Category:The Coop (Cambridge, Massachusetts)

English: The Harvard/MIT Cooperative Society (or The Coop, pronounced as a single syllable[1]) is a Cambridge, Massachusetts retail cooperative for the Harvard University and MIT campuses. The general public is encouraged to freely enter and make purchases in all the Coop stores, but membership discounts and certain other benefits are restricted to Coop members. As of 2014, there are three store locations at Harvard, and two at MIT. The main store is located in the heart of Harvard Square, across the street from the Harvard subway station headhouse. The Coop was founded as the Harvard Cooperative in 1882 to supply books, school supplies, and wood and coal for winter heating. MIT, following its move from Boston to Cambridge in 1916, invited the Coop to open a branch of the store at the Institute, where it has been present ever since.

The main store of The Coop, located at 1400 Massachusetts Avenue in Harvard Square, was built in 1924 and was designed by Perry, Shaw & Hepburn, who designed Colonial Williamsburg. There is an annex building on Palmer Street.