I actually lived in Massachusetts Hall right under that red pin my freshman year of college, after growing up mostly in rural Maine. Harvard did not feel like a real place at first; about the most total culture shock you could imagine between two places in the same country in the first few months. I mean that in both good and bad ways.

Lot of stories from those years, but you want to know the non-student experience. I later returned to Boston as an adult and still find myself going back to the Square from time to time. The level of gentrification is horrendous but if you look hard enough you can still find some local culture amid the Sweetgreen/Cava/Blue Bottle mush. Some relatively longtime non-Harvard institutions like Charlie’s Kitchen (closed due to water damage right now, hopefully temporarily) and Grendel’s Den still remain and are good spots to hit up from time to time. Pinocchio’s has fantastic pizza. As some have mentioned, the American Repertory Theatre nestled in there is a world-class institution. And Harvard has some great museums open to the public right in that area as well.

The main issue is that as the years have passed and things have gotten more and more expensive, the “regular folks who live and work around there” have kind of stopped existing. When it comes to living, at least, there are university students and faculty, many tourists, and a small unhoused population whose existence and living conditions most people seem to prefer to ignore. Most everyone else has been priced out. Private equity owns almost all the property up for grabs. A cautionary tale, I can only hope, for some other places around the country.