Harvard Square Historic District (Boundary Increase)

Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is a dense mix of shops, student housing, clubs, churches and houses, and this boundary increase adds roughly 35 acres to the existing historic district. The buildings date from 1631 to 1941. The area grew from Cambridge's 1630 grid plan, and South and Winthrop Streets still keep their original 12-foot width, along with Winthrop Square, the old marketplace. Surviving Federal and Greek Revival houses, such as the Augustus Wyeth House of 1829, show the nineteenth-century neighborhood. Later growth is shown by the Fairfax block, expanded between 1869 and 1900, and by private dormitories and clubs built from the 1880s, including the Porcellian Club and the Harvard Lampoon Building. Georgian Revival and Art Deco commercial buildings from 1908 to 1941 reflect the subway era. Reviewers found the area well documented for its historical and architectural importance and accepted it under Criteria A and C.