Harvard Square
Harvard Square is a large triangular area in the center of Cambridge ( Massachusetts ). Often congested with traffic, it is located near Harvard University and is a popular place for Harvard and MIT students , as well as residents of Boston , Cambridge, and other nearby cities.
Even if it is now very commercialized, the square is still reminiscent of famous residents of earlier times, such as the colonial poet Anne Bradstreet . The heavy pedestrian traffic makes Harvard Square an ideal place for street musicians; singer and songwriter Tracy Chapman is said to have played here during her college years.
Discussions about how the square has changed in recent years mainly focus on the perceived " gentrification " of its neighborhood and Cambridges in general. During the late 1990s , some local stores were replaced by national chains, including the unusual Tasty Diner, a one-room sandwich shop. However, some of the square's signature shops remain, including the Out of Town News newsstand selling daily and weekly newspapers in a variety of languages and from a variety of countries. A small video from Out of Town News , which is on the "island" in the middle of the square, appears in the cutscenes used by CNN . Opposite the square is the office of NPR's Car Talk radio show, with a stencil in the window saying "Dewy, Chetham and Howe," the fictional law firm often referred to on the show.
The lower ground adjacent to the newsstand that leads to the Boston Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) Harvard Station underground stop (where the Red Line subway line and all four Cambridge trolleybus lines operate) is often called " The Pit "(German:" Die Grube "). Its arena-like appearance not only attracts skateboarders, but also generally high school-aged young people from surrounding areas who are associated with counter-movements such as punk , straight edge and goth . They are sometimes pejoratively referred to as "pit kids" or "pit brats" and the contrast between them and the often older and more conservatively dressed people from around Harvard University and the shops on the square occasionally creates tension.
Coordinates: 42 ° 22 '25 " N , 71 ° 7' 8" W.