Ron didn't invoke Davis yet? That's curious!
Porter? Central?
All still have grocery stores?
By default, limited to the listed choices: Coolidge (lived there, gladly, during the early 80s); Harvard Street in Allston (spent a lot of time there since childhood because family lived there into the 90s); Harvard Square (despite not having a grocer?) because it's always been lively, from my recollection.
Many of the rest could be malls in the 'burbs for all I care.
What about the other, sometimes smaller, less touristy neighborhood commercial zones, some of which have been invoked by others here--Chinatown, Fields Corner, Mattapan Square, Roslindale Square, Central in JP? Cleveland Circle? Many of these are far more worthy and interesting than the Copley Place Mall.
Hanover Street would be on my list, too, because it was for the neighborhood, then developed into a tourist destination--not engineered as a tourist destination like Quincy Market or Copley (or the Pru?).
Newbury has changed from when I was kid, too. It was a mix of 'high(er)' end shopping and 'funky' for locals--often small, locally-owned establishments--as opposed to now, where it seems like a shopping magnet for tourists with money who can go to too many of these establishments in any city, anywhere in the world. Yawn.
Charles Street almost fits my criteria (still?) and could be a worthy choice.
It's probably all too different now; I haven't lived there since the 80s. Coolidge, Harvard Street, and I know Harvard Square have been infiltrated by more (too many?) chains.
However, understand that I don't disparage the chains, until they become a majority of businesses in a neighborhood.
Anything that seems catered to attracting tourists is suspect. Even 1976 to the present Quincy Market, which would be suspect, lost whatever made it unique within its first five years of re-invention. (Now, old Quincy Market--that was GRIT! However, I am not going to get into that side discussion again here.)
The Pru, Copley, and even Downtown Crossing are all destination 'malls' and, seemingly, not intended for residents. That's why Downtown Crossing has become a failure. Office workers treat it like the mall, which is fine for the daytime. However, they ignore it at night, along with the locals AND the tourists. (Plus, all the stupid gits quoted in the article recently posted about re-opening its traffic should give you a prime indication why it's a failure.) I suspect the Pru (no longer) and Copley do not suffer this fate.
I've had this argument here before. Shopping/retail is to serve the locals. If commerical businesses, of all types, become of interest to those outside the neighborhood, that's great, but shouldn't be its prime goal.
That's why I objected to something like Landsdowne Street as a primary destination for clubbing. These clubs should be scattered everywhere, not funneled into a zone. Theater 'district'--Bah! Again, entertainments should be scattered throughout the city. I don't have a problem with a concentration of a few establishments of a similar ilk, like the theatre district is, or was, when orchestrated intentionally, or not. However, that kind of planning in the present is idiotic.
Porter? Central?
All still have grocery stores?
By default, limited to the listed choices: Coolidge (lived there, gladly, during the early 80s); Harvard Street in Allston (spent a lot of time there since childhood because family lived there into the 90s); Harvard Square (despite not having a grocer?) because it's always been lively, from my recollection.
Many of the rest could be malls in the 'burbs for all I care.
What about the other, sometimes smaller, less touristy neighborhood commercial zones, some of which have been invoked by others here--Chinatown, Fields Corner, Mattapan Square, Roslindale Square, Central in JP? Cleveland Circle? Many of these are far more worthy and interesting than the Copley Place Mall.
Hanover Street would be on my list, too, because it was for the neighborhood, then developed into a tourist destination--not engineered as a tourist destination like Quincy Market or Copley (or the Pru?).
Newbury has changed from when I was kid, too. It was a mix of 'high(er)' end shopping and 'funky' for locals--often small, locally-owned establishments--as opposed to now, where it seems like a shopping magnet for tourists with money who can go to too many of these establishments in any city, anywhere in the world. Yawn.
Charles Street almost fits my criteria (still?) and could be a worthy choice.
It's probably all too different now; I haven't lived there since the 80s. Coolidge, Harvard Street, and I know Harvard Square have been infiltrated by more (too many?) chains.
However, understand that I don't disparage the chains, until they become a majority of businesses in a neighborhood.
Anything that seems catered to attracting tourists is suspect. Even 1976 to the present Quincy Market, which would be suspect, lost whatever made it unique within its first five years of re-invention. (Now, old Quincy Market--that was GRIT! However, I am not going to get into that side discussion again here.)
The Pru, Copley, and even Downtown Crossing are all destination 'malls' and, seemingly, not intended for residents. That's why Downtown Crossing has become a failure. Office workers treat it like the mall, which is fine for the daytime. However, they ignore it at night, along with the locals AND the tourists. (Plus, all the stupid gits quoted in the article recently posted about re-opening its traffic should give you a prime indication why it's a failure.) I suspect the Pru (no longer) and Copley do not suffer this fate.
I've had this argument here before. Shopping/retail is to serve the locals. If commerical businesses, of all types, become of interest to those outside the neighborhood, that's great, but shouldn't be its prime goal.
That's why I objected to something like Landsdowne Street as a primary destination for clubbing. These clubs should be scattered everywhere, not funneled into a zone. Theater 'district'--Bah! Again, entertainments should be scattered throughout the city. I don't have a problem with a concentration of a few establishments of a similar ilk, like the theatre district is, or was, when orchestrated intentionally, or not. However, that kind of planning in the present is idiotic.
Last edited:
