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There are two Massachusetts Halls in New England. One is at the Bowdoin College, in Brunswick, Maine. The other, which is also the most mentioned? one, is on Harvard Campus, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The latter was erected between 1718 and 1720 in Harvard Yard. It is the oldest surviving building at Harvard College, and second oldest academic building in the United States (The Wren Building at College of William & Mary is the oldest). As such, it’s significance in the history of the United States and American education speaks for itself
在新英格蘭有兩個馬薩諸塞堂。一個坐落于緬因州布倫茲維克的鮑登學院；另一 個，也是人們最經常提到的那個，位于馬薩諸塞州坎布里奇市哈佛大學的校園里。后 者建造于1718年到1720年之間，是哈佛學院現存的最古老的建筑，也是除了威廉和 瑪麗學院的雷恩教學樓外美國最古老的學術大樓。因此，它在美國歷史和美國教育史 上的重要性是不言而喻的。
As an building that is almost 300 years old, Massachusetts Hall at Harvard has gone through many ups and downs, and is replete with historical significance. Originally, it was built as a dormitory that could contain 64 students. During the Revolutionary War, it sheltered soldiers of the Continental Army. 640 Continental soldiers took quarters in the hall. Much of the interior woodwork and hardware disappeared at this time. While designed as a residence for students, the hall has served many purposed through the years. In 1722, for example, the hall housed an informal observatory. Therefore, for most part of its history, it was used as a dormitory, offices, and administration space. In 1924，the hall was threatened with destruction when a fire broke out on the roof. A good deal of the wall had to be torn down in an endeavor to trace the source of the fire.
作為有近300年歷史的古建筑，馬薩諸塞堂經歷了許多跌宕起伏,充滿了歷史意義。 最初建馬薩諸塞堂的目的是為了建一個能容納64名學生的宿舍樓。在美國獨立戰爭 時期，馬薩諸塞堂成了大陸軍的避難所，640名大陸軍在那里住宿。在此期間，大堂 內部有很多木制品和金屬制品都消失不見了。雖然學校把大堂設計為學生宿舍，但這 些年來大堂擔當了很多角色。例如，1722年大堂里就有一個非正式的天文臺。因此， 馬薩諸塞堂大部分時間都被用作宿舍、辦公室和管理處。1924年一場大火險些毀掉馬 薩諸塞堂，為竭力找尋起火源頭，大堂墻體的一大部分都不得不被拆除了。
In 1939, the Harvard president’s office moved from University Hall into the bottom floors of Mass. Hall. Parts of the top two floors of the building, however, are still used to house around 20 freshmen. This tradition of bringing the two power poles of Harvard into close proximity has been passed on. In recent years, however, there are rumors that the hall will be sold by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences to the central administration of the University. Many people are agUinst this trade, because the odd mixture of “lowly” undergrads and top administrators is unique and worth preserving. For Harvard people, the tradition and symbolism of housing freshman above the offices of the president and provost outweighs the practical benefits of using the dormitory space on top two floors for other purposes.
1939年哈佛大學校長辦公室從大學堂搬到了馬薩諸塞堂的底部樓層。雖然如此， 最高的兩層樓仍被用作宿舍，可以容納大約20名左右新生。從那以后，這個讓在哈 佛大學處于權力兩極的人近距離接觸的傳統保留了下來。但在近幾年，有傳言說文理 學院的人要把馬薩諸塞堂賣給大學的管理中心。許多人都反對這一交易，因為“地位 低下”的本科生和校領導同居一樓這一奇怪的混合很獨特，值得保留。對哈佛人來說， 讓新生住在校長和教務長辦公室的樓上有其傳統和象征意義，這種意義超過了把最高 兩層樓的宿舍用作其他用途而產生的實際利益。
It won’t be strange if Harvard students protest against this trade. In history, Massachusetts Hall was taken over by students. In 2001, several dozen students occupied the hall for three weeks to protest the low wages paid to workers. Eventually, the school authority resigned. Therefore, it is not impossible for students to have a sit-in to guard the tradition of Massachusetts Hall.
如果哈佛學生抗議這一交易的話，也不奇怪。歷史上，馬薩諸塞堂就曾被學生占領過。2001年 數名學生為了抗議低工資水平，占領了大堂達三 星期之久。最后，校方妥協了，并同意增長工資。 所以學生為了保衛馬薩諸塞堂的傳統而再次占領 馬薩諸塞堂也不是不可能的。
