Sweet Auburn: The Magazine of the Friends of Mount Auburn A Dynamic and Evolving Landscape | Page 12

The Rejuvenation of Harvard Hill

photo by Dave Barnett

By David Barnett, President & CEO

Over the past two years, Mount Auburn Cemetery
and Harvard University have collaborated to rejuvenate the
area known as “Harvard Hill” in the historic core of the
Cemetery. Located just below Washington Tower, the lot
has sweeping views to Cambridge and Boston
and overlooks Consecration Dell.
The story really begins in 1833, two years
after Mount Auburn’s founding, when Lot 330
was purchased by physician and philanthropist George Shattuck and gifted to Harvard
College. Many of the earliest burials in Lot 330
were young faculty members and students who
died far from home, as in those days neither
funerary technology nor transportation methods allowed for the deceased to be transported
back to their hometowns for burial. As embalming became
a common practice and long-distance travel became easier,
burials in the Harvard lot declined and for many decades
the area received only basic care of trees, shrubs, and
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monuments. However, in the meantime, many landscape
improvements have been completed by Mount Auburn’s
horticultural staff in the surrounding area, including the
restoration of the native woodland in Consecration Dell
and the establishment of a wildflower meadow
at Washington Tower.
Our endeavor to renovate the Harvard
Hill landscape began in April 2014 when I
contacted Harvard President Drew Faust, who
immediately signaled the University’s support.
Harvard engaged landscape architect Michael
Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA), and
we enthusiastically agreed to involve Arnold
Arboretum Director Ned Friedman and other
Arboretum horticultural staff in the planning.
The team quickly agreed that the renovation of Harvard
Hill should respect the historic identity and significance of
the location while uniting it with the surrounding context
of Mount Auburn and the recent landscape restoration