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Out of Town News to become a place to sit in Adirondack chairs or something
By adamg on Fri, 10/18/2019 - 9:58pm
Cambridge Day reports Cambridge is giving at least temporary control of the soon to be emptied Harvard Square newsstand to a group that promises a series of pop-up events to make the space a "community living room," at least until something more permanent is slotted into the kiosk. Adirondack chairs are part of the short-term plans.
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Comments
whether sleet or snow....
whether sleet or snow....
Chairs aside
Giving the space to non-profit groups for art or other local unique purposes is a good use of the space.
I believe UHub posted a few
I believe UHub posted a few weeks ago that a tacky digital advertising billboard will be erected. Harvard Sq. is a mess.
Extra seating for the Pit
This is awesome. More seating and more comfortable seating for the denizens of the Pit. Hopefully it will be open 24 hours so they can sleep there too.
Dead
The pit is dead
Not dead
The Pit is definitely not dead. It's not what it used to be but still an healthy/unhealthy mix of homeless , drug addicts, weirdos, students, and tourists. A bit older crowd than it used to be, but not dead.
It's been completely empty
It's been completely empty the last two or three times I've been through there.
I volunteer
I will sit there and tell tourists that they can't get theyah from heyah.
followed by
I anticipate that the Harvard mathematicians working in topology will come out en masse to argue the point.
Quite a move up for the old residents of the Pit
Viva la Revolution!
Do they?
Still sport Mohawks. That was a gender neutral thing. Everybody had one except the Black kids. There were Black kids in the pit wasn't there?
Chilling right in the middle of traffic doesn't sound relaxing.
They should have turned it into a hot dog stand
Cambridge really needs to discover its inner Sullivan's (a la Castle Island). Maybe even have a large screen TV for people to gather to watch sports and news.
That would be awesome!
That would be awesome!
Cardullo's
Quite a number of years ago during a World Series (can't remember if the Red Sox were in it or not), Cardullo's in Harvard Square put a TV in their window even though it was night and the store was closed. A handful of people set up lawn chairs right there on the sidewalk and watched the game. I thought this was very interesting. I don't know if anyone came back to the locked and closed store after the game was over to shut the TV off or if they just left it on all night.
Cardullo's stopped doing that a few years ago
I used to occasionally be part of that crowd outside watching their TV.
The "Chair Club" was an every
The "Chair Club" was an every game thing. People were allowed to bring their own chairs but only the long time regulars had assigned seats. Dennis did handyman work for many local businesses so had keys and access to all sorts of random spots to put things like chairs. I used to run events there and we hired Dennis on a regular basis and anytime we needed a ladder or anything he would seem to have a key to get one almost anywhere in the square. The group I worked for ended up helping to plan his wedding, which took place in front of the window , to his wife who he met while watching a game years ago. It was one of the more unique weddings I've been to but it really made sense for them.
After Frances Cardullo passed away her children took over the store (and they have since sold it I believe.) They did not own their building and I do know that rent prices are very steep in Harvard Square... they decided to upgrade things and with it went the tv.
I would say , having tried running events outside in Harvard Square, it could be a great idea to outfit the kiosk with screens and sound. While "print" is dead , I could see a kiosk like that being the gathering place for information or major events. Major political speeches, sporting events, cultural touchstone moments. We tried very hard to run the Obama inauguration as an event in that same area with a tent and large tv and it just was not cutting it.
Story about the Chair Club
https://www.wbur.org/news/2010/05/24/red-sox-cardullos
Story about the Chair Club closing down
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2010/9/2/club-chair-store-cardullos/
Whatever happened to the
Whatever happened to the plans to show movies and stuff in Palmer Street, when it got th makeover consisting of pavers and those glowing plastic boxes?
They happen
There have been occasional movie showings there (I recall watching Willy Wonka), as well as weekly outdoor Club Passim concerts during warm-weather months.
They had some jazz offerings
at the stage in front of Club Passim during the Honk!/Oktoberfest festivities a few weeks ago. Was a nice change of pace.
I started working in Harvard
I started working in Harvard Square when they first created the "new" Palmer Street and we used it as much as we could. It was a very convenient spot but the long-ness of it creates some challenges. Plus the occasional access for the cars that park around back, especially Bank of America. I left a handful of years ago and presume they were able to resolve those issues over time as I have seen pictures using the whole space since then.
As for movies and other shows, the posters are right, it looks like it has been in use. We did not use it for that purpose (outdoor movies) when I was there because logistically we did not have the infrastructure available to us yet. I can assure you though that event planners in the area were very eager to be able to use the space that way. One of the first things we did when the street was cleared for public events was host a fashion show (which featured a human statue zombie bride as the finale, just to make it more interesting) as a way to showcase local businesses.
Another popular spot in Harvard Square for similar events is Winthrop Park because you can close down Winthrop Street fully and it is much more open. Palmer is a great venue but if you don't have a ton of people it has a way of making a well attended event look small and airy.
Nah, I wouldn't worry.
They have comfy couches and electrical outlets and HVAC at the nearby Starbucks, plus their ill-considered, reactionary pro-loitering policy -- surely the stupidest idea from Starbucks since Howard Schultz's brief flirtation with a presidential run.
Damn man
You got me all fired up now. I want to make random and incoherent complaints about starbucks now too, but all I can come up with is their coffee sucks and you have to wait too long for it.
Have you visited the Harvard Square Starbucks lately?
Considering it's a business built on caffeine, there's an awful lot of sleeping and nodding going on.
What do we do with the nodders and sleepers?
Concentration camps? Plenty of room up north or west. Shopping malls are failing left and right. Snag 'em, surround them with barbed wire, armed guards and call them, oh , I don't know, Reeducation Camps? Trucks can roam the streets of Cambridge, Boston, etc. every night, scoop up loiterers, take them directly to their new homes in the converted suburban shopping malls.
Sounds like a plan.
Great Hed
Great Hed
Our dear editor strikes again.