# Visiting the Plate Stacks ### The Harvard Plate Stacks - **Plan your visit:** [**Tours**](https://platestacks.cfa.harvard.edu/node/1637413#PublicTours)**,** [**Research**](https://platestacks.cfa.harvard.edu/node/1637413#ResearchApt)**,** [**Classes, and Groups**](https://platestacks.cfa.harvard.edu/location-hours#ClassesGroups) - [**Accessibility**](https://platestacks.cfa.harvard.edu/location-hours#Accessibility) - [**Finding Us**](https://platestacks.cfa.harvard.edu/location-hours#FindingUs) **Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian** **60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138** [Click here to find the Plate Stacks among the CfA](https://platestacks.cfa.harvard.edu/location-hours#HPSEntrance) ![Front of the Plate Stacks - Building D](/sites/g/files/omnuum2761/files/styles/hwp_1_1__480x480/public/2024-10/Front%20of%20the%20Plate%20Stacks.jpg?itok=jUe_m2yC) Entrace to the Harvard Plate Stacks at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, Building D # Ways to Visit --- The Harvard Plate Stacks is open to researchers and visitors **by prior appointment**. We are closed on [Harvard University holidays](https://hr.harvard.edu/holiday-calendar) and federal holidays. If you have questions about access or would like to plan a visit, please continue reading below, and always feel free to email us at **HarvardPlateStacks@cfa.harvard.edu** --- ## Public Tours We offer curator-led public tours of the Harvard Plate Stacks on select Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the year. These small-group tours introduce visitors to the history of the Plate Stacks, the pioneering individuals who worked with the collection, and the ongoing research we continue to support. This is the best option for most visitors. Tours are an excellent way for individuals and small groups to: - Get an overview of the collection and its history, through original objects and close examination - See behind-the-scenes storage and imaging spaces (as safety and accessibility allow) - Learn how to plan a future research visit Please use our [online registration form](https://events.humanitix.com/harvard-plate-stacks) to sign up for the next scheduled tour. Advance registration is required; space is limited. --- ## Research Appointments The Plate Stacks Reading Room is open to researchers **by appointment** *Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.*, with appointments scheduled between **9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.**, subject to staff availability. We welcome researchers from all disciplines and at every stage of study and career—whether you are affiliated with a university, observatory, or another institution, an independent scholar, artist, educator, or community researcher. We are eager to welcome and support anyone interested in our objects and history. To help us prepare for your visit: - Please [email us](mailto:harvardplatestacks@cfa.harvard.edu) **at least two weeks in advance** of your preferred dates. - Because researcher space is limited, we balance staffing, space, and collection retrieval needs for each visit. - Include examples of the specific materials you hope to consult. For glass plates, we ask that you provide the alphanumeric Plate ID whenever possible; recording the date, right ascension, and declination is also extremely helpful for locating objects. Do not worry if you need help figuring out what kind of objects and which ones to choose; we are happy to help. Our collection is vast, and many items are not yet fully cataloged. The fragility of the materials and the scale of the holdings mean that identifying and pulling items often requires additional time. We encourage you to share your ideas, topics, and questions with us as early as possible so staff can help shape your research plan. For those traveling to visit, we often recommend scheduling a virtual meeting with curatorial staff before making plans. We can help you brainstorm ideas, point you to existing resources, and make plans to support you during your visit. Research visits **longer than two days** require approval from the curator of the Plate Stacks. Visitors wishing to work directly with collection materials should review our [**Collection Access Policy**](/collection-access "Collection Access") before finalizing travel plans. --- ## Classes and Educational Groups The Harvard Plate Stacks is committed to providing educational access to our collections, history, and science. We regularly collaborate locally and globally with university courses, K–12 classes, community organizations, and other groups. Because staff time and space are limited, we can accommodate only a select number of classes and group visits each year. We prioritize groups whose missions connect with our collections, history, and science, as well as educational, research, and nonprofit institutions, communities, and organizations. We are especially eager to welcome groups that have been historically underserved or have limited access to comparable resources. For class visits, workshops, or other educational programs: - Please contact us **at least eight weeks in advance**. - For groups of **more than 12 people**, we will need to reserve **Phillips Auditorium** at the Center for Astrophysics, which is a shared teaching and event space. We are happy to consult on learning goals, assignments, and formats (in-person, virtual, or hybrid) to make the most of your visit. --- # Accessibility and Visitors with Individualized Needs and Disabilities --- The Harvard Plate Stacks is committed to supporting all visitors and will work to meet individual access needs to the greatest extent possible. The Center for Astrophysics and its parent institutions, Harvard and the Smithsonian, have various accessibility tools and disability resources to support the needs of visitors. If you have questions about accessibility or would like to request specific accommodations, [please email us](mailto:harvardplatestacks@cfa.harvard.edu) in advance of your visit. --- ### Building Access, Stairs, and Standing The Harvard Plate Stacks is housed within one of six interconnected buildings that make up the Center for Astrophysics. The complex spans nearly two centuries of construction, and the newest building dates to 1970. As a result, some areas do not have step-free access. - The **main floor of the Plate Stacks** and **Phillips Auditorium** can be reached without stairs via a ramped entrance on the side of the building opposite the primary front door. These spaces are used for most tours, talks, and research appointments. - The Plate Stacks staff office and two additional collection-storage floors, including the imaging station, **are accessible only by stairs**, including narrow circular staircases. - Access to the historic telescope, the **Great Refractor**, also requires the use of stairs. We have created **3D, VR-enabled