Archives: Media Room

By Tom Meek
Friday, December 5, 2025

Tom MeekThe restored lighting at the Christian Science Reading Room on Church Street in Cambridge’s Harvard Square.

A burst of brightness came to a gloomy stretch of Church Street last month as the Christian Science Reading Room restored soft white art deco lighting absent from the building’s facade for decades.

The lights returned to Church Street, across from the long-dormant AMC Loews Harvard Square, at a Nov. 7 unveiling. Pictures of the alluring illumination have become a slow-trending wave on local social media.

“Now when you see it, it catches your eye,” said Jason Fredette of Poyant Signs, the New Bedford company that restored the lighting over nine months. “The building looks totally different.”

The first structure at the site was a blacksmith shop in the late 1800s, later a veterinary practice. That became mixed retail at the turn of the century as Harvard Square became more thickly settled and the subway arrived in 1912, said Cambridge Historical Commission executive director Charles Sullivan. The 23 Church St. structure was razed in favor of the current one-story 1936 art deco design by architect William Laurence Galvin as a new, upscale home for Cambridge Gas and Electric Light Co.

Historical CommissionA newspaper account of the 1936 opening of the Cambridge Gas and Electric Light Co. building in Harvard Square.

Galvin’s design was fitting; the company used the space primarily as a showroom for displaying the latest in energy-related technology such as automatic ranges and hot water heaters, as well as for educational exhibits. The illumination of its curving facade required hundreds of 15-inch incandescent tube lights, each lasting only around 1,500 hours and requiring frequent maintenance. “You were getting up there and two or three of them would be dead,” reading room manager Elliott Reinert said. “They were probably constantly doing it. But they were the electric company.”

The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Cambridge, bought the site in 1947 for a reading room. The other half of the building has always been designated for retail by church management and is occupied by Rodney’s Bookstore.

When the lights disappeared is unclear. Cambridge Gas and Light, now part of Eversource, gave documents to the historical commission in the late 1980s or early 1990s, but it wasn’t until long after that Sullivan reviewed the architectural designs for the building and discovered they included the long-gone lights.

One could deduce the lights went dark and disappeared sometime before the 1947 sale to the church, possibly the result of blackouts during World War II meant to prevent buildings from being targeted for Axis attacks, Sullivan said.

The restoration began with Sullivan’s discovery and was made possible by a preservation grant from the commission, contributions by members of the local church and with effort by Reinert. Securing the funds was easy compared with the work of finding a company to bring the era’s aesthetic back to life.

It was a long process – more than two years of calling more than 50 companies all over the United States, Canada and China, Reinert said. After a first frustrating phase “waiting for the technology to catch up,” Reinert looked up one day in a mall parking lot and literally saw a sign: It was made of molded LEDs, and it was what he knew 23 Church St. needed.

“I finally had the vocabulary. Once I understood what I wanted, it was a matter of finding somebody that was willing to do it – beyond that, it was finding somebody who was really excited about doing it,” Reinert said.

Many of the industrial lighting companies he contacted were not. But one of his calls led him to Poyant in New Bedford. “They wanted be part of art and history,” Reinert said. “Their expertise and enthusiasm was perfect.”

The lighting was part of a bigger restoration of the building that included masonry, roof work and removal of red awnings that had long obfuscated the signature grooves for the incandescent tubes – now filled with modern technology using minimal energy and expected to last years, if not decades.

“We are delighted with the lights and truly appreciative of all the effort and the outcome,” said Denise Jillson, executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association.

By Dana Gerber Globe Staff,Updated December 4, 2025

In January, when Anthropologie closed up shop in Harvard Square’s historic Design Research building, questions swirled about what would replace it.

It didn’t take long for Cantabrigians to get their answer: Muji, a Japan-born lifestyle retailer, opened on the well-trafficked Brattle Street stretch in late November, offering its wide-ranging array of stationery, clothing, food, and home goods.

“Harvard Square’s creative, diverse, and community-driven atmosphere aligns perfectly with Muji’s philosophy,” said Richard Rappaport, president of Muji USA, in a statement.

