I moved to Boston from Chicago in 1984. Much has changed
since then, and much has stayed the same. Let’s face it, Boston is not exactly
famous for being trendy. It’s the defining contradiction of our fair city –
progressive yet conservative. Massachusetts was the first state to legalize gay
marriage, but only repealed its Blue Laws regarding Sunday alcohol sales in
1994 (however, there’s still no “happy hour”).
Our universities lead the way in cutting edge research, yet our public
transit system stops running at 12:30am. New Englanders pride themselves on a
“Yankee Sensibility” of thriftiness and pragmatism. Spot a disheveled tweedy
sort, wearing threadbare khakis and driving a 1979 Volvo with a low plate
number, and you’ve got your eye on a bona fide blue blood. Cross that with a
PBR swilling Somerville hipster in an ironic t-shirt, skinny jeans and unkempt
facial hair, and you’ve got yourself what makes this place so achingly
beautiful.
Like any fogey, I look back on my early days in Boston and
long for the perceived simplicity. Whether it was buying used clothes and
records in Kenmore Square, venturing forth for cheap Indian food in shady Central
Square or catching the Rocky Horror Picture Show at midnight in Harvard Square
(and having to walk back across the river at 2 AM to campus because the T
stopped running and the idea of taking a taxi was too exotic and expensive).
Harvard Square. Everybody has their own version. It’s easier
to note what remains (The Coop, The Harvard Book Store, Mr. Bartley’s, Newbury
Comics, The Brattle, Dickson Bros.) rather than what has gone since my
discovery of it in the mid-‘80s (Mug ‘n Muffin, The Tasty, The Greenhouse, Coffee
Connection, That weird English pizza place, the Army/Navy Store, Harrell’s, Wordsworth,
the list goes on). And now the movie theater.
Harvard Square was one of my last choices to see a movie
(that honor belongs to the Fresh Pond Cinema). The theaters are small, the
screens are beat up, the sound is lousy, and their programming is unfocused. If
I’m going to see a blockbuster like Harry
Potter or Men In Black, I’m going to
make the effort to go the Common or out to a suburb-plex with comfortable seats
and digital screens. If I want an independent arthousey flick, then it’s off to
the Kendall, or better yet, The Coolidge.
But the Square was always there for a rainy afternoon middle of the road
wide release movie, and for that I am grateful. (I do have a vague memory of
going to see a Woody Allen double feature alone back in their revival days. It
was my first time venturing into a movie theater without a buddy because the
actual movie was more important than the socializing afterwards).
According to the Boston Globe, AMC is selling the space as
it “disposes of older screens.” I’m sure the real estate is worth far more than
the return on upgrading the movie going experience in those five little
theaters. AMC generously suggests you visit their Boston Common (or Chestnut
Hill, or Braintree, or Burlington, Framingham, Liberty Tree, Methuen, Tyngsboro
or Dartmouth) location instead. That’s 124 screens. With parking.
The world was a different place when I was a student here. Cellphones
were the domain of James Bond and Maxwell Smart. Cable television was a luxury
enjoyed during Christmas vacation. If you wanted to see a commercial-free movie
with nudity and swear words, you HAD to go to the theater. Big single screen movie houses started
chopping up their spaces to accommodate all the current releases so that we
would come back again and again over a short period. That’s certainly what
happened in Harvard Square, and to countless other old theaters across the
country.
With its Gap, Urban Outfitters, Bertuccci’s and three
Starbucks locations, Harvard Square is a paradise for students whose parents
are in town. And I guess that’s what it’s always been - A true Boston
paradoxical contradictory hypocrisy: edgy but safe. A jumble of mixed messages.
You’ve got your punks and your panhandlers, your upscale eating establishments,
the ART, Passim and Tess with its $125 couture t-shirts.
As time marches on, there are more stores in the Square that
can easily be found at the mall, and fewer that make it a destination for the
offbeat and unusual. This begs the
question, what do we want? Do we, as Americans, seek the comfortable and
familiar more than we admit we do? After all, we export so much of our culture that
we can visit a foreign country and never engage in its native offerings.
What’s happening is not unique to Harvard Square. On a visit
to Chicago, I was struck by the dearth of hot dog stands near my mom’s
apartment in Wrigleyville and the proportional rise in Paneras.
Harvard Square will always have its charms. The Brattle has a rich history and continues to be a cinephile’s delight
with innovative and original programming. The Comedy Studio at the Hong Kong provides a platform for up and coming comedians to work
out. Casablanca never disappoints for drinks, snacks or people watching. The Cambridge Artists' Co-op is one of my favorite places for beautiful one of a kind jewelry and accessories. And it will always annoy. Don’t consider
driving unless you’re already a Cambridge resident or it’s Sunday, and Labor
Day weekend is to be avoided at all costs.
The loss of the Harvard Square Movie Theater is one more
step in the Square’s evolution. Where it’s heading is ultimately up to us.
I wonder what will go into that space. Gosh. I hope it’s J.
Crew.
