A Smokers' Haven at Smoke-Free Harvard

Once upon a time, first year students found at the tobacco shop Leavitt & Peirce were kicked out of school.

The store was originally established in 1883 to provide a gathering place for upperclass "Harvard Men" to relax, play pool, and smoke. First-years who attempted to infiltrate the chic hangout were discovered and asked to leave.

For two dollars an hour, you can still sit in the shop's upstairs parlor, play chess, drink coffee and smoke any tobacco mixture you can buy.

However, the shop no longer caters mainly to Harvard students, and the first-years of today don't feel compelled to pay two dollars per hour to lounge there.

Paul J. Macdonald, whose family owns the store today, is not concerned that the store's customer base is changing.

"People might be smoking less, but they're smoking better," Macdonald says. "They're going for better quality and more expensive tobacco."

The store continues to sell many types of cigars, pipes, and tobacco blends and countless smoking gadgets. Davidoff's Aniversario No. 1, at $19.00, is the most expensive cigar in the store, and there are pipes in the $300 dollar range.

But non-smokers can shop at Leavitt & Peirce, too. The store carries barber supplies, fancy chess sets and small model cars.

And the Mass. Ave. shop retains a special place in the life of some Harvard students.

Harvard crew team members know the store for its window bulletin board, which has posted information on crew games and players since the 1920's, when the former owners started that tradition.