Nestled next to the new romance bookstore Lovestruck Books, Muji’s Harvard Square location spans nearly 11,500-square-feet across multiple floors. The meticulously organized shelves hold an eclectic selection: color-coded gel ink ballpoint pens ($1.90 each), yuzu fruit spread ($8.90), lacquered chopsticks ($9.90), rice cookers ($149), and aroma diffusers ($79 for a regular size, $129 for a large) emitting sweet scents like grapefruit and lime. There is also bedding, luggage, cleaning supplies, mens and women’s apparel, toiletries, and storage containers.

On the top floor, near an array of kitchen supplies, is a “robot barista” named Jarvis — patrons can punch in their beverage order on a tablet and watch as a mechanical arm assembles it.

Rappaport said the company took great care to use the building’s notable glass-walled exterior to their advantage. “We embraced that idea, designing the space so the community can see each level and its offerings from outside,” he said. “That openness aligns perfectly with Muji’s own design philosophy of simplicity, transparency, and integration with everyday life.”

When the building, designed by architect Benjamin Thompson, debuted in 1969, it served as the headquarters for Thompson’s interior design brand, Design Research. Before Anthropologie came along in 2010, the space had long been occupied by an outpost of Crate & Barrel.

“It’s such an iconic building and a beloved space in Harvard Square,” said Denise Jillson, executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association, which she said Muji has already joined. (Muji also has a location on Newbury Street.)

“They reached out almost immediately,” she said, “saying how much they wanted to be part of the community.”

48 Brattle St., Cambridge; muji.us.

The location has a rich design heritage that is tied to what was known as “Cambridge Modern.”

By Rosemary Feitelberg

November 25, 2025, 3:39pm

For its latest store opening, Muji has debuted in the heart of Harvard Square in Cambridge, Mass.

Located at 48 Brattle Street, the outpost’s nearby neighbors include Patagonia, Marine Layer, Miniso, L.A. Burdick Handmade Chocolates and two women’s clothing stores, Tess and Mint Julep. With nearly 11,500 square feet of space over a few floors, Muji shoppers should have plenty of elbow room to check out the apparel, accessories, home wares, gifts and other items that the Japanese lifestyle brand is serving up.

This marks the retailer’s 12th store Stateside and its second location in the Boston area. With a little more than 900,000 square feet of retail space, Harvard Square is a popular pedestrian-friendly shopping area especially with college students and traffic from Harvard University. Representing more than 350 years of growth and change, Harvard Square houses a mix of cafés, stores, restaurants, housing and institutions including many long-standing independent businesses.

Operating more than 1,300 stores internationally, Muji is always looking for cities to expand into, according to a company spokesperson. The company is reportedly planning openings in Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City and Paris.

The Brattle Street location has a deep design heritage. After World War II, Harvard Square was the nucleus of the design world, thanks largely to the Harvard Graduate School of Design, where architects who were fleeing Europe gravitated and shared their modernist ideas with students. The presence and work of Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer and Le Corbusier helped to create what was known as “Cambridge Modern.”  

The architect and Harvard Graduate School of Design faculty member Benjamin Thompson helped to solidify that by starting the interior design shop Design Research, which was known as “D/R” in 1953. For the opening of the company’s headquarters in 1969, Thompson created frameless glass walls as a way to connect use the building’s interior to enliven the streets. The former D/R headquarters now house the Muji store.

Its expansive facade means that passersby can get a good look at Muji’s wide range of merchandise and the well-designed space. Conversely, shoppers can get a sense for the street life and what’s happening outdoors.

Muji USA president Richard Rappaport said, “Harvard Square has long been a hub of culture, creativity and connection and we are thrilled to bring Muji into this community.”

The three-level space offers Muji’s stationery, travel accessories, luggage and men’s apparel and accessories on the ground floor. Women’s apparel and accessories, as well as health and beauty products are available on the first floor.

Shoppers keen on organizing will find cleaning and storage solutions, homeware, small furniture, bedding, kitchenware (including the relaunched Rice Cooker) and food products on the second floor.

The Harvard Square location carries the recently launched Booster Series Skincare and repackaged Sensitive Skincare Series that is a popular seller in Japan. As part of Muji’s ongoing global effort to connect with local communities, Muji Harvard Square has Jarvis the Robot Barista, an automated coffee service that serves beverages for customers to enjoy as they explore the store. To try to encourage the academic community to share books, the Little Free Library is on-site, too. Denim recycling is also welcome via the Blue Jeans Go Green program that is in partnership with Cotton Inc.

