Audio Guide: Harvard University Walking Tour (Self Guided), Boston

The United States’ oldest institution of higher education—and one of its most prestigious—Harvard University was established in 1636. It was later named after Reverend John Harvard, who left the young college his library and half his estate. Over the years, Harvard has produced presidents, judges, diplomats, billionaires, Rhodes Scholars, and more Nobel Prize winners than most places could fit into one very smug dinner party. A true factory of knowledge with a very impressive alumni directory...

Harvard’s historic heart is Harvard Yard, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, just northwest of Downtown Boston and close to Harvard Square. The square itself is a lively warm-up act: bookstores, cafés, street performers, students with backpacks, visitors with cameras, and at least one person who looks like they are silently arguing with a dissertation. Inside the Yard, the mood shifts to brick paths, old trees, dignified buildings, and the quiet suspicion that every bench has overheard a theory of government...

One of the key landmarks at Harvard and its oldest surviving building is Massachusetts Hall, completed in 1720. Several future Revolutionary figures lived here as students, including John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Elbridge Gerry, and James Otis. So, yes, before they helped stir up a revolution, they also had homework to do...

Nearby stands Harvard Hall, recalling an earlier building destroyed by fire in 1764, along with University Hall and the famous bronze statue of John Harvard. Visitors often rub the statue’s shiny left foot for good luck, though the statue is not actually a true likeness of John Harvard. Harvard, naturally, turned even inaccuracy into tradition.

Continue toward Widener Library, one of the great symbols of Harvard’s scholarly world, completed in 1915. Then look for the Memorial Church of Harvard University, known for its bright interior and central role in campus ceremonies. Sever Hall, designed by H. H. Richardson, adds a handsome touch of architectural seriousness, while Memorial Hall and Sanders Theatre bring the full Gothic Revival drama. Built in the 1870s to honor Harvard men who served in the Civil War, the complex is admired for its grand interiors and stained-glass windows by artists including Tiffany and La Farge.

Beyond the Yard, Harvard keeps going. The Harvard Art Museums, Harvard Science Center, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard Museum of Natural History, Harvard Law School, and nearby Cambridge Common all add more layers of art, science, law, culture, and Revolutionary-era history.

So, take this self-guided walking tour to explore Harvard’s historic campus, wander through one of America’s great centers of learning, and get a real glimpse into student life at a university that has been making history—and homework—for nearly four centuries.