Best Squares in Cambridge & Somerville

[czsz]

Yes, and Harvard still has two avant-garde cinemas and the ART, among other entertainment options. Pretty hard to argue the closure of the Harvard AMC really makes Davis close to as lively.

Inman isn't a long hike, but it's a bit too much of a hike to be comparable to a square with its own subway stop in the middle. The walk up Prospect is surprisingly pedestrian unfriendly, too, given the number of parking lots along the way...

 

[HenryAlan]

Davis is sleepy? It seems loud and busy when I walk through it in the evenings.

Ron, read what CZSZ is saying in the Seaport thread. Words like sleepy, packed, busy, they have a different meaning for him than they do for the rest of us.

 

[kz1000ps]

Also, I think the Wendys in Central closed. Thus making the square useless to me now. And putting Wendys out of my usual reach. </3

Yup it's long gone. Dunno how considering it always was busy in there. Too bad, I like their stuff once in a while.

Inman isn't a long hike, but it's a bit too much of a hike to be comparable to a square with its own subway stop in the middle. The walk up Prospect is surprisingly pedestrian unfriendly, too, given the number of parking lots along the way...

Even if it is just a 10 minute walk from Central like Ron says (which I'm not so sure of), it feels a lot longer. Kinda like with Union Square, I never look forward to making my way over there.

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

Yup it's long gone. Dunno how considering it always was busy in there. Too bad, I like their stuff once in a while.

Company's having ownership issues and has been sold and/or spun from a couple different outfits the last 4 years. They're profitable...their sales exceeded Burger King's for the first time last year. But they've been in perpetual state of reshuffling lately, and that probably inhibited decisions on whether to re-up leases at expensive-rent locations like Central.

Central has always had kind of a shockingly high retail tenant turnover rate, even dating back 10-12 years to better economic times. Not sure why because the real estate ownership isn't dominated by any one bloodsucking borg like Harvard, so seems odd that 1) that many businesses would be getting priced out, and 2) storefronts would frequently go vacant a year or more between tenants. But the street life is great there, it's got its local-to-core bars and music venues, and its own street festival every year. It's got a non-homogenized vibrancy that's really unique. I absolutely loved living there back when I had an apt. a couple blocks down Brookline St. The Field was like my home away from home.

 

[bosdevelopment]

The clear winner here is Teele Square. Its highlights include a barbershop and a fire station. I can't understand why the other squares were even added to the list.

 

[Ron Newman]

Inman isn't a long hike, but it's a bit too much of a hike to be comparable to a square with its own subway stop in the middle. The walk up Prospect is surprisingly pedestrian unfriendly, too, given the number of parking lots along the way...

I walk up Inman Street, which is much more pleasant.

 

[whighlander]

That could also be phrased as, "Keep in mind Kendall does have a lot going for it if you stick to three blocks of Main Street."

kz -- According to mamy foodies -- Kendall is becoming a major food destination
so far the bar scene is somewhat limited unless you extend your walk all the way to Mass Ave.

I'm willing to go out on a limb -- with the completion of the current projects in next 3 years including a fair amount of housing and some retail that "Greater Kendall" will top the list or at least be in the top 3 with Harvard and Davis

 

[DZH22]

1. Davis - I lived here for 5 years, so I am biased.
2. Harvard - It's fairly large, has a few extra streets with more stuff off the main drag(s), good street life, lots of nice old architecture
3. Central - Big city feel, good nightlife and restaurants
4. Porter - Best amenities, some good cheap bars in both directions down Mass Ave, some amazing neighborhoods right by it (walk up Upland Road directly across Mass Ave from the T stop, take anywhere from your 3rd to 6th left, and you will find yourself among tons of huge old houses, very similar to some of the more affluent areas in Brookline)
5. Kendall - It's Cambridge's skyline! Slowly but surely getting more interesting, and more street level activation. It's also an excellent jumping off point to wander over the Longfellow Bridge.
6. Inman - A little too hidden. This is the oasis that appears whenever I am lost in the area.
7. Teele/Ball - Not a ton in Teele aside from a few decent restaurants. Ball is basically the breakfast/brunch mecca of the Boston area. Soundbites always has a huge wait, but my personal favorite is Kelly's Diner.
8. Union - I don't know what to say about this place. I walk through it a lot and never found a reason to stop (except waiting to cross the street). Points for being right by Prospect Hill. Would the Target still be considered part of Union?

