Harvard Square History Quiz

Think you know Harvard Square? Take our quiz—and submit your answers to be enrolled in a contest to win a copy of Harvard Square: An Illustrated History Since 1950 by Mo Lotman.

Think you know Harvard Square? Take our quiz--and submit your answers to be enrolled in a contest to win a copy of Harvard Square: An Illustrated History Since 1950 by Mo Lotman. For the accompanying article, see "Pictures in the Square," November-December 2009.

Note: The contest has ended. The answers, along with the winner and runner-up, are posted here.

 

1. What is the maximum number of gas stations that operated in Harvard Square at any one time since 1950? (Today, there are none.)
 

2. In what Harvard Square club did Joan Baez give her first concert, and how old was she at the time?



Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library, The Boston Herald

3. What is this man's name and what business did he own?

 

 



Photograph by Lynn Millar/Radcliffe Archives (https://www.radcliffe.edu/schles/)

4. What was the name of this bookstore and what was its motto?

 

 

 


Photograph by David Hunsberger

5. What is the name of this café?

 

 


Photograph by Hugh Blackmer

6. What is this man’s name and what kind of business did he run?

 

7. What international soap chain began in the equipment room of the Brattle Theatre?

 

 

Photograph by Elsa Dorfman

8. What bookstore did the man on the right found in 1927, and what is his name?

 

9. What now stands on the site of the original Design Research?

 

 

Photograph by Harvard Magazine/VL

10. What function did this building serve before it became a shopping mall, The Garage?

 

 


Photograph by Eric Antoniou

11. What is the name of this bar and restaurant?

 

12. What record album did Van Morrison write while living on Green Street in 1968?

 


Photograph by Harvard Magazine/VL

13. What year did Leavitt & Peirce open?

Related topics

You might also like

Harvard Releases Database of 1,613 People Enslaved by University Affiliates

Research continues to track down living descendants.

250 Years Ago, Harvard Was Home to a Revolution

A look at the sights, sounds, and characters that put the University on the frontlines of history

The Costly Choice Native Americans Faced

How the Revolution reshaped indigenous New England

Most popular

Phi Beta Kappa Speakers Call Out a ‘Deeply Troubling’ Moment

Former Harvard President Lawrence Bacow and poet Meghan O’Rourke urge graduates to focus on character and “radical attention.”

Meet Harvard’s 2026 Student Commencement Speakers

Two undergraduates and a Ph.D. candidate will address the graduating class on May 28.

AI Outperforms Doctors in Emergency Room Tasks, New Harvard Study Shows

Researchers say the technology could help physicians with triage, diagnosis.

Explore More From Current Issue

A woman with long hair leans on a table, looking out a large window with rain-streaked glass.

A Harvard Economist Probes the Affordable Housing Crisis

From understanding gender pay gaps to the housing crisis, Rebecca Diamond’s research aims to improve lives.

Mercy Otis Warren in period attire writes at a desk by candlelight, surrounded by books.

The Woman Who Penned the Case for War

Mercy Otis Warren’s poetry and plays incited the Patriot movement.

A glowing orange sun with a star and a trailing gas cloud in space.

A Harvard Astrophysicist Explains the Bizarre Behavior of a Supergiant Star

The dimming and rapid rotation of Betelgeuse may be caused by a hidden companion.