Muji recently celebrated another milestone — the 10-year anniversary of its Fifth Avenue store in New York City. Unsuspecting shoppers joined in on the festivities Thursday night when they lined up for a slice of the anniversary cake from Nazli & Co. Like its competitors, Muji is gearing up for Black Friday and Cyber Monday shoppers with special offers for items as diverse as flannel tops and cacao truffles.

By Marc Levy

Saturday, November 15, 2025

Marc LevyRyan and Molly Lindbergh inside a gutted 98 Winthrop St. in Cambridge – the former Red House and future Cox Hicks Club – on Oct. 16.

What was known as The Red House at 98 Winthrop St., famed for its lobster menu and cheerfully blazing fireplaces, has been carefully gutted, stripped to rough floorboards and eccentric angles from centuries past to become an entirely new concept in the spring. Owners Molly and Ryan Lindbergh – Molly is the daughter of Red House founder Paul Overgaag – are at once bursting to talk about it and reluctant to reveal too much.

“We’re paring it back to the original inception of hospitality, to classic styles that are local to New England,” Ryan Lindbergh said during a walkthrough of the space in October. Less lobster, though a bisque and clam chowder can be expected; beef from Tendercrop in Newburyport, which raises its own cattle; likely some hearty ravioli; perhaps a dish that pays homage to The Red House.

“We want to to give people a fine dining experience, but you can go to it and not feel like, ‘What just happened to my wallet,’” Molly Lindbergh said.

More than anything, they want the Cox Hicks Club to be a clubhouse in more than name – one open to anyone. “As someone who grew up here and lives here,” Molly said, “Where is the character? Where is the soul? I want it back. I want this to be the cornerstone, the heartbeat. I want people to love it. I want people to be proud of it as part of this community. And I’m not talking about people visiting; I’m talking about people who live here all year.”

The couple has been obsessing over the house and its future for five years, as they emerged from Covid in steps, building from a sidewalk lobster stand into a frenetic peak in 2023 and sagging into last year as tourism dipped, economic uncertainty set in and the couple found themselves “Band-Aiding a lot of problems,” Molly said, with a building parts of which are well over 200 years old.

Marc LevyThe Lindberghs have been thinking about The Cox Hicks Club for five years.

They shut the Red House forever in October 2024, on the last day of the Head of the Charles regatta. With Needham Bank, they are betting big on a thorough refurbishment that has Ryan prowling salvage yards for granite, hand-hewn wood beams and the gas lanterns he plans to install along Winthrop Street.

The Lindberghs’ goal of a sustainable kitchen drew a $100,000 grant from the city, which led to the shock discovery that the historic Red House was the only structure on the street without direct access to power lines, and The Cox Hicks Club kitchen couldn’t support the new equipment. “We need the electrical capacities to be future looking,” Ryan said, to someday be independent of fossil fuels. “We’re putting so much energy upfront into the utilities and the unsexy parts of doing this project. Our general contractor looks at us and is like, ‘Does this make economic sense?’ No, no, but we’ve got to do it.”

An October rendering of the future Cox Hicks Club, which was designed by Ryan Lindbergh.

Their rebuilding for the ages is in consultation with Charles Sullivan, of the Cambridge Historical Commission. With its earliest parts dating as far back as 1796, Sullivan said, 98 Winthrop is only Federalist-era house in the city on its original site and original foundation. It sits atop a stone retaining wall built as part of a scheme to develop the town’s brook into a wharf, Sullivan said in a call. That idea, to dredge the brook and bring in cargo by barge and schooner, didn’t work out, but the house served its purpose: sheltering Sarah Hicks, the widow of John Hicks, a Tea Party participant who died at the battle of Lexington and Concord.

“It remains an almost unique example of the type of very modest, single-family house that would have been occupied by a person of limited means,” Sullivan said.

A later owner was Susannah Cox, a widow who welcomed other widows as tenants. The structure stayed a home into the 1970s, when the last resident willed it to Harvard. After using it as office space, the school sold the property to Overgaag in 1998 for conversion into a restaurant. He built everything back from the main dining room in 2001 and opened the Red House – the structure has been painted red since the 1890s – a couple of years later. 

