The walls and fences of Harvard Yard are punctuated by gates. Many of these are topped with complex patterns of grillwork, at the center of which sit the years of the classes that donated them. The grillwork stands out, almost in silhouette, as dark, sharp lines and shapes against the bright sky.

Gates, by nature, are viewed from two directions: the outside as you enter and the inside as you exit. Grillwork can also be viewed from both sides, but one side is the reverse of the other. With abstract and symmetrical shapes, this duality works nicely. However, a number that looks right from one side will look backwards from the other. Therefore, in designing a gate with a number, the artist must favor one viewpoint over another. As I walked around the Yard, I found that many of the gates were oriented outwards, so that from the inside the numbers appeared backwards. In some cases, a flat background allowed the artist to include two sets of numbers, one oriented inward and one outward. While this solves the problem of the backwards numerals, it sacrifices the stark and beautiful contrast of the numbers against the backdrop of the sky. In no cases were the numbers oriented inwards, so that to view them from the outside was to view them backwards.

On the most literal level, this is a practical choice. A tourist or visitor who has come to see Harvard is more likely to stop and look up at a gate than a student running to class who passes it every day, and it seems that tourist is more likely to stop on the way in than the way out. The implication, though, is somewhat larger: At least in some sense, the architecture of Harvard Yard is designed not for the sake of the students but for the purpose of projecting an image to the outside world.

The outward-orientation has another effect, this one more subtle, and one most likely not considered by the original designers of the gates. As a student, standing inside the Yard and looking outward through the grillwork, our view is obstructed by backwards numbers. In a sense, our view of the world outside Harvard becomes slightly distorted. This minute physical inversion parallels another potential distortion in view: It seems to me that as a student, it is easy to become completely engrossed in the world of the university, perhaps even so much that we lose sight of the universe around it.{shortcode-bb2bee30f94188a01c5c02f85c8e4fc424640768} This is Widener gate, drawn from inside the Yard looking out. The “77” at the center appears backwards. Set against the bright sky, the grillwork conveys the same effect as a black and white silhouette.{shortcode-e10389d5790372665c01b9fe3a8086e66ec1e3fc} This passerby observes the gate from outside the Yard. Drawn in silhouette, his figure connects aesthetically with the silhouette of the gate.