History

The Science Center was completed in 1973, designed by Sert, Jackson and Associates. The main architect was Josep Lluis Sert (1902-1983), who also helped to design Holyoke Center, Peabody Terrace, the U.S. Embassy to Iraq in Baghdad, and lots more. From 1955 to 1969 Sert was the Dean of the Graduate School of Design.

Part of the funding received for the Science Center's construction came from a $12.5 million gift from an anonymous donor. It was soon leaked that the donor was Edwin Land '30, S.D. '57, who helped to found the Polaroid Corporation in 1937. Thus spawned the local legend that the Science Center was designed to resemble the Polaroid Land camera, a myth that has been alluded to by tour guides for decades. Sert was outraged by the insinuation that his design was influenced in such a way.