The Campus & Cambridge

In 1916, MIT packed up the laboratories and classrooms scattered across Boston’s Back Bay and crossed the Charles River to its newly constructed campus in Cambridge. The vision was to create a set of contiguous spaces that would bring scientists and engineers together under one roof. And it was a big roof—the largest single building in the United States at the time. The vast concrete and limestone complex of the Cambridge campus went on to serve as a dynamic launching pad for one hundred years of MIT invention. 

Photo: AboveSummit with Christopher Harting

MIT Campus on the riverside; photograph by AboveSummit with Christopher Harting

An Evolving Frontier

In the century that followed the move to Cambridge, MIT pioneers in science and engineering, in the humanities and social sciences, in music and the visual arts changed the way the world works. Find out how the campus evolved to meet the demands of those inventors and the global challenges they faced. More

Photos courtesy of the MIT Museum and Wilson Architects

Historic MIT Campus Map; MIT Institute Archives and Special Collections
Killian Court in 1916; photo courtesy of MIT Museum
MIT Nano Building; courtesy of Wilson Architects

Voices of Cambridge

Hear the first-person narratives of MIT’s partners in the City of Cambridge. These stories form a kaleidoscope of business, collaboration, and friendship. More

Photos: Daderot (via), Tim Pierce (via), Eric Kilby (via)

Cambridge City Hall, By Daderot (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Kendall Square; By Tim Pierce (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Two MBTA 1 buses in the rain

Timeline

Explore a century of history and highlights on the MITstory timeline. More

Photos courtesy of MIT Museum; Andy Ryan

Building 13 rendering; courtesy of MIT Museum
Baker House; courtesy of MIT Museum
Media Lab; photo by Andy Ryan

MIT Infinite History

It takes a revolutionary to drive meaningful change in the world. To improve systems and quality of life. To enlighten attitudes and advance knowledge. MIT’s Cambridge campus has served as a think-and-do tank for these change-makers—and you can meet many of them here. More

Professor Sallie Chisholm Infinite History
Sallie Chisholm, Professor
Sanjay Sarma Infinite History
Sanjay Sarma, Professor
Professor Cynthia Breazeal Infinite History
Cynthia Breazeal, Professor

MIT Museum exhibition

Imagining New Technology: Building MIT in Cambridge runs March 1 through September 6, 2016. More

Images courtesy of the MIT Museum

Imagining New Technology Exhibition
Dorms; image courtesy of the MIT Museum
Historic Building 5; image courtesy of the MIT Museum

The Great Stride: MIT Moves to Cambridge

Visit this special exhibit in the MIT Libraries Maihaugen Gallery January through November 2016. More

Images courtesy of the MIT Museum

Building7 Construction; courtesy of the MIT Museum
Charles River landfill; courtesy MIT Museum
Freeman plan; courtesy of the MIT Museum

Celebrating a Century of Employees in Cambridge

Ever wonder about all the extraordinary employees who have worked at MIT in Cambridge over the last 100 years? You’ll get a snapshot through 11 profiles reflecting each decade from 1916 to current day. More

Mabel Keyes Babcock
Jacqueline Casey
David Ferriero