Harvard Botanic Gardens

Established in 1807, Harvard University's Botanic Garden was located on seven acres at Garden and Linnaean Streets, Cambridge.

I was originally laid out by Gabriel Thouin and Harvard Professor William Dandridge Peck. After Peck's death in 1822, Thomas Nuttall overall the garden until 1834. In 1842 Asa Gray was appointed the Fisher Professorship of Natural History chair and oversaw the Botanic Garden. Gray would found the Harvard University Herbaria that same year and build its first location at the Botanic Garden.

The Botanic Garden faced funding issues starting in the late 1920s. In 1945, the city of Cambridge considered acquiring the land through eminent domain to create housing for returning veterans. Though not fulfilled, the threat instigated the transfer of rare plants to the Harvard Arnold Arboretum and the University began to consider using it for its own housing. In 1948, Harvard began construction on 117 single-family, duplex, and apartment units that were completed in 1949, marking the end of the Botanic Gardens. Today, there are still a few rare species of trees among the housing complex that dates back to the garden.