Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Saturday 10am to 4pm, and Sunday noon to 4pm (closed major holidays). Call or
visit the website for information about educational programs and driving directions.
7 Cambridge
Boston and Cambridge are so closely associated that many people believe they're the
same place—a notion that both cities' residents and politicians are happy to dispel.
Cantabrigians are often considered more liberal and better educated than Bostonians,
which is another idea that's sure to get you involved in a lively discussion. Take the
Red Line across the river and see for yourself.
For a good overview, begin at the main Harvard T entrance. Follow our Harvard
Square walking tour (p. 193), or set out on your own. At the
information booth
(
&
617/497-1630
) in the middle of Harvard Square at the intersection of Mass. Ave.,
John F. Kennedy Street, and Brattle Street, trained volunteers dispense maps and
brochures and answer questions Monday through Saturday from 9am to 5pm and
Sunday from 1 to 5pm. From mid-June to Labor Day,
guided tours
explore the entire
old Cambridge area. Check at the booth for rates, meeting places, and times, or call
ahead. If you prefer to sightsee on your own, you can buy the Cambridge Historical
Commission's
Revolutionary Cambridge
walking guide ($2).
Whatever you do, spend some time in
Harvard Square.
It's a hodgepodge of col-
lege and high school students, professors and instructors, commuters, street perform-
ers, and sightseers. Stores and restaurants line all three streets that spread out from the
center of the square and the streets that intersect them. If you follow
Brattle Street
to
the residential area just outside the square, you'll arrive at a part of town known as
“Tory Row”
because the residents were loyal to King George during the Revolution.
The yellow mansion at 105 Brattle St. is the
Longfellow National Historic Site
(
&
617/876-4491;
www.nps.gov/long), the longtime home of Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow (1807-82). The poet first lived here as a boarder in 1837. When he and
Fanny Appleton married in 1843, her father made the house a wedding present. The
furnishings and books in the stately home are original to Longfellow, who lived here
until his death, and his descendants. During the siege of Boston in 1775-76, the
house served as the headquarters of Gen. George Washington, with whom Longfellow
was fascinated. On a tour—the only way to see the house—you'll learn about the his-
tory of the building and its famous occupants.
The house is usually open June through October Wednesday through Sunday from
10am to 4:30pm, but always check ahead. Tours begin at 10:30 and 11:30am, and 1,
2, 3, and 4pm. Admission is $3 for adults, free for children under 16.
Farther west, near where Brattle Street and Mount Auburn Street intersect, is
Mount Auburn Cemetery
(see the box titled “Celebrity Cemetery”). It's a pleasant
but long walk; you might prefer to drive or take a bus from Harvard station.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Our Harvard Square walking tour (p. 193) describes many of the buildings you'll see
on the Harvard campus. Free student-led tours leave from the
Information Center
in
Holyoke Center, 1350 Massachusetts Ave. (
&
617/495-1573
). They operate during
the school year twice a day on weekdays and once on Saturday, except during vacations,
and during the summer four times a day Monday through Saturday. Call or surf ahead
for exact times; reservations aren't necessary. The Information Center has maps, illus-
trated booklets, and self-guided walking-tour directions, as well as a bulletin board
