A Walk Around Harvard—and a Few Detours

Another subway ride, another part of the Boston trip to explore. This time, I headed across to Cambridge for a look around Harvard and the surrounding neighborhood. Between the campus, the side streets, and whatever else caught my eye, there was plenty to keep the camera occupied.

Around Harvard Yard there were the buildings you would expect to see at Harvard, but also the less formal side of the campus: colorful chairs scattered across the grass, students going about their day, and visitors stopping for photographs. I was, of course, contributing to that last group.

The statue of  John Harvard—or rather, a statue representing him, is known as the “statue of three lies”. John Harvard was a benefactor rather than the founder of the university, which was founded in 1636, rather than the inscribed date of 1638. Also, the face  on the statue is not his actual likeness because no known portrait ever survived.

One of the most eye catching buildings on campus is  the Widener Library. Harry Elkins Widener, a Harvard graduate and book collector, died aboard the Titanic in 1912. His mother, Eleanor, funded the library in his memory, and it opened in 1915. The two plaques tell the story much more directly than the impressive exterior does.

A look inside, with a little of the outside coming along in the reflection.

Being a former high school English teacher, I had to include a peek into a classroom. The setting may be Harvard, but those rows of desks are a familiar sight. Then there were the wooden staircases, the doors, and all that ironwork. I was able to  find just as much to photograph between the classrooms as inside them.

The Smith Campus Center, which is where the student union was located, offered a change of scenery: glass, open spaces, bright red chairs, and people settled in with their laptops. The Harvard Commons area had a sign limiting entry to Harvard ID holders and their guests, so this photograph was taken through the doors. Fortunately, glass does not stop a camera—although it does like to add reflections.😊

There was plenty to photograph outside the campus as well. A narrow building on a corner, a painted doorway tucked between brick walls, and a buffalo keeping company with a blue unicorn. These are the sorts of things that tend to interrupt my progress. There is usually another photograph before there is another block.

Harvard and Yale, managing to stand next to each other without incident.😉

And yes, there was a bookstore to photograph. Despite its name, Harvard Book Store is an independent bookstore, serving Cambridge since 1932. As a former English teacher and avid reader I was hardly going to leave that one out.😁

Nearby, there is an Old Burying Ground dating back to about 1635. Among those buried here are several Harvard presidents and the artist Washington Allston, whose grave is pictured below. With the old stones, the trees, and the autumn light, there was plenty to look at without going very far.

The walk also took me through Cambridge Common, which refers to a 16 acre public park and National Historic Landmark in Cambridge. The trees were beginning to show their fall colors, and there were more monuments to investigate. The tall Soldiers’ Monument includes a statue of Abraham Lincoln beneath the arch. The bronze statue is part of the Civil War Monument (also called the Lincoln-Soldier Monument), which honors the soldiers and sailors from Cambridge who died fighting for the Union during the Civil War.

The Irish Famine Memorial, remembering the Great Hunger of 1845–1850. It was dedicated by Ireland’s president, Mary Robinson, in July 1997.

Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church, across from Cambridge Common. Another reason to look up.

That was my look around Harvard and a few of its neighbors. 

Before leaving, though, a little movie trivia for those who remember Love Story, starring Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal. Parts of the 1970 film were actually filmed here, including scenes in Harvard Yard. Apparently, Harvard’s relationship with Hollywood was less romantic than the movie. Disruption and damage during that production, followed by more trouble filming A Small Circle of Friends, helped lead to much stricter rules about filming on campus. 

Many later movies set at Harvard were filmed elsewhere, with other universities playing the part. Legally Blonde, for example, used the University of Southern California, while The Social Network filmed partly at Johns Hopkins. So Harvard may get the credit, but another campus often gets the camera crew.

Fortunately, my visit involved only a camera and no production crew. Back to the subway and back to Boston....

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