Harvard Yard

Harvard Yard is a grassy area of about 25 acres, adjacent to Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which constitutes the oldest part and the center of the campus of Harvard University. It contains thirteen of Harvard College's seventeen freshman dormitories, as well as three libraries, five buildings of classrooms and academic departments, and the central administrative offices of the university.

The western third of Harvard Yard is known as the Old Yard, and around it cluster most of the freshman dormitories. Among these is Massachusetts Hall, which, having been constructed in 1720, is the oldest still-standing building on Harvard's campus and the second-oldest academic building in the United States. The lower floors of Massachusetts Hall house the offices of the President of Harvard University.

The center of Harvard Yard is a wide grassy area known as Tercentenary Theater, framed by the monumental Widener Library and Memorial Church. Harvard's annual commencement exercises, as well as occasional special convocations, take place in Tercentenary Theater.