Marc LevyThe Lindberghs on Winthrop Street outside the Cox Hicks Club, which they hope to open March 1.

“I’ve had a love-hate relationship with this house,” said Molly, recalling one of her chores as a child growing up in a restaurant: sweeping up cigarette butts on Winthrop Street. “I’ve learned to love it. I’ve learned to also love working with Charles. I’m like, you know what? I get it. Like, I get why this is important.”

The Lindberghs have put up a whole website on the history as well as prepared a custom historical marker for the house, aghast that it was skipped when the blue ovals went up around the bicentennial. (“I’m not sure why it wasn’t in the original lineup of markers,” Sullivan said.)

The Lindberghs are making their own addition – upward, so the club will wind up seating the same roughly 100 people as The Red House, but without crowding. The roof is getting a deck with a bar, including a three-season patio with its own fireplace. Dining is focused on the second floor, leaving the ground level with a series of unique spaces for dining and lingering that feel like they’re for “the people who live here year-round,” Molly said. The Lindberghs are setting up a chess table directly in front of a fireplace. “The conversations in this town. People writing books. It’s insane, the amount of knowledge being transferred. I want this floor to enable people to do that and feel like the original inception of a restaurant, as a meeting house.”

The fireplaces won’t be the same – the logs are impractical and bring rodent problems, Ryan said. They will be converted to burn pellets that provide the same cheery blaze and warmth. And every booth will get a view.

“It should create just a really beautiful sense of nostalgia when you’re sitting and having what should be very fine dining service,” Ryan said. “It should button everything together.”

More about The Cox Hicks Club:

Molly is excited about Christmas at The Cox Hicks Club. “I cannot wait to have a massive Christmas tree out on my deck,” she said, and to hire carolers to delight people strolling and shopping. Electrical outlets have been added to the deck specifically to light the tree. “Just because, like, why not? No one does it anymore. It makes me happy,” she said.

The Cox Hicks Club may go tipless to combat dining-out “exhaustion.” The couple dislikes when a meal ends feeling like doing complex math. “Between a price on a menu and the end price you see on a receipt with a 20 percent tip, with a kitchen admin fee, sales tax, meals tax, and it’s just like, it’s not what you see is what you get,” Ryan said. “We have the ambition to try to pare that down and eliminate as many of the painful touch points as possible.” The hope is to get staff on salaries with health insurance and make it “an actual sustainable place to be.”

Don’t expect a big online presence for this throwback club. There will be no social media for this restaurant, Molly said. “I’m not doing it. It’s not what we’re about,” she said. She’s not even sure she wants to post the menu online. “I just want people to come in here and the server to tell them everything and tailor it to the table. I want to be, like, welcome to the experience, my friends.”

The club has a tentative opening date of March 1.

Sidney Regelbrugge

11.13.25: The Sex Issue, News

Deep in Harvard Square, amidst the many coffee shops, bagel stops, and bookstores, stands “Good Vibrations,” a nationally known chain of sex-toy stores. Less than a mile apart from Good Vibrations is Hubba Hubba, another renowned BDSM-centric business. For some Harvard College students, these sexual wellness stores serve as an essential resource for exploring intimacy and alternative romantic practices. With Hubba Hubba permanently closing on Nov. 24, Good Vibrations is set to be the Square’s last-standing hub for such practices in proximity to University affiliates.

Located at 52 John F. Kennedy St., Good Vibrations, a storefront for the “Good Vibes” corporation founded in 1977 and based in San Francisco, offers an array of products both online and in-store.

Their website’s anthem speaks to their ethos and product line: “In our world, pleasure is celebrated. Shame is erased in favor of empowerment. WHY? is replaced with HOW? Or maybe, HOW OFTEN? Curiosity is revered and encouraged. Information is openly shared. And sex, in every form, can be nothing short of extraordinary. This is the world of Good Vibes. COME JOIN US HERE. WE’LL BE YOUR GUIDE.”

Good Vibrations’s approach to sex toys focuses on rewriting the current shame-saturated narrative, emphasizing that their storefront is a woman-friendly place to shop. The inventory includes vibrators, dildos, lube, penis toys, anal toys, BDSM fetish, harnesses, lingerie, and more. Prices range from $5 to over $150, with the cheapest item being “Poppin’ Rock Candy Oral Sex Candy,” priced at $2. Some higher-end products can cost more than $1,000 and are designed for advanced or specialized use, such as “The Dicktator—Extreme Sex Machine.”

