Harvard Square REMIX!!!!!!!

Several new stores will soon open in Harvard Square, including a Cold Stone Creamery and Little Caesar’s Pizza.

The only catch, however, is that this Harvard Square is 311 miles away in Edwardsville, Illinois, population 25,000, and incidentally the third-oldest city in Illinois.

Also, it’s not really a square, but a 9,100 square foot shopping center, roughly 20 minutes east of St. Louis.

The inspiration for the mall’s name comes from its location on Harvard Drive, according to city administrator and Edwardsville native Bennett W. Dickmann.

The shopping complex borders a residential neighborhood in which many streets are named after colleges and universities, including Stanford, Amherst, Cornell, Notre Dame, and surprise picks Slippery Rock and Yale.

The decision to incorporate Harvard into the shopping center’s name is in part an effort to convey a “high quality and prestigious image,” says project developer Mathew B. Librach.

In addition to the prestige of the Crimson name, Harvard Drive is, appropriately, the longest in the area. Says Dickmann, “I don’t think it’s just a coincidence that Harvard Drive is the longest street.”

Dickmann also says that the new square aims not to compete with the old. “It’s all done with the utmost respect for Harvard University, I assure you,” he says.

In addition to Cold Stone and Little Caesar’s, the shopping center will house a Mexican restaurant, a hair salon, a Cingular Wireless Store, and a branch of a local bank.

Asked if Felipe’s was interested in expanding to the new square, a carnitas-cutting employee responded, “No. Not really.”

Too bad for Edwardsville.