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

8. Union - I don't know what to say about this place. I walk through it a lot and never found a reason to stop (except waiting to cross the street). Points for being right by Prospect Hill. Would the Target still be considered part of Union?

That's more the square-to-be-named whenever they tear down the McCarthy Overpass and Medford St. returns to its former life as a thru city street with breathing room for redevelopment. Union more or less stops at the Washington St. intersection.

Union's got potential with the Green Line if that brings some anchor restaurants. Right now it's got a dense net of small shops and bodegas frequented by the immediate-adjacent locals...and that's a start to build off of. But there's no 'hook' yet to make someone living outside the neighborhood visit as a destination. If GLX ends up overturning some of those storefronts into more destination-type places without compromising the mom-and-pop feel (i.e. some of the bodegas stay), then it'll be a decent place to visit. And definitely blowing up the nearby eyesore will help the connectivity. It's a lot closer to East Somerville and Lechmere than it looks, but pity the fool who tries to take on the terrifying McGrath/O'Brien sidewalks or the Pigeon Shit Park underpass on foot. Right now it's a little too far from Porter, and divided by a crumbling concrete wall from the places it should connect to.

 

[choo]

^ I don't think the goal or standard of every sq. should be if it draws someone for the south end on a night out. Harvard has achieved this status, Davis has somewhat, but is still primarily made up of people that walk from the area.

Union/ Ball/ Teele have a great little variety of restaurants, shops, and utility stores that make it a great local environment for locals to go out do what they want/need at all hours of the day. And its precisely because they serve the local community that make them unique and interesting. Ethnic restaurants/shops/entertainment etc. that if they were to become destinations would have to able to the lowest common denominator. The reason that people should make a point to go to these little sqs. is because they have so many cool spots and unique features. I just moved to Somerville, and am in the process of exploring these spots.

I still think harvard is great with a tons of variety and local flavor, but I fear for the other squares if the standard is to make them a destination defined by many will give them 2 story starbucks, a panera, chipotle and urban outfitters. They can all certainly evolve and improve (and i think they will primarily with the GLX), but lets not judge them in their current or future state a success by how many surburbanites want to go there on a saturday afternoon. Otherwise they are doomed for failure or bland standardization.

 

[underground]

But there's no 'hook' yet to make someone living outside the neighborhood visit as a destination. If GLX ends up overturning some of those storefronts into more destination-type places without compromising the mom-and-pop feel (i.e. some of the bodegas stay), then it'll be a decent place to visit.

Union's already a destination for the music/bar crowd with PA's, Radio, the Independent, Precinct, etc.

 

[Ron Newman]

Union Square attracts people to the Saturday farmers' market, the new Thursday evening "Swirl and Slice" market (which, when I visited, was dominated by wineries), and the Somerville Arts Council's ArtsUnion events from summer through early fall.

 

[TheRifleman]

Question for the Old Timers in Real Estate. Are Real Estate prices always going to be out of reach in these areas Cambridge & Somerville?. I'm starting to see 2 family homes becoming condos on College ave for almost 400K a unit. It was Jaw dropping seeing what these multi-family units are selling for.

Do we ever see another major real estate crash in our lifetime?

I understand if the Fed was to raise interest rates to 20% then values would drop but does anybody actually see this happening in the next 5 years?

 

[cca]

I have to vote for:

Established
Inman (Cambridge)

Davis (Somerville)

Up and Coming

Union (Somerville)
Kendall (Cambridge)