Harvard Square is famous for a lot of things.

It is home to the oldest university in America, George Washington took command of the Continental Army here, in the 19th century it was a center of abolitionist fervor, and in the 20th century it was famous for anti-war protests. One thing that has remained true through all these periods of time is the connection between Harvard Square and the printed word. Nearly from the beginning, Harvard Square has been a home and a gathering place for authors, poets, publishers, printers, teachers students and booksellers.

Three hundred and seventy one years ago the first printing press in this hemisphere was carried across the Atlantic with the first American printer, Stephen Daye. Where did they set up shop? In Harvard Square, of course. When Governor John Winthrop crossed the Atlantic on the Arbella, one of his shipmates was Anne Bradstreet, who would later become a Harvard Square resident and the first published American poet. The Daye Press was replaced by the University Press and Bradstreet was followed by giants of 19th and 20th century American poetry such as Longfellow, Lowell, T.S. Eliot and e. e. cummings all of whom lived through and loved the books of Harvard Square.

The archival pages of the Harvard Square Business Association reveal many different chapters in the History of Harvard Square. Many roads, many lives, and many authors have interstected at the area we now call the "Super Crosswalk!" We invite you to view these pages and send us your own contribution and experiences of business in Harvard Square over the last 100 years.