Harvard Yard is a grassy area of about 25 acres (10 ha), adjacent to
Harvard Square in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, that constitutes the oldest part and the center of the campus of
Harvard University. Geographically the yard area is bordered to the west by
Massachusetts Avenue and Peabody Street, the north by Cambridge Street, the northeast by Broadway, the east by Quincy Street, and the south by Harvard Street and Massachusetts Avenue. It contains thirteen of Harvard College's seventeen
freshmandormitories, as well as four libraries, five buildings of classrooms and academic departments, and the central administrative offices of the
Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the university, located in
University Hall and
Massachusetts Hall, respectively.
The western third of Harvard Yard, which opens onto Massachusetts Avenue at Johnston Gate, is known as the Old Yard,
[2] and around it cluster most of the freshman dormitories. Among these is Massachusetts Hall, which, having been constructed in 1720, is the oldest still-standing building on Harvard's campus and one of the two oldest academic buildings in the United States. 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 originally built before Massachusetts Hall. The lower floors of Massachusetts Hall house the offices of the
President of Harvard University.
(Wikipedia)