Mark Kelsey

Mark Kelsey

Sketching a map of Harvard Square from memory was an interesting exercise. Overall, I was rather surprised by how accurate my map came to be. I started my sketch using the major roads as a framework, and I think that turned out to be very helpful. Major thoroughfares such as Mass Ave, Garden St, JFK St, Oxford St, and Memorial Drive provided the backbone for my sketch, and did a pretty good job of keeping things in scale. I think my knowledge of the roadways of the city is partially due to a lot of time spent driving in Cambridge – I had a car in the city for one semester, and continue to use zipcars quite regularly for different extra curricular activities. The river also helped anchor the sketch, and a lot of time spent rowing on the Charles has made me familiar with its bends and curves.

There are some glaring absences from the map, though, which also provide interesting insights. Parts west of JFK St are largely forgotten. This surprised me, because I do spend quite a bit of time in the Brattle Square area, but I rarely drive through there, and so I forgot the relationship of the streets. And without the streets, I had a tough time visualizing everything else. I also struggled to visualize the area to the east of Lamont Library and the old yard. I left a bunch of space between Quincy Street and the yard, which I don’t think really exists. And I had no idea what exists between Prescott and Barker Streets, other than the Barker Center.