Middle East Nightclub Redevelopment | 468-480 Mass Ave / 6 Brookline St. | Cambridge

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bigpicture7

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Per Cambridge Day, plans have been filed with the Cambridge Historical Commission to redevelop the current Middle East Nightclub property into a 6-story hotel atop music/entertainment venue(s). It seems a goal is to sustain operation of music venues here.

Story:

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Plans, as posted to the Historical Commission site:
 
While I understand that a one story building is not acceptable on Mass Ave in Central Square this is the worst possible replacement. A short grey box. Wow.
 
Cortes said:
While I understand that a one story building is not acceptable on Mass Ave in Central Square this is the worst possible replacement. A short grey box. Wow.
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Huh? It's a brick faux-factory loft five stories tall! The render is washed out - it would be red.
 
Equilibria said:
Huh? It's a brick faux-factory loft five stories tall! The render is washed out - it would be red.
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I can see that now, but if they can't even render brick being red I have zero confidence that this will turn out being anything interesting at all.
 
Cortes said:
While I understand that a one story building is not acceptable on Mass Ave in Central Square this is the worst possible replacement. A short grey box. Wow.
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It's perfectly acceptable. Diversity of buildings is one of the things that can make a great street. Some of the best parts of Manhattan and London have them sprinkled all over. You wouldn't want an entire neighborhood of one-story buildings, but smaller buildings that can command smaller rents and provide a more interesting visual are essential.

I don't think there's anything they could replace this building with that would improve the street.
 
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Czervik.Construction said:
I guess time keeps ticking into the future and I am not one usually to lament the loss of a building in the name of progress but sucks to see that place go (or have gone already). Tons of fond memories there.
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The real shame is that there don’t seem to be enough new, comparable nightclub venues popping up to take the place of establishments like this or Machine..
 
Fuck this. How could they do this? The city council or the mayor or someone must step in. This is a travesty.
 
Blackbird said:
The real shame is that there don’t seem to be enough new, comparable nightclub venues popping up to take the place of establishments like this or Machine..
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I think I read in the Globe earlier this week was that the plan would include replacement music venues in the new building. Hope that's true, and that I didn't just dream it up.
 
HenryAlan said:
I think I read in the Globe earlier this week was that the plan would include replacement music venues in the new building. Hope that's true, and that I didn't just dream it up.
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www.bostonglobe.com

After years of redevelopment rumors, The Middle East in Cambridge may become a hotel - The Boston Globe

Rumors around the future of The Middle East have swirled for years, with reports in early 2020 that the building’s owners were exploring a sale and potential redevelopment.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com
^Globe article came out yesterday. It mentions two music stages planned for the new building. Plans show one in a basement venue, and one on first floor.
Development plans filed to Cambridge officials propose a six-story hotel with basement and ground-floor music venues, along with a restaurant and bar on the top level,
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I might guess (speaking largely from my own feelings) that there's nostalgia for the old place, coupled with doubt that the new one will have anywhere close to the same vibe. But the folks developing this are local, and I have reason to believe that if they say there will be music venues, there will be. It's a question of what that will look/feel like (and cost to attendees).
 
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HenryAlan said:
I think I read in the Globe earlier this week was that the plan would include replacement music venues in the new building. Hope that's true, and that I didn't just dream it up.
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But “music venue” doesn’t necessarily equate to “nightclub”. A jazz club or upscale concert hall wouldn’t full the hole left by the Middle East.
 
Blackbird said:
The real shame is that there don’t seem to be enough new, comparable nightclub venues popping up to take the place of establishments like this or Machine..
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Literally! We've lost paradise, oberon, machine all in like 2 years of each other and nothing has replaced them. I would love to see something replace Middle East though with how shitty the owner is.
 
bigpicture7 said:
www.bostonglobe.com

After years of redevelopment rumors, The Middle East in Cambridge may become a hotel - The Boston Globe

Rumors around the future of The Middle East have swirled for years, with reports in early 2020 that the building’s owners were exploring a sale and potential redevelopment.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com
^Globe article came out yesterday. It mentions two music stages planned for the new building. Plans show one in a basement venue, and one on first floor.

I might guess (speaking largely from my own feelings) that there's nostalgia for the old place, coupled with doubt that the new one will have anywhere close to the same vibe. But the folks developing this are local, and I have reason to believe that if they say there will be music venues, there will be. It's a question of what that will look/feel like (and cost to attendees).
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From what I've read online, the owners have increased costs at other venues they've "flipped," making it quite a bit more difficult for local bands to book shows. Hope that's not the same story here..
 
I didn't go to the venue too much but for years I drank at the corner bar after work. There was a great bar man there called Bobby!
River Gods, the Field, the Peoples Republik and now the ME all gone from central in recent years. A lot of decent drinking holes gone.
 
DAVE said:
Literally! We've lost paradise, oberon, machine all in like 2 years of each other and nothing has replaced them. I would love to see something replace Middle East though with how shitty the owner is.
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The Paradise is still very much alive and kicking.
 
HenryAlan said:
The Paradise is still very much alive and kicking.
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Given the other types of clubs mentioned in that grouping, I'd assume it was a reference to Paradise at 180 Mass Ave near MIT which closed back in... 2018 I think?
 
I think it was the great Carlton "Carl" Carlson who said it best...
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I don't want to sound my age so I will not complain about the bars "back in my day".
Mature me thinks there weren't many holdovers from the previous 40 years into the great bar/venue pool of my era. People in the Roaring 20s probably said the same thing. I know they did in the 80s. It's cyclical.
Tastes change. Bars die. That's a fact. It's a horrible business. Massive liabilities for the less than perfect watering holes who want to throw a band up front to sell booze.
Especially now when every existing venue has become so corporate. Everything's so... normal. Anodyne. Vanilla. Tasteless. There is likely a corollary to mean wealth and music taste.

I leave it up to a bunch of kids to take up the Fight Club mantra and go to a toxic waste dump part of town where no body pays attention and play music until something blows up. Long live the rando house party!
 
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