Before Good Vibrations’s establishment in January of 2017, Hubba Hubba was the sole sex store serving the Cambridge community. To Hubba Hubba’s owners, employees, and customers, it was more than a facility to purchase intimacy products; it was a place of education and open-heartedness. What started as an underground, alternative, and woman-owned fashion store in 1978 has transformed into the sex-positive alternative store that it is today. 

“Hubba Hubba is: a health education center, salon, art gallery; as well as a place to restart, meditate, dance, meet a date, learn, and become politically active,” the business’s website reads.

However, due to rising expenses, landlord tensions, environmental changes, and a fluctuating economy, the community that Hubba Hubba hoped to amplify is now in jeopardy, and the business is shuttering in two weeks. 

Neither Good Vibrations nor Hubba Hubba were available for comment on the impact of their stores on the Cambridge community. Hubba Hubba expressed having faced past controversies with the Harvard community to the Independent, though further details were not shared. Similar to Hubba Hubba, BDSM-oriented stores and communities often contend with comparable misconceptions and misunderstandings. 

In an article written by Dr. Namita Chaen—a clinical sexologist, certified sex, intimacy & relationship coach, and certified sexological bodyworker—Chaen addresses the common misconception that BDSM practices are abusive and purely about pain. She challenges this viewpoint by explaining that it is a very consensual and individualized practice for all participants. 

“At the heart of BDSM lies the interplay of dominance and submission, where individuals willingly engage in power exchange dynamics for mutual pleasure and fulfillment,” she explains. “Dominance involves asserting control over a partner, guiding and directing their actions within agreed-upon boundaries. Submission entails surrendering control and entrusting oneself to the dominant partner’s guidance and authority.”

While BDSM culture has been more accepted in mainstream media in recent years, typically conservative viewpoints regarding sexual practices seem to have become more common among young adults. 

“In the last one or two years, I have noticed more people subscribing to purity culture—I hear more about people talking about having a low body count or waiting for certain relationship milestones than I used to,” an anonymous senior in Winthrop House shared in a statement to the Independent. Despite the Hubba Hubba and Good Vibrations’ struggles, Harvard College undergraduates spoke to the growing trend in demystifying sex in anonymous public forums. “I think in a broader long-term sense, there has been an attitude toward sex positivity over the years; however, shame/purity culture definitely renews itself in waves, and recently there has been a return to conservative attitudes in the last year or so,” a senior in Currier House said.

However, conversations regarding sex, intimacy, and sexual wellness on campus are still viewed as too taboo for open dialogue, delegating such conversations to smaller, personal groups.“Me and my friends I love talking about sex. That being said, I think Americans are more squeamish about talking about sex than certain other cultures (e.g., Europeans),” G.B. ’27 wrote to the Independent. 

That same hesitation surrounding open dialogue about sex appears to carry over into students’ real-world behaviors, with the majority of interviewees expressing uncertainty or reluctance about visiting sex stores, including Hubba Hubba and Good Vibrations.

A sophomore in Adams House disclosed that they had been to a sex store in the Square, but did not specify which one, and clarified their visit was not by choice. “[It was] for an initiation task, not of my own volition,” the student said. 

In addition to having mixed answers to visiting sex stores in the Square, there was also a sense of uncertainty about the educational purpose of sex stores. “I don’t know if [sex stores] actually affect anything, but rather just have people walk by and giggle,” the sophomore continued. “I think a productive conversation is induced by two people, not just the presence of the store.”

G.B. shared a similar sentiment. “I think they are [a good way to spread awareness about sexuality]. But since it requires people to buy things, I don’t think it’s accessible to everyone.”

In Harvard Square, sex stores occupy a small but visible share of local businesses. Such visibility has sparked conversation about whether the culture they promote will gain more traction in the future. 

“Even though I’ve never been to one myself, seeing the signs around the square definitely opened my mind more to the possibility,” the Winthrop senior said. “I’ve also heard friends talking about things they’ve seen or bought at sex stores, which could increase sex positivity, although that is more included in just talking to people more openly about sex.”

