Sever Hall, located in Harvard Yard, was designed by eminent architect and Harvard College graduate Henry Hobson Richardson, A.B. 1849. The building's facade detailing, constructed of cut, carved, and molded red brick, represents Richardson's interpretation of the Romanesque style.
The lecture hall and classroom building, erected in 1878-1880, was made possible by the bequest of Anne E.P. Sever, widow of James Warren Sever, A.B. 1817.
The building has undergone several interior renovations, most notably in 1950 and 1982; the exterior was extensively repaired in 2005.
Sever Hall was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970.