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Harvard Square

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Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Harvard Square is a triangular plaza at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street, and John F. Kennedy Street, near the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The term "Harvard Square" is also used to delineate the business district and Harvard University surrounding that intersection, which is the historic center of Cambridge. Adjacent to Harvard Yard, the historic heart of Harvard University, the Square (as it is sometimes called locally) functions as a commercial center for Harvard students, as well as residents of western Cambridge and the western and northern neighborhoods and inner suburbs of Boston. The Square is served by Harvard station, a major MBTA Red Line subway and bus transportation hub. In an extended sense, the name "Harvard Square" can also refer to the entire neighborhood surrounding this intersection for several blocks in each direction. The nearby Cambridge Common has become a park area with a playground, baseball field, and a number of monuments, several relating to the Revolutionary War.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Harvard Square (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Harvard Square
Cambridge

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N 42.373611111111 ° E -71.118888888889 °
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Harvard Square Subway Kiosk

0;1;Zero
02163 Cambridge
Massachusetts, United States
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Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts
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Harvard/MIT Cooperative Society
Harvard/MIT Cooperative Society

The Harvard/MIT Cooperative Society (or The Coop, pronounced as a single syllable) is a Cambridge, Massachusetts retail cooperative for the Harvard University and MIT campuses. The general public is encouraged to freely enter and make purchases in all the Coop stores, but membership discounts and certain other benefits are restricted to Coop members. As of 2020, there are three store locations at Harvard, and two at MIT. The main store is located in the heart of Harvard Square, across the street from the Harvard subway station headhouse. The Coop was founded as the Harvard Cooperative in 1882 to supply books, school supplies, and wood and coal for winter heating. MIT, following its move from Boston to Cambridge in 1916, invited the Coop to open a branch of the store at the Institute, where it has been present ever since.Today, the store is one of the largest college campus bookstores, an important resource for local students and their families to purchase textbooks, college logo merchandise, dorm room necessities, and so on. The store also offers the framing of diplomas, the ordering of class rings and engraved rocking chairs, and the rental of graduation gowns. The Coop has a regular program of talks and book signings focused on local authors, but also including speakers from around the world. Only students, faculty, alumni and employees of MIT, Harvard, and the personnel of the hospitals affiliated with the Harvard Medical School are eligible to join. Membership cost $1 annually in 1882, and this fee has not been increased. Members may also purchase a Coop Diary, a little black combination pocket diary, academic year calendar, and address book. The Coop traditionally has disbursed its annual profits as a rebate to members in October of each year. As of July 1, 2014, the rebate program has been replaced with an automatic additional discount of 10% at the registers, for Coop members in good standing.The Coop stores are managed by Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, under supervision of a 23-person Board of Directors including 11 students elected by the student membership. Faculty, alumni, or officers of MIT or Harvard fill 11 seats, and the Coop's president serves ex officio.In 2014, the MIT branch announced that it was the first campus bookstore in the US to accept bitcoin payments.The MIT branch has for decades operated a modest department store and general bookstore at 325 Main Street, as Kendall Square's largest retailer. In February 2019, this store moved to smaller temporary quarters at 80 Broadway, to allow for demolition of the building housing its former location. A new, taller 16-story building will be constructed on the site, and the Coop is expected to move into a space larger than its temporary quarters, but possibly smaller than its previous space at that location.

Nameless Coffeehouse
Nameless Coffeehouse

The Nameless Coffeehouse, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, opened in 1967 and is now New England's oldest all-volunteer coffeehouse. Located in the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church in Harvard Square, the Nameless currently presents a six-concert schedule showcasing acoustic music and comedy for a moderate suggested donation ($8–$15 for the 2011 season).From its birth during the folk revival in the 1960s, The Nameless has been influential in the local folk music scene, nurturing performers in the early stages of their careers, encouraging them to hone their craft, and providing a receptive audience. The Nameless continues to highlight performances by local original singer-songwriters. Performers who have played the Nameless include Mary Chapin Carpenter, Tracy Chapman, Patty Larkin, The Story (Jonatha Brooke and Jennifer Kimball), Ellis Paul, Dar Williams, John Gorka, Bob Franke, Ric Ocasek, James "Hutch" Hutchinson, Geoff Bartley, and Greg Greenway, as well as comedians Andy Kaufman and Jay Leno. Fred Small, as of 2009 the minister of the First Parish, also has performed at the Coffeehouse.When it first opened, the Nameless was managed by Harvard students, who were joined, by the early 1970s, by students from MIT and later Tufts University as well. Through 1982, the Coffeehouse was open Friday and Saturday evenings during the school year, and both music and refreshments were provided free of charge, although donations were encouraged and accepted.The Nameless has weathered many changes over the years, and confronted many challenges to stay open and viable. Its minimal costs are now met by door proceeds and donated goods and services. The present volunteer crew are veteran volunteers and supporters of the local music scene. Sound man Doug Scott has been running sound since the 1980s. The Coffeehouse still offers a limited number of free admissions to concerts for volunteers, arranged in advance through the volunteer coordinator. Information on volunteer opportunities is available at The Nameless website.