A Place Called Harvard...What's in a Name?

Sometimes it seems as though Harvard owns the world--or at least a good chunk of it.

Think about it--Harvard's name is known around the globe. It is splashed across sweatshirts in Rome and scrawled on baseball caps in Mexico. It graces stockholder lists in almost every market, from petroleum to french bread. Harvard is the cradle of presidents, the cocktail club of intellectuals, the haven of Nobel laureates.

But for evidence of Harvard's dominance, you don't have to look to the international scene, or even as far as the Wall Street Journal.

All you need to do is walk outside the Harvard gets and toward the many stores, restaurants and businesses that feature the word "Harvard" in their names. From auto glass to real estate, the name of John Harvard is spread far and wide, in the Boston area and beyond.

Once upon a time "Harvard" was merely a last name. If generous John had had a different surname, we might all root for "Mother Taylor" in The Game, or wear sweatshirts reading "FRANKLIN" or "MILES STANDISH U."

However, now Harvard is a presence. It has moved from the realm of private appellation to the world of public consumption.

In fact, the University has had to establish a department just to monitor the use of the Harvard name and seal, which are copyrighted.

According to Joyce Brinton, director of the Office of Technology and Trademark Licensing, the university must approve any use of the Harvard insignia. "If companies want to use the insignia mark on trademarked goods...we have licensing control," she says.

The job can have its interesting moments. In one instance last spring, the Office denied a request to market "Harvard condoms" bearing the university name and seal.

But usually requests for the Harvard insignia aren't so exotic, says Brinton. Often stores wish to sell clothing, school products or household items with the official Harvard stamp on them. These types of requests are generally approved, she says.

The situation becomes less clear when a business with no connection to the University chooses to use the Harvard name sans official trademark.

"We look on a case-by-case basis to see if there's a problem," says Brinton. "We haven't tried to define a definite policy."

Sometimes the department must judge whether it wants the name of Harvard associated with a place or a product.

"We look at situations where confusion or misperception of endorsement may be seen," says Brinton.

"We indicate we're not going to license things where the potential liability of licensing...would be crazy for the University to [take on]," she explains.

That's why there probably won't be a "Harvard Shotgun" any time soon, according to Brinton.

However, she was unable to specify the legal control the University has over the Harvard name when unaccompanied by the official insignia.

"I'd have to research it. I can't give an answer--I don't have a concrete one. There are instances when the University has the legal right to stop somebody from using its name," she said.

There are certain uses of the Harvard name, however, over which the University has little control.

For example, the town of Harvard, England would most likely disregard any request for a name change, as would Harvard, Massachusetts. State officials would probably be less than receptive if asked to rename any of the Harvard Avenues scattered around the greater Boston area.

"I don't think anybody is going to raise a question about a town or a street," says Brinton.

Probably not--but it's a little more complicated than that. Many of these streets, having held the name for decades, have passed it on to the stores and businesses that line their sidewalks.

So, if it's Harvard you want, you don't have to be in Cambridge.

Harvard Avenue Florists, Harvard Car Wash, Harvard Church, Harvard Garden, Harvard Grill, Harvard Parking Association, Harvard Photo and Harvard Street Gulf are all outside of Cambridge. In each case, the name comes from a street, rather than the University.

Sometimes, the combinations can seem odd.

Take the Harvard Fruit Company. Joke all you want about how everyone at Harvard is bananas--fruit still doesn't fit in with books and scholars.

But, says part owner Sam C. Casiello, the Brookline company has had its name for longer than the average Harvard student can remember.

"It's been here for a long time--60 years," he says. "It's on Harvard St. That's where it got the name."

There seems to be little confusion among visitors as to any affiliation with the University, though. Casiello says no one has ever asked him if his apples are approved by Neil S. Rudenstine. "We get tourists [who] think it's nice," he says.

Harvard Radio and TV in Medford also got its name from its address, explains partner Mike N. Agostino. "The original store was on Harvard St. in South Medford," he says.

The 40-year-old business found it easiest to keep the original name when it moved to Mystic Ave. several years ago.

Not surprisingly, Harvard Square and its surrounding area also has a healthy share of unusual Harvards.

The Harvard Fish Market is an example. True, Harvard students have a reputation for being studious, and fish is considered brain food. However, aside from the broiled scrod served in dining halls, people don't usually associate "Veritas" with gills and fins.

The Fish Market currently resides on Cambridge Street, next to Inman Square. But, according to its manager, Ray, the Harvard Square name creeps beyond its physical boundaries.

"[The Harvard Fish Market has] been built since 1912. My great-great-grandfather started it--he [named it] Harvard because it was close to Harvard Square. He just liked the name, I guess. It's not connected."

There are situations where stores in the Square adopt the Harvard name and then move away.

The Harvard Do-Nut Shop, says owner Jilda B. LeBlanc, once had several locations, including one in Harvard Square. Now, however, the store operates in Central Square.

"People come in and wonder why it's called Harvard [when] it's in Central Square," she says.

LeBlanc says she doesn't think the Harvard name has significantly affected her business.

Many of the other owners and managers agree with her. Although some say customers like the name, they say that it appears to have made little difference in reputation or in sales.

But some businesses apparently have a different opinion.

When the end of the year rolls around, Harvard students use up enough packing materials to store all the books in Widener. A Harvard Folding Box Company seems logical.

And indeed, it does exist. But there's one small hitch--the company is in Lynn, quite a trip for the average student.

Manager Julian Krane says that the name was not chosen for the benefit of potential customers, but rather for the benefit of the owners.

"In 1957, the owners took the name, figuring it was prestigious," he said. "Once in a while, we get someone who says `Did you graduate from Harvard?'"

Whether the name has actually sold more boxes is another question. "[If] it's helped any or not, I don't know," he admits.

Elias P. Coulouras, manager of the Harvard Garden restaurant in Boston, says that the eatery's name was chosen in honor of the University.

"It was an Ivy League school that had been there for hundreds of years--that shows it's stable," he said. "It sounded like a prestigious name."

But has it brought in the customers? Well, Coulouras says that while the restaurant is sometimes mistaken for a florist's, it's never mistaken for an official Harvard establishment.

"If it was in Cambridge, the name would probably help to sell," he says.

Would it? Harvard House of Pizza, like Harvard Folding Box Company and Harvard Garden, was named after the school. However, it is located in Cambridge.

"It was named after the area," said manager George M. Ahladianakis.

Ahladianakis says that the restaurant draws in a lot of undergraduate customers. But he says he thinks that its success is the result less of name and more of location--the House is about five minutes away from the Quad, a perfect escape for hungry students tired of Scandinavian style vegetables and fresh brown brisket.

So, is there any magic that goes along with the Harvard name? No one seems to know for sure.

Nonetheless, the list of Harvard places goes on and on. Besides the examples already listed, there's also the Harvard Book Store, the Harvard Shop, the Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church, the Harvard Bakery, Harvard Ceramics and Harvard Pastry, just to mention a few.

One thing is sure--John Harvard's legacy will not be forgotten. As one student T-shirt reads, "It's a tough world--but somebody's got to own it."