virtual tours** of the Plate Stacks and the Great Refractor, which are freely available for visitors who cannot safely access these historic spaces. Tours and talks often involve extended periods of standing. If you or someone in your group cannot use stairs or may not be able to stand for the duration of a tour, please let us know in advance. We can adjust the route, provide seating, or reconfigure the format so that all participants can fully engage. --- ### Other Access Needs With advance notice, we will work to address additional access needs, including: - **Tactile resources** – We have tactile models for some of our imagery and can incorporate them into tours and class sessions. - **Communication access** – ASL interpretation and assistive listening devices can be requested in accordance with Harvard’s Disability Access Office policies. - **Sensory environment** – Some storage areas can include loud, unexpected noises, and our imaging station uses bright, flashing lights. If noise, light, or other sensory inputs may be overstimulating for you or someone in your group, please tell us. We can minimize exposure or turn off equipment for the duration of your visit when possible. If you have questions or concerns that are not addressed here, we encourage you to reach out. We are happy to discuss options and work with you to plan a visit that is safe, welcoming, and productive. --- # Getting Here and Finding the Harvard Plate Stacks --- ## Location The Harvard Plate Stacks is located at the **Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA)** on Observatory Hill. **Street address:** Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian 60 Garden Street Cambridge, MA 02138 The address will bring you to a hilltop complex of several interconnected buildings that make up the Harvard College Observatory and CfA headquarters. The Plate Stacks and the CfA are a **15-20 minute walk** from Harvard Square, the Harvard Yard, and the Harvard Science Center. --- ![front entrance to the plate stacks](/sites/g/files/omnuum2761/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-03/Front%20of%20the%20Plate%20Stacks.jpg?itok=8RhXGQkh) Entrance to the Harvard Plate Stacks in Building D at the Center for Astrophysics.## Finding Us When you arrive at **60 Garden Street**, you will see the main driveway opposite **Linnaean Street**, at the top of the rise on Garden. Follow this driveway up the hill into the observatory complex. Most Plate Stacks tours, talks, and research visits begin outside the Plate Stacks at the top of the hill, in front of the circular roundabout. Look for the large white door and signage for **Phillips Auditorium**. Visitors with a Harvard ID may swipe into this entrance; the Plate Stacks is directly to the left of the doorway, opposite Phillips Auditorium. Ring the doorbell to the right of the door, and a staff member will welcome you. All other visitors will be given a phone number to call upon arrival. If you arrive by bus or on foot via **Concord Avenue**, you will come to the “observatory steps” (Concord Ave opp Buckingham St or Concord Ave @ Bond St). From there, a flight of outdoor stairs leads through a wooded area directly up to the top of the hill and into the observatory complex. --- ## Public Transportation Cambridge is well served by public transit. We strongly encourage visitors to use the MBTA and Harvard shuttles when possible, as parking on Observatory Hill is limited. ### MBTA Subway (Red Line) The nearest rapid-transit stop is **Harvard Station** on the **MBTA Red Line**. From Harvard Square, the CfA is roughly **a half-mile (about a 15-minute walk)** west: - Exit Harvard Station via the **Church Street** exit. - Turn **right** on Massachusetts Avenue. - At the Cambridge Common, turn **left** onto **Garden Street**. - Continue up Garden Street, bearing right at the light by the Sheraton Commander Hotel; the observatory complex at 60 Garden Street will be on your **left** at the top of the hill. From **Porter Square** (also on the Red Line commuter rail/Red Line area), you can walk back toward Harvard Square, turn **right** on **Linnaean Street**, and continue straight; Linnaean ends at the entrance driveway to the observatory complex. ### MBTA Bus Several MBTA bus routes connect Harvard Square to the observatory: - From the **upper bus level of Harvard Station**, take routes **72, 74, 75, or 78** toward Concord Avenue. - Ask the driver to let you off at the **“observatory steps”** stop on Concord Avenue (Concord Ave opp Buckingham St / Concord Ave @ Bond St). - Climb the exterior steps to reach the rear parking lot and then follow signs up the hill to the observatory buildings.[Google Sites+3Center for Astrophysics+3Harvard College Observatory+3](https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/facilities-technology/cfa-facilities/headquarters-cambridge-ma/directions-60-garden-street) Other bus routes serve Harvard Square from neighborhoods across Greater Boston; consult the **MBTA website** for current routes, timetables, and fares.[Center for Astrophysics+1](https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/facilities-technology/cfa-facilities/headquarters-cambridge-ma/directions-60-garden-street) ### Harvard University Shuttle For visitors with access to the [**Harvard Shuttle**](https://transportation.harvard.edu/harvard-shuttle), several routes travel from Harvard Square to the **Radcliffe Quadrangle/Currier House**, near the observatory: - Take a shuttle from Harvard Square up Garden Street toward the Quad (for example, **Quad Express, Stadium, or Yard Express**, depending on time of day). - The shuttle typically runs every **10–15 minutes** on weekdays and stops at **Currier House**. - From Currier House, walk back out toward **Linnaean Street**, turn **left** toward the traffic lights, and continue uphill; the observatory entrance driveway, a set of tennis courts, and 60 Garden Street complex will be directly ahead. Real-time maps, stop locations, and route descriptions are available via [**shuttle.harvard.edu**](https://shuttle.harvard.edu/) or the Harvard Shuttle app. --- ## Parking The Center for Astrophysics offers **paid visitor parking** at the Observatory Hill campus. Parking at 60 Garden Street is: - **Managed by Harvard Transportation Services** - Available in designated visitor spaces in the lot surrounding the observatory complex - Payable via on-site meter and/or mobile payment systems, as specified on posted signs For **current hourly rates**, payment methods, and instructions on purchasing daily parking permits (including for the lot at 60 Garden Street), please consult the [**Harvard Transportation Services** website](https://transportation.harvard.edu/zipby). Parking on Observatory Hill is limited and may not always be available at peak times, so we recommend allowing extra time or considering public transit when planning your visit.