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 10 | Sweet Auburn 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