A House, Not a Home

When Cambridge was originally being settled, Harvard College was just a small part of what was otherwise a very residential area. 

“Plan of the Village in Old Cambridge”  by Alexander Wadsworth 1833

But over time, and as land became more filled in, more land and buildings were acquired by Harvard College. 

"Wards 8-9”  by George Washington Bromley and Walter Scott Bromley 1903

Until some maps of the area were pretty much just the College and hardly any residential buildings remained. As a result of this slow take over, many of the houses that once housed families around Harvard Square now house University Offices.

“A prospect of Harvard University and Radcliffe College” by Edwin Shruers 1935

For example, the current building housing OCS was originally created as a residential building for a Theta Delta Chi Society, but later acquired by Harvard.

Even buildings that were once residential buildings related to the college, like Wadsworth House which was built in 1726 (the second oldest building at Harvard) to house the President, has now been changed into an office space, though the outside facade remains the same.

The facade I've drawn below is 1705 Massachusetts Ave, another example of this pattern. This house was originally built in 1889 as a private residence. In 1958 it was acquired by Harvard for the Dudley House Community. This is just one example of the way that the residential nature of the Harvard Square area has been usurped by the growing size and influence of the college.