Harvard Yard

---

title: "Harvard Yard" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["harvard-square", "harvard-university-buildings-and-structures", "historic-districts-in-middlesex-county,-massachusetts", "historic-districts-on-the-national-register-of-historic-places-in-massachusetts", "landmarks-in-cambridge,-massachusetts", "national-register-of-historic-places-in-cambridge,-massachusetts", "university-and-college-campuses-in-massachusetts"] description: "Oldest part of the Harvard University campus" topic_path: "society/education" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Yard" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Oldest part of the Harvard University campus ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox NRHP"]

Field	Value
name	Harvard Yard Historic District
nrhp_type	hd
nocat	ye
image	Harvard Yard in autumn, Boston, Massachusetts, 2015.jpg
caption	Harvard Yard in December 2015
location	Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
locmapin	Massachusetts#USA
map_caption	Location of Harvard Yard in Massachusetts
built	1673
architecture	Georgian and Federal
added	February 6, 1973
refnum	73000287
increase	December 14, 1987
increase_refnum	87002137
::

| name = Harvard Yard Historic District | nrhp_type = hd | nocat = ye | image = Harvard Yard in autumn, Boston, Massachusetts, 2015.jpg | caption = Harvard Yard in December 2015 | location = Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. | locmapin = Massachusetts#USA | map_caption = Location of Harvard Yard in Massachusetts | area = | built = 1673 | architect = | architecture = Georgian and Federal | added = February 6, 1973 | refnum = 73000287 | increase = December 14, 1987 | increase_refnum = 87002137

Harvard Yard is the oldest and among the most prominent parts of the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The yard has a historic center and modern crossroads and 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 22.4 acre bounded principally by Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge Street, Broadway, and Quincy Street. Its perimeter fencingprincipally iron, with some stretches of brickhas twenty-seven gates.

Subdivisions

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Harvard_Yard_aerial.JPG" caption="University Hall]] (just beyond Widener, white with white chimneys), and [[Sever Hall]] (red roof, opposite University Hall). The Old Yard is the treed area beyond University Hall."] ::

Tercentenary TheatreThe center of the Yard, known as Tercentenary Theatre, is a wide grassy area bounded by Widener Library, Memorial Church, University Hall, and Sever Hall. 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 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 Harvard, all 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. University Hall contains major administrative offices, including those of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the Dean of Harvard College.

Buildings

Libraries in the Yard are Widener Library, its connected Pusey Library annex, Houghton Library for rare books and manuscripts, and Lamont Library, the main undergraduate library. Classroom and departmental buildings include Emerson Hall, Sever Hall, 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, Matthews Hall, Straus Hall, Mower Hall, Hollis Hall, Stoughton Hall, 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. 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, 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

References

References

1. {{NRISref. 2008a
2. (2009-10-09). "College Yard purchased". Harvard University.
3. Hammond, Mason. (Fall 1983). "The Enclosure Of The Harvard Yard.". Harvard Library Bulletin.
4. (1986-06-23). "Harvard Yard Historic District - MACRIS Details". The Massachusetts Historical Commission.
5. 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.
6. (2011-02-16). "The art of architecture".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::