Running tour · Boston

Along the Charles to Harvard

5.2 mi run

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The stories on this route

1. The Longfellow Bridge

   Look at the four tall stone towers in the middle of the bridge. Locals call this the Salt-and-Pepper Bridge, for the shape of those towers. They're not just for show. The designers put them on the two central piers to mark the main shipping channel.

2. MIT's Great Dome

   Look across the lawn of Killian Court to the Great Dome. Around the court, scientists' names are carved in big Roman letters, with a V for every U: PASTEVR, COPERNICVS. MIT people jokingly call the dome the Center of the Universe.

3. The BU Bridge

   Look at the BU Bridge's steel arches, and the low railroad bridge running diagonally underneath. That's the setup for a famous claim: a boat under a train under a car under a plane.

4. Weeks Footbridge and the Head of the Charles

   Look at the Weeks Footbridge, with its three arches and its lamps. It opened in 1927, designed by Andrew Canzanelli, the same man behind the BU Bridge downstream. It links Harvard's Cambridge campus with the Business School and the athletic fields across the river.

5. Harvard Yard

   Look across the grass, past Johnston Gate, to the bronze figure in front of University Hall. That's John Harvard. Check his left shoe. The toe is polished bright.

6. Cambridge Common

   Look for the granite stone on the Common, under an elm that's a 'grandchild' of the famous one. It reads: 'Under this tree Washington first took command of the American army, July 3, 1775.' Tradition says Longfellow wrote that line. It's a fine line. It's also a legend.

7. The Longfellow House

   Look up at the big yellow Georgian house on its terrace above the lawn. This is where our route ends, and it's a house with layers.

Stories researched October 2026 · every fact checked against a source