Harvard Square - Crossroads of Cambridge
Photo: ajay_suresh, CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
A stop on Harvard Yard and Cambridge, a free self-guided tour.
You are standing at the busy heart of Cambridge, where Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street and JFK Street meet in a swirl of buses, bikes and people. Despite the name, this is less a square than a crossroads, and it belongs to the city, not the university. It simply grew up beside the college gate.
The small building in the middle is the kiosk, built in the late 1920s as an entrance to the subway. For decades it housed Out of Town News, where you could buy newspapers from around the world. The newsstand closed in 2019, and after a long renovation the city reopened the kiosk in 2025 as the Cambridge KiOSK, a visitor information center and community space.
Look around at the Harvard Coop, founded in 1882, and Harvard Book Store, open since 1932, two reasons this neighborhood has long been a paradise for readers. When you are ready, cross Massachusetts Avenue toward the brick wall and iron gates of Harvard Yard.
Getting here: Start at the kiosk in the middle of Harvard Square, just above the Harvard Red Line station.
Did you know?: Harvard station was the northern end of the Red Line until 1984, when the line was extended to Alewife.
Photo op: Stand on the Massachusetts Avenue sidewalk outside the Coop and frame the kiosk with the busy crossroads around it.
More on Wikipedia: Harvard Square · Harvard Square Subway Kiosk · Harvard station
Stops on this tour
- Harvard Square - Crossroads of Cambridge
- Johnston Gate - Harvard's Front Door
- Massachusetts Hall - Harvard's Oldest Building
- John Harvard Statue - The Statue of Three Lies
- Widener Library - A Memorial in Books
- Memorial Church - A Steeple for the Fallen
- Sever Hall - Whispers in the Brick
- Harvard Art Museums - Three Museums Under Glass
- Memorial Hall - Gothic Tribute to the Union
- Cambridge Common - Where Washington Took Command
- Christ Church and Old Burying Ground - Colonial Corner