MIT Campus Tour
Architecture, history & things to do near MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Why Walk MIT Campus
MIT's campus stretches along the Cambridge side of the Charles River, offering one of the most architecturally diverse university walks in the world. The campus is organized by a numbered building system — there are no official building names, only numbers — reflecting MIT's engineering ethos of function over sentiment. The journey from east to west takes you through a century of architectural ambition: Welles Bosworth's 1916 neoclassical Maclaurin Buildings with the Great Dome, Eero Saarinen's 1955 Chapel and Kresge Auditorium, I.M. Pei's 1964 Green Building (the tallest structure on campus and frequent target of student hacks), and Frank Gehry's 2004 Stata Center. The Infinite Corridor connects the core buildings in a straight 251-meter shot, and twice a year (around November 11 and January 31) the setting sun aligns perfectly through its length — an event called MIThenge that draws crowds. The campus is remarkably flat and accessible, running parallel to Memorial Drive along the river. Public art is everywhere: Alexander Calder's 'La Grande Voile' stands in McDermott Court, Louise Nevelson's steel sculpture marks the Landau Building, and Henry Moore's reclining figure graces Killian Court. For a campus that prizes function, MIT is a surprisingly beautiful walk.
About MIT
Founded
1861 (chartered by Massachusetts; first classes held in 1865 after the Civil War delayed opening)
Type
Private research university and land-grant institution; member of the Association of American Universities.
Setting
Urban campus on the north bank of the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts, directly across the water from Boston's Back Bay. The campus spans roughly 168 acres along Massachusetts Avenue and is reachable via the MBTA Red Line at Kendall/MIT station.
Enrollment
About 11,900 students total: roughly 4,500 undergraduates and 7,000+ graduate students.
Mascot
Tim the Beaver. The beaver was chosen in 1914 as "nature's engineer."
Free MIT Campus Tour with Roamee Pro
Roamee Pro offers a free MIT campus tour with audio narration. Explore The Great Dome (Building 10), Stata Center (Building 32), The Infinite Corridor, plus hidden spots like MIT Museum and Killian Court, at your own pace without booking a group tour.
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Must-See Spots at MIT
- •The Great Dome (Building 10) — MIT's most recognizable landmark, designed by architect Welles Bosworth in 1916 as part of the neoclassical Maclaurin Buildings. The limestone dome, modeled after the Roman Pantheon at a smaller scale, crowns the main building facing the Charles River across Killian Court. It has been the target of legendary student pranks (hacks), including a campus police car and a Wright Flyer replica placed on top. Inside, the dome shelters Barker Engineering Library.
- •Stata Center (Building 32) — Designed by Frank Gehry and completed in 2004 at a cost of $283 million, this deconstructivist masterpiece houses the Computer Science and Computer Science Laboratory (CSAIL) and the Department of Linguistics. Its colliding angular forms in brushed aluminum, painted steel, and brick appear to defy gravity. The building replaced the legendary Building 20, a 'temporary' World War II structure where radar, Bose speakers, and Noam Chomsky's linguistic theories were developed.
- •The Infinite Corridor — A perfectly straight 251-meter hallway running through Buildings 7, 3, 10, 4, and 8, connecting the main campus buildings along one axis. Built as part of Bosworth's 1916 design, it serves as MIT's central artery. Twice yearly
- •MIT Chapel — Designed by Eero Saarinen in 1955, this small cylindrical chapel of red brick sits in a shallow moat, its interior illuminated by a shimmering aluminum sculpture by Harry Bertoia that catches light from a hidden oculus above. Theodore Roszak's angular bell tower spire crowns the exterior. The chapel is non-denominational, hosting weddings, memorials, and quiet reflection, and its acoustics and light effects make it one of Saarinen's most intimate works.
Signature Architecture
- •Maclaurin Buildings / The Great Dome (Building 10) — Designed by William Welles Bosworth in the neoclassical (Beaux-Arts) style, completed 1916 when MIT moved from Boston to Cambridge. The dome caps Building 10 and overlooks Killian Court; Barker Library sits beneath it. It is the most frequent target of student 'hacks.'
- •Stata Center (Building 32) — Designed by Frank Gehry, opened 2004. Deconstructivist architecture with tilting, irregular forms; houses the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). MIT later sued over construction defects, which were settled.
