Harvard Square facts for kids
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Harvard Square Historic District
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Harvard Square in 2015, looking west toward John F. Kennedy Street (left) and Brattle Street
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. |
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| Architectural style | Colonial Revival and Greek Revival |
| MPS | Cambridge MRA |
| NRHP reference No. | 82001944 (original) 86003654 (increase) |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | April 13, 1982 |
| Boundary increase | July 28, 1988 |
Harvard Square is a famous triangular area in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It's where three big streets meet: Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street, and John F. Kennedy Street. This spot is right in the middle of Cambridge.
Many people also use "Harvard Square" to talk about the whole busy area around this intersection. This includes parts of Harvard University. It's like the historic heart of Cambridge.
The Square is a popular place for Harvard students and people living in Cambridge. It's also a shopping and dining spot for people from nearby towns. Getting here is easy because of the Harvard station. This is a major subway stop for the Red Line and a big bus center.
Sometimes, "Harvard Square" can mean an even larger neighborhood. This includes Brattle Square, which is just a block away. It also includes the Cambridge Common, a park with a playground, a baseball field, and monuments about the Revolutionary War.
Contents
Exploring Harvard Square
The main part of Harvard Square is where Massachusetts Avenue and Brattle Street cross. Massachusetts Avenue comes from the southeast and then turns sharply north.
At this intersection, there's a large area just for people walking. You'll find the entrance to the subway station here. There's also an older subway building that used to be a newsstand. A visitor information booth and a small outdoor stage called "The Pit" are also in this busy spot.
Places to See Nearby
Right next to Harvard Square is Harvard Yard, which is the historic center of Harvard University. Many interesting places are just a short walk away. These include the Harvard Art Museums, the Semitic Museum, the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, and the Museum of Natural History.
Other cool spots in the area include the Cambridge Public Library and Lesley University. You can also find the Longy School of Music and the American Repertory Theater. For history buffs, there's the Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site.
Because so many people walk through Harvard Square and Brattle Square, it's a great place to see street performers. You might hear musicians or watch "buskers" (street entertainers). Famous singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman played here when she was in college. Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls used to perform as a "living statue" here.
There's even a small bronze statue of "Doo Doo," a puppet, at the corner of Brattle Street and Eliot Street. It honors Igor Fokin, a street performer who often entertained in Brattle Square.
Cool Features of the Square
The Harvard Square subway stop is a very important transportation hub. It's where you can switch between the subway, buses, and electric buses (called trackless trolleys). Many buses from the north and west use a special tunnel. This tunnel helps reduce traffic in the Square and lets buses cross without getting stuck in car traffic. It also gives people covered access between the subway and buses.
In the center of the Square, you'll see the old Harvard Square Subway Kiosk. This building was home to the Out of Town News newsstand for many years until it closed in 2020. Now, a public art display called Lumen Eclipse shows different art pieces each month.
Many small public squares are scattered around the main area, like Brattle Square and Winthrop Square. These are also popular spots for street performers all year long. Brattle Street is home to the Brattle Theater, which shows unique films. The American Repertory Theater is also there. If you walk a bit further down John F. Kennedy Street, you'll reach the John F. Kennedy Memorial Park, right by the Charles River. Cambridge Common is just two blocks north.
A Look Back at History
Today, Harvard Square is a busy commercial area. But in earlier times, important people lived here, like the colonial poet Anne Bradstreet.
How the Square Has Changed
Over the years, Harvard Square has changed a lot. It used to have more local shops, like a grocery store and a "five and ten" variety store. While some unique local businesses still exist, many have been replaced by bigger chain stores and banks. The Square is now more of a destination for students and people commuting from other areas.
For example, the Harvard Square Theater, which was a movie theater, closed in 2012. Some beloved local restaurants, like the Tasty Diner and the Wursthaus, also closed to make way for national chains. Elsie's Lunch and Leo's Place, which had been around for decades, also closed their doors.
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Even the student co-op, the Harvard/MIT Cooperative Society (known as "The Coop"), is now managed by a large bookstore chain. Many independent bookstores, like Paperback Booksmith and WordsWorth Books, have closed over the years.
However, some amazing, long-standing local businesses are still thriving! These include:
- Leavitt & Peirce tobacconists (opened in 1883)
- Laflamme Barber Shop (opened in 1898)
- Harvard Book Store (opened in 1932)
- Cardullo's Gourmet Shoppe (opened in 1950)
- Charlie's Kitchen (opened in 1951)
- The Brattle Theater (opened in 1953)
- The Hong Kong Chinese restaurant (opened in 1954)
- Club Passim (opened in 1958)
- Café Pamplona (opened in 1959)
- Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage (opened in 1960)
- Million Year Picnic comics (opened in 1970)
- Algiers Coffee House (opened in 1970)
- Grendel's Den (opened in 1971)
These places give Harvard Square its unique and historic feel.
Harvard Square in Movies and More
Harvard Square has been featured in several movies and TV shows.
The 1970 film Love Story takes place mostly in and around Harvard Square. It shows two Harvard students, Oliver and Jenny, as they meet, finish college, and get married. This movie is still shown to new students at Harvard each year.
A 2005 documentary called Touching History; Harvard Square, the Bank, and The Tasty Diner tells the story of how the Square changed when a small diner, The Tasty, closed.
Ben Affleck filmed parts of his 2010 movie The Town at Grendel's Den on Winthrop Street.
The 2015 video game Fallout 4 also includes Harvard Square as a location. While the game's layout isn't exactly like real life, it does feature the Cambridge visitor's center kiosk.
"Car Talk Plaza"
The popular radio show Car Talk had its offices on the third floor of the Abbott Building from 1992 until the show ended in 2014. At the start of every episode, the hosts, Tom and Ray Magliozzi, would say they were broadcasting from "Car Talk Plaza" in Harvard.
The office window, which faces the Square, still has a funny sign that says "Dewey Cheetham & Howe." This sign has become a local landmark. Even though the old office is now a yoga studio, the sign has been kept. In 2019, a special plaque honoring Tom Magliozzi, who passed away in 2014, was placed outside the Abbott Building. Harvard Square, known as "Car Talk Plaza," is also the setting for Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns, an animated TV show based on Car Talk.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Cambridge, Massachusetts
- William Brattle House
- Conductor's Building
- St. Paul Church (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
