Warby Parker Eyewear To Open in Square

Starting Friday, Harvard affiliates and passersby won’t have to strain their eyes to find stylish glasses.

Warby Parker, the popular New York-based eyeglass retailer, is set to open its doors in prime Harvard Square corner real estate September 29.

The store—located at 39 JFK St.—will be the company’s third Massachusetts location, joining a shops on Newbury St. and in the Prudential Center, with another planned opening at Boston Seaport in 2018. Newbury St. was the retailer’s first location after its flagship Manhattan shop, and the company now has 60 locations across the country.

According to a Warby Parker press release, the Harvard Square shop’s interior is designed to evoke a library, with tiled flooring, book displays filled with glasses, and a marble "reference desk" at the front to pick up orders and ask questions.

One wall is decorated with a large, colorful mural featuring eyeglasses, sunglasses, and Cambridge-inspired images created by Massachusetts-based illustrator Christopher DeLorenzo.

According to a press release, Warby Parker was founded by four friends—students at the time—who felt quality eyeglasses were too expensive. The originally online-only business aims "to offer designer eyewear at a revolutionary price," the company's website reads.

The Cambridge location will also have the first-ever Warby Parker Pencil Room, a corner of the store stocked with custom-designed colored pencils featuring a variety of one-liners. All pencil proceeds will go to 826 Boston, a nonprofit writing and publishing organization that looks to help middle and high school students with their writing.

"826 is a standout organization whose work we love and are always looking to support," Warby Parker's co-founder Dave Gilboa said in a press release.

Additionally, with each pair of glasses sold, Warby Parker donates a pair to someone in need as part of the company's "Buy a Pair, Give a Pair" program.

–Staff writer Alison W. Steinbach can be reached at alison.steinbach@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @alisteinbach.