kitchen. You might be thinking, surely there can’t be more perks to a single house. Well, you’d be wrong. Cabot’s seemingly endless number of amenities grows further with its amazing ceramics studio. Wagner says, “There are pottery wheels, and you can sign up for slots to take classes.” And for those interested in the performing arts, Cabot has its own theater that hosts the Cabot Musical each year. “It’s just a cool thing to have,” Wagner adds. “Like, there are couches there when you want to go hang out with your friends.”

Events that Make the Fish Smile

Besides its extensive list of amenities, Cabot House gets even more interesting with regularly scheduled, amazing events that bring the community together. Socials and steins alternate weekly, each with food and various activities like board games, movie nights, or Valentine’s Day-themed games.

On Halloween, there is “Semper Corpse,” where Cabot House asserts its dominance over the Quad Lawn through the screening of a movie. Wagner also said Cabot has “Festivus, which is around the holidays in wintertime,” and the house’s unique way of celebrating the holidays. With endless amounts of food, there are “feats of strength,” like push-up competitions, and “feats of talent,” like the talent show. The Festivus is also marked with the “Airing of the Grievances,” during which members of the house get together around a small fire in the Quad Lawn and throw things they want to get rid of from the semester into it. Cabot House’s events get creative as well, with the hosting of annual Cabot Golf — a party across multiple rooms in Cabot that act as holes to get into — as a great example.

Going once, going twice, sold! You will have the opportunity to hear these words in Cabot House during its annual Cabot Auction. During this event, people bring items, and the House itself makes contributions for auction; Wagner said, “Our gym was named at auction 2 years ago, and we are probably going to auction the naming of room H101 this year.” People have gotten drinks named after them at the Cabot Café, and Wagner apparently got a portrait of himself from the auction as well.

Q & A with the HoCo Chairs!

Who are some of the famous alumni of Cabot House?

ZJG: We had Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan! There’s also the musician Weezer and Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

MW: Who else? We have Kenneth Griffin, the founder of Citadel. And Jim Koch, the founder and CEO of Samuel Adams.

How is Cabot House doing in IMs?

MW: Oh, pretty good! I was the IM Chair until this semester. We moved up from last place to like 6th place under my tenure. Last year, we won volleyball in the spring, squash, basketball, and rowing. I think we’re the 1st seed in basketball right now.

What’s the DHall Like?

MW: We have the best dhall, as voted by the student body. And we have our Grill Guy, Chris.

ZJG: Amazing, he’s the best.

MW: He makes patty melts or chicken quesadillas, and they are super good.

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