HSA 65th Anniversary Book

THE LEGEND OF THE HARVARD SHOP
The Harvard Shop had a storied legacy in Harvard Sq. well before HSA acquired it in 2001. Paul Corcoran, then a member of the HSA
Board of Directors, had run the storefront at 52 JFK St. since 1983. Two of Corcoran’s classmates, Robert Weiss ’54 and George Abrams
’54, JD ’57, had the idea to sell Harvard merchandise and reached out to their retail-savvy friend to ask him if he wanted to run the store.
It was like asking a mouse if he wanted to run a cheese shop. On its first day open to the public, The Harvard Shop brought in $67. By the
time Corcoran sold it to HSA, it was making over $600,000 per year.
PAUL CORCORAN ’54
On June 7, 2022, Paul Corcoran passed away at the ripe old age of 90. Corcoran is best
known to the HSA community for his years of service on the Board of Directors and for
co-founding The Harvard Shop in 1983. Since he sold the shop to HSA in 2001, the agency
has employed more than 2,000 students and paid out more than $4 million in wages. But
Corcoran also left behind a legacy that radiates far beyond HSA.
Born and raised in Cambridge, Corcoran was destined to go into retail from a young age. His
family ran the legendary Cambridge department store J.H. Corcoran & Co., founded by his
grandfather in 1881. Corcoran took over managing the store’s two locations upon his father’s
death in 1974. At its height, Corcoran’s had 23 departments, but skyrocketing rents and
lower demand for general-merchandise stores took their toll. The Central Sq. location closed
in 1984, and the Harvard Sq. location closed in 1987. (Corcoran made sure to offer its downon-their-luck
employees jobs at The Harvard Shop.)
Corcoran was active in the community too. He was a member of the Harvard Club of Boston
since 1956 and served as a Director and Vice President on its Board of Governors for several
years. In 1989, he became the club’s 29th President. After retiring from The Harvard Shop,
he also selflessly volunteered at the Jordan Boys & Girls Club in Chelsea, where he spent two
or three afternoons a week tutoring underprivileged youths, with whom he often maintained
relationships for years. And of course, he left a legacy with his own family as well: four
children and 10 grandchildren. He will be sorely missed by all.
With decades of experience in retail and
a reputation as “the mayor of Harvard
Sq.,” Corcoran was able to leverage his
connections with manufacturers and Harvard
administrators in order to grow the business.
The product lines and revenue grew quickly, as
sales increased by nearly 20% each month until
a small recession hit in 1989. Partnerships
formed with executive-education programs
at the Kennedy School of Government and
the Graduate School of Education, which
once yielded over $10,000 in two hours
when groups from the two schools happened
to drop in at the same time. Corcoran also
launched the traditional T-shirt giveaway
for incoming freshmen in order to introduce
undergraduates to the store.
Requests for custom apparel from within
the administration soon came pouring in.
The athletic department and varsity coaches
commissioned pewter mugs and team jackets.
Dean of Harvard College Harry Lewis ’68,
AM ’73, PhD ’74, even charged Corcoran
with creating and sending Harvard gift boxes
to important alums and friends, including Bill Gates’s first child, Whoopi Goldberg, and Martha Stewart. Seeking additional ways to
expand, The Harvard Shop opened up a location in Copley Sq. in 1986 as well as pushcarts in Boston Common and Salem. Eventually,
the new locations closed down, and only 52 JFK St. remained.
Around the turn of the millennium, Corcoran decided it was time for him to step away from the business. One deal to sell The Harvard
Shop was lined up and nearly closed, but it fell through at the last minute. After casually mentioning this to a fellow HSA Board member,
Corcoran was soon approached by HSA about the possibility of buying the shop. After negotiation and planning, HSA purchased The
Harvard Shop in the summer of 2001.
When Corcoran sold The Harvard Shop to HSA, he had two main stipulations: that The Harvard Shop keep its name and that HSA
retain Doris Jones, who had been an assistant to Corcoran for 21 years and handled much of the shop’s accounting. Relocated from the
back room of 52 JFK St. to Burke-McCoy Hall, Jones brought invaluable experience to HSA, as the new student leadership struggled to
understand the complicated processes of inventory accounting. Known as the “Accounting Detective,” Jones was famous (or infamous) for
her willingness to track down any outstanding payments and untangle any financial knot that the managers may or may not have created.
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