7 Best Sights in Harvard Square, Boston

This charming, yellow, 18th-century, gambrel-roof Colonial once belonged to the Loyalist William Brattle. He moved to Boston in 1774 to escape the patriots' anger, then left in 1776 with the British troops. From 1831 to 1833 the house was the residence of Margaret Fuller, feminist author and editor of The Dial. Today it's the office of the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

This gravity-defying mass of concrete and glass, built in 1963, is the only building in North America designed by the French architect Le Corbusier. It hosts Harvard's Department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies, exhibition spaces, and the Harvard Film Archive, and is dedicated to artist-centered programming. The open floor plan provides students with five stories of flexible workspace, and the large, outward-facing windows ensure that the creative process is always visible and public. The center regularly holds free lectures, workshops, and receptions with artists.

At the top of the ramp, the Sert Gallery plays host to changing exhibits of contemporary works and has a café. The Main Gallery on the ground floor often showcases work by students and faculty. The Carpenter Center Bookshop, a collaboration with Berlin-based Motto Books, is one of the only local places to carry small-press contemporary art books, magazines, and journals, with an emphasis on international publications and limited-edition projects.

This modest yet beautiful gray clapboard structure was designed in 1761 by Peter Harrison, the first architect of note in the colonies (he designed King's Chapel). During the Revolution, members of its mostly Tory congregation fled for their lives. The organ was melted down for bullets and the building was used as a barracks during the Siege of Boston. (Step into the vestibule to look for the bullet hole left during the skirmish.) Today, the organ facade takes inspiration from the original 1762 gallery organ.

Martha Washington requested that the church reopen for services on New Year's Eve in 1775. The church's historical significance extends to the 20th century: Teddy Roosevelt was a Sunday-school teacher here (and famously fired because he remained Dutch Reformed rather than becoming an Episcopalian), and Martin Luther King Jr. spoke from the pulpit to announce his opposition to the Vietnam War.

Next to the imposing church on the corner of Church Street and Mass Ave. lies the spooky-looking Colonial Old Burying Ground. Known as the most historic cemetery in Cambridge, it was established around 1635 and houses 17th- and 18th-century tombstones of ministers, Continental Congressmen, authors, early Harvard presidents, and Revolutionary War soldiers. The wooden Gothic Revival church, known locally as "First Parish," was built in 1833 by Isaiah Rogers and was given a face-lift in 2023. The congregation dates to two centuries earlier, and has been linked to Harvard since the founding of the college.

Formerly known as the Semitic Museum, this Harvard institution is an almost unknown gem, serving as an exhibit space for Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and ancient Near East artifacts and as a center for archaeological exploration. The museum's extensive temporary collections rotate, while more permanent exhibits include life-size casts of famous Mesopotamian monuments, authentic mummy coffins, and tablets containing the earliest forms of writing. Free lectures are held on a rotating schedule (taking the summer season off), and the building also houses the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.

About a mile northwest of Harvard Square lies Porter Square, an area that consists of several blocks along Mass Ave. that boast shopping centers and eateries. As you walk north (away from Harvard) past the heart of Porter Square, you'll find ethnic eateries all along a few blocks (several Asian ramen and sushi spots can be found in the 1920's art deco Porter Exchange building), many of them excellent and far cheaper than Harvard Square restaurants. There are also quite a few unique shops along the way, including thrift shops and music stores.

On the Harvard University side of Harvard Square stands the Wadsworth House, a yellow clapboard structure built in 1726 as a home for Harvard presidents. It served as the first Massachusetts headquarters for George Washington, who arrived on July 2, 1775, just a day before he took command of the Continental Army. The building traded presidents in for students (such as Ralph Waldo Emerson) and visiting preachers as its boarders, and today, it houses Harvard's general offices.