About Fletcher

Something I really like about the Fletcher complex is the “something old, something new” aspect that permeates the place. In many ways it feels pretty contemporary and modern, but there are also plenty of areas that feel historic, stately, and charmingly old-timey.

As physical visits to Fletcher aren’t currently possible, this series attempts to provide the next best thing in the form of a blog-based virtual tour. We’ll wander outside today to check out some of the highlights around the building.

Basements get something of a bad rap. Your Pennywises and Babadooks always seem to be basement lurkers, and no sports team cares to be known as a “cellar dweller.” My generation will always harbor suspicion toward the Alamo for allegedly stashing Pee-wee’s beloved bicycle in its basement. I like to think Fletcher provides a little push-back to these preconceptions with the Cabot basement, a warren of study, lounging, and meeting spaces whose recent facelift has made it even more of a go-to location.

The 7th floor of the Cabot building leads the list of “hidden gems” at Fletcher. Getting there can take a bit of extra determination since it requires either a serious stair climb or dealing with Fletcher’s occasionally-balky elevator, but the space rewards the effort. You’ll immediately be struck by the views, some of the best available of the greater Cambridge/Boston area outside of the top of the Prudential Center (which, incidentally, is visible from the 7th floor).

Certain spaces just feel “important” somehow. There’s nowhere at Fletcher for which that’s more true than the Murrow Memorial Room, named in honor of famed broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow.