Harvard doesn’t really need an introduction: it’s the oldest University in the United States, and one of the world’s greatest centers of learning.
One of the greatest things about finding the homestay is that’s practically next door to Harvard, and I have to go pass it every morning on my way to work at MIT. The host of my homestay – who herself works at one of the Harvard museums – was sharing with me yesterday morning that most visitors who guest at her home are in the city for short-term business or work at Harvard and not the MIT though.
Most of this week in Boston has been really cloudy, but it was gorgeously sunny on Tuesday morning: which as soon as I realized the night before from the weather forecast, woke up extra early and headed to Harvard Yard for an early morning shoot. The pictures here, and part of the next post on the Memorial Hall, were all taken this morning with the Sigma 18-250mm with a Marumi CPL and the D300.
There seems to be two areas: Harvard Yard, and the main compound of Harvard University itself. I haven’t explored the main University compound yet; the pictures here are all of Harvard Yard, a grassy area of about 25 acres and constituting the oldest part and the center of Harvard University’s campus.
The Yard is approximately squarish. Here’s my walkthrough of pictures, starting with the North gate:
Just opposite this gate and facing the Yard is The First Church:
The centerpiece of the Yard is the Tercentenary Theater, which is surrounded by distinctive buildings. There’s the University Hall (below), with a statue of John Harvard, the University’s most famous benefactor, in the front. This picture was taken very early in the morning – but in about 20 minutes time, there were groups of Chinese tourists arriving there for pictures.
Another distinct building in the Theatre is the Memorial Church, which was built in 1932 to honor the memory of men and women of Harvard University who gave their lives in World War I.
The church’s steeple is pretty distinctive too, and it’s easy enough to spot it in the Yard and get your bearings. The picture below right is of John Harvard (yeah I know it’s a little out of sequence):
Another distinctive building in the Tercentenary Theater is the Widener Library, built in memory of Harry Elkins Widener who died in the Titanic in 1912. The library is the third largest in the United States. I’ll come by here again on another day to visit the library itself soon.
I haven’t fully explored Harvard Yard yet as there’re still a lot more historically significant buildings than this – time constraints on the weekday morning. But I’ll swing by here soon again. More possible follow-ups on this post later.:)
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