- •MIT Chapel and Kresge Auditorium — Both designed by Eero Saarinen, completed 1955. The cylindrical brick chapel is windowless with a moat-like reflecting pool that bounces light up its interior walls; Kresge is a thin-shell concrete dome resting on three points.
- •Simmons Hall — Undergraduate dormitory designed by Steven Holl, opened 2002. Known for its 'porous' facade with thousands of small square windows; nicknamed 'the Sponge.'
Hidden Corners of MIT
- •MIT Museum — Relocated to its expanded Kendall Square home in 2022, the museum spans 56,000 square feet of interactive exhibits on robotics, holography, computer science, and the history of MIT's inventions. Highlights include Arthur Ganson's kinetic sculptures — mesmerizing machines built from wire, gears, and wishbones — and one of the world's largest holography collections. Admission is free for Cambridge residents.
- •Killian Court — The grand formal lawn facing the Great Dome, named for former MIT president James R. Killian Jr. Commencement ceremonies are held here each June against the backdrop of the dome and the Boston skyline across the Charles River. On regular days it is a quiet green space perfect for sitting; on special occasions it has hosted concerts, rocket launches (student-built), and solar eclipse viewing parties.
Notable Alumni
- •Buzz Aldrin (Sc.D. in astronautics, 1963; Apollo 11 astronaut)
- •Kofi Annan (MIT Sloan management degree, 1972; former UN Secretary-General and Nobel Peace Prize laureate)
- •Richard Feynman (S.B. in physics, 1939; Nobel laureate in physics)
- •Robert Noyce (Ph.D., 1953; co-founder of Intel and co-inventor of the integrated circuit)
- •I.M. Pei (B.Arch., 1940; architect of the Louvre Pyramid)
- •Ben Bernanke (Ph.D. in economics, 1979; former Federal Reserve Chair)
- •Shirley Ann Jackson (Ph.D. in physics, 1973; first Black woman to earn a doctorate from MIT)
Campus Traditions
- •Hacking: elaborate, harmless pranks, often placing objects atop the Great Dome (a police cruiser appeared there in 1994; an Apollo lunar module replica in 2009).
- •The Brass Rat: the MIT class ring, featuring the beaver, redesigned by each class and unveiled at a Ring Premiere event.
- •IAP (Independent Activities Period): a four-week January term of optional short courses, competitions, and workshops.
- •Pi Day: MIT releases undergraduate admissions decisions on March 14 (Pi Day), often at 6:28 pm ('Tau time').
- •The Baker House Piano Drop: on Drop Day, students drop a piano from the roof of Baker House.
Where to Eat Near Campus
- •Flour Bakery + Cafe (multiple Cambridge/Boston locations; sandwiches and pastries from chef Joanne Chang)
- •Toscanini's Ice Cream on Main Street in Kendall Square, a longtime local institution
- •Tatte Bakery & Cafe, with a Kendall Square location near campus
- •Food trucks that line the area around the Stata Center and Kendall Square on weekdays
- •Clover Food Lab, a local vegetarian fast-food chain with a Kendall Square presence
Did you know? MIT identifies buildings and rooms by number rather than by name: a room such as "26-100" means Building 26, room 100. The campus is also home to the "Infinite Corridor," an 825-foot-long hallway running the length of the main buildings; twice a year (around mid-November and late January) the setting sun aligns with it end to end, an event students call "MIThenge."
Visiting MIT
The MIT Information Center is in Building 7 at 77 Massachusetts Avenue (the main Mass Ave entrance). MIT offers free student-led campus tours and separate admissions information sessions; both are run through the Admissions Office and require advance registration on mitadmissions.org, as schedules and capacity vary. Self-guided options include the official MIT mobile tour and printed maps available at the Info Center. The MIT Museum relocated in 2022 to Building E28 in Kendall Square (314 Main Street) and charges admission. Public parking is limited; visitors are encouraged to take the MBTA Red Line to Kendall/MIT or use nearby paid garages rather than seek on-campus parking.
Walking Tip
Buildings are numbered, not named — ask for Building 32 (Stata), not 'the Gehry building.' The campus is flat and walkable along the river. MIThenge occurs around November 11 and January 31.
Best Time to Visit
Year-round. The campus is most active during the academic year (September through May). January's Independent Activities Period brings quirky classes and events.
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