"The HER Cooperative House established in 1928 was the first cooperative dormitory in the nation. A home for women who could not otherwise afford the cost of a University education. A home for the women who could not otherwise afford the cost of a University education, it has become a model for similar residencies throughout the United States. The idea for the House came from Lucy Jenkins Franklin, the first Dean of Women at Boston University, and the generous gift of Harriet E. Richards made the idea a reality in this handsome building, which was the 19th century home of a Boston merchant. Generations of women students have enjoyed the cooperative mode of life envisioned by the founders."
(Inscription above the door of the Harriet E. Richards House, 191 Bay State Road, Boston, Massachusetts)