Harvard Yard, in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, is the oldest part of the
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
campus, its historic center and modern crossroads. It contains
most of the freshman dormitories, Harvard's most important libraries,
Memorial Church, several classroom and departmental buildings, and the offices of senior University officials including the
President of Harvard University.
The Yard grew over the centuries around Harvard College's first parcel of land, purchased in 1637.
Today it is a grassy area of bounded principally by
Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge Street, Broadway, and Quincy Street. Its perimeter fencingprincipally iron, with some stretches of brickhas twenty-seven gates.
Subdivisions
The center of the Yard, known as Tercentenary Theatre, is a wide grassy area bounded by
Widener Library,
Memorial Church,
University Hall, and
Sever Hall
Sever may refer to:
Places in Portugal
* Sever (Santa Marta de Penaguião), a civil parish in the municipality of Santa Marta de Penaguião
* , a civil parish in Moimenta da Beira Municipality
* Sever do Vouga Municipality, a municipality in the ...
. Tercentenary Theatre is the site of annual
commencement exercises and other
convocations.
The western third of Harvard Yard, which opens onto Peabody Street (often mistaken for nearby Massachusetts Avenue) at
Johnston Gate and abuts the center of
Harvard Square to the south, is known as the Old Yard.
Most of the freshman dormitories cluster around the Old Yard, including
Massachusetts Hall (1720), Harvard's oldest building and the second-oldest academic building in the United States.
[Massachusetts Hall and the Wren Building at the College of William and Mary are both often described as the oldest; however, the Wren Building was built before Massachusetts Hall.] Massachusetts Hall also houses the offices of the President of Harvard University.
The original Harvard Hall in the Old Yard housed the College library, including the books donated by
John Harvardall but one of which were destroyed when the building burned in 1764. Rebuilt in 1766, the current Harvard Hall now houses classrooms.
Across the Old Yard from Johnston Gate is University Hall (1815), whose white-granite facade was the first to challenge the red-brick Georgian style until then ascendant;
between its twin west staircases stands the
John Harvard statue
''John Harvard'' is a sculpture in bronze by Daniel Chester French in Harvard Yard, Cambridge, Massachusetts honoring clergyman John Harvard (1607–1638), whose deathbed
bequest to the
recently undertaken by the Massachusetts Bay Colony was ...
. University Hall contains major administrative offices, including those of the Dean of the
Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the Dean of
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...
.
Buildings
Libraries in the Yard are
Widener Library, its connected Pusey Library annex,
Houghton Library for rare books and manuscripts, and
Lamont Library
Lamont Library, in the southeast corner of Harvard Yard in Cambridge, Massachusetts, houses the Harvard Library's primary undergraduate collection in humanities and social sciences. It was the first library in the United States specifically planne ...
, the main undergraduate library. Classroom and departmental buildings include Emerson Hall,
Sever Hall
Sever may refer to:
Places in Portugal
* Sever (Santa Marta de Penaguião), a civil parish in the municipality of Santa Marta de Penaguião
* , a civil parish in Moimenta da Beira Municipality
* Sever do Vouga Municipality, a municipality in the ...
, Robinson Hall, and Boylston Hall. The
Harvard Bixi, a Chinese stele with inscribed text, is located near Widener.
The freshman dormitories of Harvard Yard include the upper levels of
Massachusetts Hall, and
Wigglesworth Hall,
Weld Hall,
Grays Hall
This is a list of dormitories at Harvard College. Only freshmen live in these dormitories, which are located in and around Harvard Yard. Sophomores, juniors and seniors live in the House system.
Apley Court
South of Harvard Yard on Holyoke St ...
,
Matthews Hall,
Straus Hall,
Mower Hall,
Hollis Hall
This is a list of dormitories at Harvard College. Only freshmen live in these dormitories, which are located in and around Harvard Yard. Sophomores, juniors and seniors live in the House system.
Apley Court
South of Harvard Yard on Holyoke Stree ...
,
Stoughton Hall
This is a list of dormitories at Harvard College. Only freshmen live in these dormitories, which are located in and around Harvard Yard. Sophomores, juniors and seniors live in the House system.
Apley Court
South of Harvard Yard on Holyoke Stree ...
,
Lionel Hall,
Holworthy Hall,
Canaday Hall, and
Thayer Hall.
Nestled among Mower, Hollis, Lionel, and Stoughton Halls is
Holden Chapel, home of the
Holden Choirs
The Harvard Choruses are three choral ensembles at Harvard University, consisting of the Harvard Glee Club, the Radcliffe Choral Society, and the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum (respectively a men's, a women's, and a mixed chorus.) Each y ...
. Nearby is Phillips Brooks House, dedicated to student
service to the community.
Administrative buildings in the Yard include the aforementioned University Hall and Massachusetts Hall; Loeb House, on the east side of the Yard; and Wadsworth House, on the south side. Loeb House is the home of Harvard's governing bodies: the
Harvard Corporation and the
Board of Overseers. Wadsworth House houses the Harvard University Librarian and the
Office of the University Marshal, among others.
Lehman Hall
Dudley Community (formerly called Dudley House) is an alternative to Harvard College's 12 Houses. The Dudley Community serves nonresident undergraduate students, visiting undergraduate students, and undergraduates living in the Dudley Co-op. In ...
, at the southwestern corner of the Yard, provides administrative services for students who live off-campus.
Images
File:Harvard University Massachusetts Hall.jpg, Massachusetts Hall
File:John Harvard statue at Harvard University.jpg, ''John Harvard'' statue
File:Harvard yard winter 2009j.JPG, The Yard in Winter
File:Americana 1920 Harvard University.jpg, The Yard ca. 1920
File:Wadsworth House, Harvard Square, Cambridge, Mass. - DPLA - 945da9282d58583eb2b586fc18859c50.jpg, alt=Wadsworth House, Harvard Square, Cambridge, Mass., August 6, 1920. Boston Public Library, Arts Department, Wadsworth House, August 6, 1920. Boston Public Library, Arts Department
See also
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Cambridge, Massachusetts
*
"Park the car in Harvard Yard"
References
External links
Campus map showing Harvard Yard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harvard Yard
Harvard Square
Harvard University buildings
Landmarks in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Historic districts in Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Harvard University
University and college campuses in Massachusetts