Why Does the Harvard Bridge Lead to MIT?
The answer here lies with our old “statuesque” friend, the Rev. John Harvard, who people just apparently loved to name things after—the bridge was named after him, not the school that also bears his name. And at the time that it was built, in 1891, MIT was not located as close to the bridge as it is today (it was 25 years later that the school took up its current residence near the bridge). Today, locals are just as likely to refer to it as the “MIT Bridge” or “Mass. Ave. Bridge.” All of which puts to rest an apocryphal, but humorous explanation proffered for the naming of the bridge. As the story went, the state offered to name the bridge after the more deserving Cambridge university. Harvard made the case that their reputation as an educational institution was more prestigious, and the bridge should bear their name, while MIT did a structural analysis, found the bridge full of significant flaws and shortcomings, and agreed that it should bear Harvard’s name.
