Emerson Hall, Harvard University - Cambridge, MA - People-Named Places on Waymarking.com

In Cambridge, on the campus of Harvard University, off Quincy Street, are three buildings arranged around a small grassy area. The one on the left, when viewing from Quincy Street, is Emerson Hall, named after Ralph Waldo Emerson, the well known Unitarian minister and part of the Transcendentalist movement.

The Building, Emerson Hall
According the web page for the building on Harvard University's web site, the brick building was designed by Guy Lowell and built in 1900. It currently houses the Philosophy Department and includes classrooms and offices for faculty and students. There are also several rooms in the building, such as the Bechtel and the Tanner Rooms, and the Robbins Library (open to Harvard students and faculty, only). The top of the building bears a quote from Psalms 8:4, "What is man that thou art mindful of him," which was chosen by Harvard President C. W. Eliot.

The Person, Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson lived from 1803 to 1882 in the Boston area. He is known for being a Unitarian Minister who was in the center of the Transcendentalist Movement, as well as a great orator and writer, whose works still are read and studied.
He went to Harvard twice, once when he was 14 and graduated at the age of 18. For a while he was a school teacher at various locations, then, at the urging of his Aunt Mary that there be always be an Emerson as minister in Boston, Ralph Emerson was admitted into the Harvard Divinity School in 1826.
In 1829, he was assistant minister at Second Church in Boston. When Ware left to be part of the faculty at Harvard Divinity School, Emerson was made full minister. His service as a minister was short-lived, however, and he resigned in 1832 and vowed never to be a minister to a church again. He built his career as a writer and orator. His works include, Nature (1836), Self Reliance (1841), and Compensation (1841).
In 1837, Emerson made his Phi Kappa Beta speech, "The American Scholar, that urged the attendees to stop imitating European culture and literature and create American culture and literature instead. This speech was well received.
In 1838, he was asked to speak before the graduating class at the Harvard Divinity School. Emerson chose to challenge Christianity practices and theologies. This speech, predictably was received with mixed reviews. He was not invited back to Harvard for at least a decade.
But, apparently, they had reevaluated their judgement of Emerson and now have a building named after him. Much of his works and journals are archived in Harvard University's Houghton Library.
Sources:
Harvard University, Philosophy Department
Ralph Waldo Emerson Institute (has the complete works of Emerson online - not sure what the institute is all about though)
Unitarian Universalist Association (Ralph Waldo Emerson):

Year it was dedicated: 1900 Location of Coordinates: Front entrance to building, off Quincy Street Related Web address (if available): [Web Link] Type of place/structure you are waymarking: Building

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