By adamg on Wed., 11/19/2008 - 10:20 am
Wicked Local Cambridge reports that nobody reads newspapers anymore.
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Comments
byby news
By anon
Wed, 11/19/2008 - 10:37am
Lived in Boston for nearly a decade, never bought anything there. Magazines are an environmental pipe bomb full of advertisements and marketing influences. Newspapers are good in theory, but the content medium is obsolete and cumbersome. What else do they sell? Artificial candy and food? They offer nothing.
Oh but it's an icon we should preserve... no thanks, the market has spoken.
I'm sure they'll find a use for such prime commercial real estate.
Dear anon
By Stewart
Wed, 11/19/2008 - 10:59am
Thank you for alerting us to your moral superiority. I will make proper use of this information immediately.
re: Dear
By anon
Wed, 11/19/2008 - 11:05am
It was my pleasure. But please try to stay on topic.
The papers don't get read much anymore, because
By independentminded
Thu, 11/20/2008 - 12:23am
there's the internet, which provides easy access to the news, etc.,
Out of Town News; this used to be the subway entrance
By Ron Newman
Wed, 11/19/2008 - 11:08am
Until 1981, the "kiosk" building that now contains Out of Town News was the entrance to the Red Line, which then ended at Harvard Square. Out of Town News back then operated in a separate, more modern structure next door, still on the "island".
Some time around 1984 or 85, the "kiosk" was moved slightly and refitted for Out of Town's use. The newer Out of Town News building was then removed.
Out of Town used to sell nothing but newspapers and magazines. Then for a while, they added Out of Town Tickets, becoming Harvard Square's only Ticketron outlet. Over time, they added the junk food and greatly reduced the number of actual out-of-town US newspapers they sold. It's still the place to go to get foreign newspapers and magazines; I don't know what's going to replace that function.
Internet replaced it
By anon
Wed, 11/19/2008 - 11:31am
Obviously the internet replaced the need to get foreign newspapers and magazines at Out of Town. Just about any newspaper in the world is available at your fingertips now.
But, it is sad. Because it was "the" place to find foreign publications, Out of Town contributed greatly to Harvard Squares erudite, cosmopolitan image.
And Borders Books
By Route 66
Wed, 11/19/2008 - 4:29pm
The location on School Street downtown has developed a pretty decent foreign magazine selection over the last few years. Although the selection can vary depending on the week and what language you're looking for, it's pretty good.
Harvard Crimson article on Out of Town News
By Ron Newman
Wed, 11/19/2008 - 11:25am
Harvard Crimson article
But did they read the news they were selling?
By Ron Newman
Wed, 11/19/2008 - 11:30am
from [url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/06/obama.n...'s post-Election Day coverage[/url]:
Cafe
By neilv
Wed, 11/19/2008 - 1:19pm
Out Of Town News has always seemed like a charming feature of Harvard Square, the 11 years I've lived here. Too bad it's no longer viable.
That extremely high-traffic location could be great for a very utilitarian innovative small cafe with a "walk-thru".
In addition to coffee, they could also sell baked goods and prewrapped sandwich-like food. I suspect this could be done without water&sewage hookups, especially if they don't have any or much seating (not sure of the applicable rules). I don't know how it would affect ABP's business.
A "walk-thru" could also sell a few newspapers, maps, a few gift shop trinkets, cheap digital cameras, phone cards, breath mints, condoms, a few flowers, etc. Nini's would still be ahead, with OOTN out of the picture.
Nini's has changed its name to Crimson Corner
By Ron Newman
Wed, 11/19/2008 - 1:23pm
I don't know why this happened or when, but some time within the past year or two. The Wicked Local reporter should have noticed it, though. The layout and merchandise are unchanged.
Water & Sewage
By Allstonian
Wed, 11/19/2008 - 1:34pm
Not sure how you could prepare/sell coffee without those water & sewage hookups. (Are there really none already in place in the kiosk? No private washroom for employees?)
They could use the washrooms at Au Bon Pain
By adamg
Wed, 11/19/2008 - 1:39pm
Oh, wait ...
Food trucks at MIT manage a
By neilv
Wed, 11/19/2008 - 2:40pm
Food trucks at MIT manage a few hours a day without city hookups. I think it is *technologically* possible to do on that corner, even if they need to have a van drive by a few times a day to drop off water bottles and clean coffee-making pots, and once a day to haul off waste water from hand-washing and cleaning.
The logistics would be easier for an owner of an existing restaurant who can use the dish-washing capacity at their existing place, and perhaps their existing delivery van.
It's a lot of trouble, but that chunk of real estate might be worth it, and it would avoid tearing up the street again so soon.
I don't know about pertinent city ordinances and health codes and such, but surely those details can be worked out if this turns out to be a great use of the location.
By the way, business concept
By neilv
Wed, 11/19/2008 - 2:45pm
By the way, business concept and architecture would both be very important. I see anything on that location as potentially one of the signature images of Harvard Square. Stylish, functional, innovative, integrated, inclusive.
I'm currently favoring the
By neilv
Thu, 11/20/2008 - 5:40pm
I'm currently favoring the idea of an independent cafe with the existing edifice and signage, doing lots of walk-thru business, and keeping a smaller selection of eclectic newspapers and magazines.
(Also, the building might have water and sewage lines after all, just no plumbing.)
Theres no reason why the
By ShadyMilkMan
Thu, 11/20/2008 - 7:00pm
Theres no reason why the building would have water or sewer lines. It was never used in that fashion. From what I read in the articles it barely has a grasp on electricty and windows.
That land is either city
By ShadyMilkMan
Wed, 11/19/2008 - 4:01pm
That land is either city owned, state owned, federally owned, or MBTA owned (Im not sure but its one of those lol), its not private land so anything that goes there would have to go through the political process in one fashion or another. I cant imagine something that is basicly a stationary version of the mobile snack, coffee, and trinket carts you see elsewhere could possibly survive that sort of political scrutinity.
Seems to be city owned
By Ron Newman
Wed, 11/19/2008 - 4:06pm
since the article is all about the Cambridge city council extending a short-term lease and the city manager working on the bidding process to get a new tenant.
Yeah but it has all sorts of
By ShadyMilkMan
Wed, 11/19/2008 - 4:40pm
Yeah but it has all sorts of other random tangles to it because its part of the MBTA complex there, and its a landmark ect. Any major change would be quite difficult to do.
No to mention....
By Route 66
Thu, 11/20/2008 - 1:38pm
all the palms that would need to be greased.
All positing aside,
By some-one from s...
Thu, 11/20/2008 - 7:41pm
All positing aside, someone's already figured out what the site's going to be. My bet's on either an upscale coffee joint or a Camb franchised (as this is the ugly reality with this neighborhood) 'customer service oriented' kiosk in the original structure. (w/much advertisement added in)