Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge, Massachusetts, sits on the north bank of the Charles River, directly across from Boston. It is home to two of the most famous universities in the world, Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The two campuses lie about two miles apart, connected by Massachusetts Avenue and the Red Line.

Harvard and MIT in One Day

Two of the world’s great universities stand within a 40-minute walk of each other. Naturally, a rivalry runs between them. I visited both on the same day, and the difference struck me at once.

We came to Cambridge in June 2022 because of Daria. Her MBA included an entrepreneurship course at MIT. It was planned for 2021, but Covid moved it online. Later, MIT offered the class in person, so the whole group finally travelled to Boston.

While Daria studied, I had a free hotel room and a week to shoot. I worked the Boston side of the river and drove a road trip around New England. However, one full day belonged to the Cambridge side. Harvard came first, in the afternoon sun. MIT came last, as the light went down.

History of Cambridge

English Puritans founded the town in 1630 under the name Newtowne. In 1636, the colonial legislature of Massachusetts Bay voted to create a college here. As a result, Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. One of its first purposes was to educate ministers for the young churches of the colony.

Two years later, the town took the name Cambridge, after the English university town. In the same year, a young minister called John Harvard died. He left the college his library of about 400 books and half of his estate. In return, the college took his name in 1639.

MIT arrived much later. The institute was founded in Boston in 1861. Then, in 1916, it moved across the river to a new campus in Cambridge. That move gave the city its second giant.

Harvard Yard

Anyone can walk into Harvard Yard without being a student. So that is exactly what we did. Immediately, the red-brick buildings caught my attention.

It was mid-June, and the summer weather suited the scenery perfectly. Only a few students were around. At that point, the regular term had ended, and summer schools filled the campus instead.

For my frame of the Harvard University campus, I stood under the trees of the Yard. A red-brick hall with a white cupola rises between the oaks, which frame it on both sides. In addition, the curving path leads the eye straight to the building. Clean white clouds sat in a blue sky, which kept the brick deep red.

This is the look that people search for when they think of Harvard. Therefore, I made sure my version had the sharpest detail and the richest colour.

Widener Library

Widener Library faces Memorial Church across the central lawn of Harvard Yard. It is a memorial to Harry Elkins Widener, a young book collector who died on the Titanic in 1912. His mother funded the building, and it opened in 1915.

Its broad steps and tall columns give a sense of intellectual power. Three crimson banners hung between the columns when I was there. Each one carried the Harvard shield with the word Veritas.

Still, the steps were never empty. Students and visitors crossed the frame constantly. So I made the Widener Library facade without a single person on its stairs in post-production. I removed every figure in Photoshop. The edit took me more than an hour. A clean frame of a famous building is worth that hour, because that is the version people want to hang and to license.

MIT Great Dome

For MIT, the Great Dome is the most iconic image of the institute. The architect William Welles Bosworth designed it for the new campus. The date MCMXVI is carved into its drum, and the name of the institute runs along the frieze below.

Under the dome lies the Barker Library reading room. Light enters it through an oculus at the top. From outside, though, the dome works as a landmark for the whole city. MIT students have even used it as a stage for their famous pranks, or hacks. In 1994, for example, a campus police car appeared on its roof.

I chose to shoot it as the sun went down. From the far end of Killian Court, a longer lens pulled the Great Dome against an orange sky. Meanwhile, the lights of the lobby behind the columns had come on. That warm glow between the columns gave the frame its center.

Killian Court

Killian Court is the large lawn in front of the Great Dome. It opens south towards the Charles River, and MIT holds its commencement ceremonies here. On a summer evening, it is one of the calmest places in Cambridge.

I wanted a second frame that showed the whole space, not only the dome. The green lawn is so inviting that you almost expect a picnic between classes. So I stepped back and went wide.

In the panorama of MIT and Killian Court, tall trees frame both sides of the lawn. The dome sits small in the center, under a pale evening sky. By then, the lights inside the buildings were on. As a result, the scene feels quiet, almost empty, even in the middle of a busy campus.

Getting Around Cambridge

The Red Line of the Boston subway connects everything. Harvard station opens onto Harvard Square, next to the Yard. Kendall/MIT station sits at the north-east corner of the MIT campus. Between them lies Central station, so the ride takes only two stops.

On foot, Massachusetts Avenue links the two universities in about 40 minutes. Along the way, you pass Central Square. In fact, walking is the better choice on a dry day, because the street gives a real sense of the city between the campuses.

From central Boston, MIT is a short walk across the Harvard Bridge. Alternatively, the Red Line crosses the river in minutes.

When to Visit Cambridge

Late spring and summer are the easiest seasons. The trees are full, the lawns are green, and the brick looks its best against a blue sky. Both universities hold commencement in late May or early June. After that, the campuses grow quieter, as we found in mid-June.

Autumn is the other strong season. In October, the trees along the Charles turn red and gold. On the other hand, winters are cold and grey, and snow is common.

Cambridge also holds more than its universities. On Brattle Street, George Washington made his headquarters in 1775 and 1776. The house later belonged to the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Today, Longfellow House is a National Historic Site, a short walk from Harvard Square.

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