Harvard Square Infill and Small Developments

So the 40+ billion Harvard lily gets gilded yet again...

A lot of great inventions and innovations for humanity come out of that corner of Cambridge/Allston.

I hope their endowment hits a trillion.

Their SEAC building is still shit though compared to Northeastern’s ISEC. 😉
 
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Oops! Not a good look - this was posted on Patagonia’s front door on a Brattle St. Glad to see some enforcement of code, at least.

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Also, I visited the renovated Harvard Coop for the first time since before the pandemic. Looks great and all, especially if you’re into Harvard hoodies and such. But I’m really bummed they took the pseudo Starbucks cafe out. That was a great public space.
 
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Oops! Not a good look - this was posted on Patagonia’s front door on a Brattle St. Glad to see some enforcement of code, at least.

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Also, I visited the renovated Harvard Coop for the first time since before the pandemic. Looks great and all, especially if you’re into Harvard hoodies and such. But I’m really bummed they took the pseudo Starbucks cafe out. That was a great public space.
Me too, I went there about a week ago. First time for a couple of years. Extremely disappointed that the main floor of the main entrance is now mostly bullshit sweatshirts and Harvard memorabilia instead of books. A sad sign of the Times that Harvards own flagship store is selling image rather than knowledge.
 
Me too, I went there about a week ago. First time for a couple of years. Extremely disappointed that the main floor of the main entrance is now mostly bullshit sweatshirts and Harvard memorabilia instead of books. A sad sign of the Times that Harvards own flagship store is selling image rather than knowledge.
Over the years Harvard Square has devolved into a tourist trap for parents of Harvard students.
 
Over the years Harvard Square has devolved into a tourist trap for parents of Harvard students.
You’re not cynical enough. It’s not even for parents of Harvard students. It’s people who are just tourists for the idea of Harvard. All this sick civilization has is the sign, we’ve long forsaken the thing signified.
 
You’re not cynical enough. It’s not even for parents of Harvard students. It’s people who are just tourists for the idea of Harvard. All this sick civilization has is the sign, we’ve long forsaken the thing signified.
True. I should write an article about the Harvard Square of the 1960s/70s; intellectual. creative, and eccentric it was. I walked through it day after day to and from high school in the 1960s, and hung out there a bit after hours as well. Those were the days.
 
Fairly certain it's a multi-purpose community space.
That's the kiosk in which I used to ride up the escalator from the trolley car/bus tunnel back in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Kind of weird to see its current state, but at least nicely preserved and refurbished.
 
The city put out to bid an RFP for an operator of the space on a 3 year term - CultureHouse, out of Somerville, won it. They've done a series of interesting pop-up cultural/civic event spaces around Boston, including a stint in this kiosk in 2019-2020. Hell, they actually wrote a report on it. I'd be surprised if it were the exact same programming in 2023/24 - They look like they're pretty good at this sort of "for the moment" public activation, but it'll be very interesting to see what they do on a longer term basis with a more permanent space than usual. Though it is tiny - 550 Sqft is the size of a studio apartment.
 
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Seems the perfect size for a nice coffee shop such as Blue Bottle, La Colombe, etc.
 
True. I should write an article about the Harvard Square of the 1960s/70s; intellectual. creative, and eccentric it was. I walked through it day after day to and from high school in the 1960s, and hung out there a bit after hours as well. Those were the days.
True. It was the only place you could walk and see, sitting at an outdoor cafe, a professorial character with beard, beret, tweed jacket with elbow patches, smoking a pipe and sipping his coffee while reading a student's essay. (Actual eye-witness from the early 70's). Delightful stereotypes came alive at every turn.
 
True. It was the only place you could walk and see, sitting at an outdoor cafe, a professorial character with beard, beret, tweed jacket with elbow patches, smoking a pipe and sipping his coffee while reading a student's essay. (Actual eye-witness from the early 70's). Delightful stereotypes came alive at every turn.
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Speaking of tweedy professors…this house is a real gem. Designed/built by William James, after which the psychology tower on campus is named. Caught my eye is the advert for public notification. Probably intense scrutiny, but for good reason.

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