Trip to Hahvahd

Good day, history buffs! Today I shall take you through my walk around Harvard [pronounced Hahvahd by the locals] University and the surrounding area of Cambridge.

A little background info: Harvard University is the nation's oldest university, founded in 1636, and is still considered one of the most prestigious in the United States. A number of US Presidents have earned degrees from Harvard, including John Adams, John Quincy Adams, the Roosevelt boys (Theodore and Franklin), John F. Kennedy, Rutherford B. Hayes and Barack Obama (who earned law degrees), and George W. Bush (who earned his MBA). As it would appear, 5 out of 8 Harvard grads like to use their middle initials in their names.

Since my hotel was in Boston, I had to take the T across the river to Cambridge. Upon emerging from the underground station, I found myself just outside Harvard Square. As I approached some impressive gates that appeared to be holding the secrets of Harvard, I noticed what a busy, bustling area the square was. I thought back to my college days: only in the 10 minutes before and after classes was any part of my college this busy.

Photo newenglandtravelplanner.com

I stepped through the fancy Johnston Gate and into Harvard Yard [Hahvahd Yahd]. Each side of the walkway is flanked by old buildings, including Harvard Hall and Massachusetts Hall. Straight ahead, across a large lawn snaked with walkways, a crowd gathered in front of a statue sitting before University Hall. This statue is of John Harvard, but is infamously known as 'The Statue of Three Lies." Why? you might ask. Well, according to my guide book, this statue is not of John Harvard (lie #1), it's actually of an undergraduate student from 1884. The inscription on the statue also claims John Harvard to be the founder of Harvard College, when he was actually just the first major benefactor (lie #2). Finally, the inscription also states that the university was founded in 1638, but it was founded in 1636 (lie #3), as we all now know.

It also appears that this statue has a ritual attached to it; many universities have little rituals like this. The University of Maryland has a bronze statue of their mascot, Testudo the Terrapin (turtle), which good luck-seekers pat on the head as they pass by. At Northwestern University, students paint a rock in the Quad, decorating it however they decide, and guarding it day and night to prevent other students from painting over it. My own alma mater, Creighton University, installed a bluejay statue outside the new soccer stadium in my senior year; the school encouraged students to touch the beak on their way into the stadium for "good luck". In this same vein, the statue of John Harvard has become a harbinger of good luck. Supposedly if one touches his toe, they will have good luck. Many many tourists were lined up to get a picture of themselves touching "John Harvard's" toe. I did not, nor was I able to get a good picture due to the throngs of tourists. In any case, I nabbed a photo from the interwebs. Look for the shiny gold toe.

From this statue I walked around University Hall and into New Yard (or Tercentenary Quadrangle -- New Yard is way easier to spell and pronounce). This green area is surrounded by Memorial Church, Sever Hall, University Hall, and the impressive and looming Widener Memorial Library. As badly as I wanted to run up the concrete steps and run through the columns of books I suspected were inside, I was not allowed. It is not open to the general public. I guess I'll have to enroll in order to check it out. The library itself is named after a Harvard graduate, Harry Elkins Widener, who drowned when the Titanic sank in 1912.

From New Yard I wandered past some museums under construction and toward Memorial Hall. Now, I love grandeur, history, and fancy buildings. I especially love them on college campuses. I was, however, not prepared for Harvard's Memorial Hall. This building dates back to 1874 and houses some classrooms as well as the university's largest auditorium. I wanted to sneak inside to see the stained-glass windows, but I couldn't figure out which door was the entrance. :(

 

From Memorial Hall I wandered a bit, meandering through the different buildings and complexes. Much of the grounds were under construction (as often happens during the summer months), but I was impressed with the amount of people who were in and out of buildings, seemingly conducting research, attending classes, or otherwise being scholarly in the summer months. I returned to Hahvahd Yahd, reading in my guide book that many of the brick buildings lining the green space are freshmen dormitories. How amazing would that be? They look so fancy!

I exited back through Johnstone Gate and continued my trek through Cambridge. I walked the sunny streets, past cute and quaint shops, finding more buildings belonging to Harvard, as well as those once belonging to the women-only Radcliffe College (established in 1879), now integrated into Harvard. I found my way to Cambridge Common, a lovely park full of screeching soccer players and some historical sites. A semi-circle of cannons, a plaque, a headstone, and a tree all mark significant moments in American revolutionary history: the spot where George Washington assumed command of the Continental Army and the spot of British abandonment. It was apparently under the tree that Washington agreed to take command of the army; they have since fenced it in and added a marker to denote its significance. The cannons, according to the marker, were abandoned by the British when they left Boston in 1776.

From Cambridge Common I walked back along Brattle Street to see some of the more prestigious houses in cambridge. Many of the houses sported little blue plaques indicating their historical significance, as most date from the 19th century and some from even earlier. For example, the delightful Longfellow House has been preserved at number 105. This gorgeous house, dating from 1759, is where Henry Wadsworth Longfellow composed some of his most famous works, including The Song of Hiawatha and "Paul Revere's Ride". Wadsworth lived in this house as a renter for many years before receiving it as a wedding gift and retiring to live there full-time; the house was also the former headquarters of one George Washington. It is now a preserved historical site.

From the Longfellow House I wandered back through Cambridge, delighting in the busy little streets and shops, the people milling about small squares and parks. I stopped into a cafe for a quick iced green tea and continued my trek toward the Charles River. Once upon the river, I crossed a very busy bridge and snapped a picture looking back toward Harvard. On the other side of the water is the Harvard Business School, where none other than George W. Bush earned his MBA. The business school is equally regal yet quaint as it's on a smaller scale. The small quads and old buildings reminded me of the many colleges I visited in Virginia the summer after my junior year. I cannot get enough of historic colleges!

I crossed another bridge to return to the other side of the Charles River, walking back toward the main campus. I snapped another picture from the bridge (I could barely even see over the bridge, the pillars were so tall!). You can mostly only see trees, but the cupolas of the buildings peek out over the treetops. Jealous of the green, Phoenix? I sure am!

After crossing the bridge, I headed back to Harvard Square to catch the T to head back to Boston. It was a lot of walking, especially after a day of even more walking (The Freedom Trail) and I was quite tuckered out when I got to my hotel!

Stay tuned for one last blog post acknowledging the wonderful guide book that took me on my many journeys and gave me so much information, as well as a bit more info about a few other sites I stopped by.

Click here to see information about the book I used for my tours and information.