Others disagreed, explaining that the sex stores in the Square did place sexual wellness in plain sight; however, that was not quite enough. “I don’t think their existence alone pushes for a sex-positive mindset in the average person due to the general sentiment that hovers around them,” the senior in Currier House said.

Both store owners and Harvard students agree that honest discourse about wellness and intimacy is highly important to create a truly sex-positive environment. 

Good Vibrations offers multiple how-to blog guides for people to begin exploring self-induced pleasure and sex toys, both for couples and individually. 

The Currier House student emphasized that sexuality should be something that everyone feels comfortable exploring. 

“My philosophy is that everyone should feel comfortable exploring their sexuality however they see fit as long as it is done in a manner that is respectful to any other parties involved,” they explained. “Sex is a pretty inherent part of human culture, and I think perpetuating a level of shame or negativity around it creates unnecessary harm.”

With Hubba Hubba closing and Good Vibrations remaining the last sexual-wellness shop in the Square, the conversation regarding sexual wellness and sex positivity seems to be one that will continue, regardless of students’ interactions with these stores. And while Hubba Hubba still has its doors open, students and community members can stop by and explore its diverse products, with all products in the store being 25% off. 

Sidney Regelbrugge ’28 (sidneyregelbrugge@college.harvard.edu) hopes that dialogue about intimacy continues across campus.

Historic lighting was restored to the exterior of 23 Church St. in November 2025. By E. Matteo Diaz

By Jaya N. Karamcheti and Kevin Zhong, Crimson Staff Writers

Yesterday

After nearly 80 years in the dark, 23 Church St. lit up Friday following the restoration of historic lights on the exterior of the Art Deco-style building.

Around two dozen residents gathered on Friday night to watch the debut of the lights, which were originally installed in 1936 after the Cambridge Gas and Electric Light Company purchased and developed the property for its showroom and office. The lights outlined the perimeter of the storefront, illuminating a display of kitchen and electrical appliances.

Sold to the First Church of Christ, Scientist, in 1947, the building currently houses the church’s Christian Science Reading Room and Rodney’s Bookstore. According to Charles M. Sullivan, executive director of the Cambridge Historical Commission, the lights went out sometime around the mid-century transfer and remained that way until Friday.

While working on a book in 2015 about historical architecture and development in Cambridge, Sullivan came across photos of the outside and inside of the Church Street property and noticed the light installation. Seeing the photos sparked a plan to restore these historical lights in the modern day.

“Wouldn’t that be great someday to restore the lighting?” Sullivan recalled thinking.

Sullivan then approached R. Elliott Reinert, the manager of the Church Street building, about the prospect of bringing the lights back to life. In 2022, with the building needing maintenance repairs, Reinert thought the time was ripe for a lighting restoration.

“When I saw how the building had been architecturally designed and to have these strips of light that really complete the building, either by day or night, it was sort of a dream,” Reinert said.

“I never thought we’d really be able to do it, but it seemed important to me because of beautifying the neighborhood,” he added.

Sullivan said that finding a company to take on the task of restoration was difficult due to the challenges of working with old technology.

By Ollie F. Ginnis

By Kate E. Ravenscroft, Crimson Opinion Writer

Kate E. Ravenscroft ’26, a Crimson Editorial comper, is an English concentrator in Cabot House.

6 hours ago

The Harvard Square traversed by Julia Child, Bill Gates, and decades of Cambridge residents and students, is increasingly different from that which exists today. Amid the changes, one iconic, lamp-lit newsstand had long stood above Cambridge, reading “Out of Town” — a cultural landmark that presided over the Square as a news outlet from 1954 to 2019.

This year, that storied newsstand was officially replaced by the Cambridge KiOSK, touted as a “vibrant public space in the heart of Harvard Square, offering free programming, information, and a dynamic gathering place for all” — a reimagined “community space for the 21st century” — whatever that means. One look at this thing confirms that the old, eclectic Harvard Square has been strangled by the virulent spread of millennial gentrification once and for all.

The first time I toured the College as a high school junior, the once-beloved newsstand was already under construction — Out of Town News sold its last magazine on Oct. 31, 2019, over two years before my visit. By the time I started college, it appeared as though zero progress had been made on the obtrusive construction site.

As I passed the ugly, unperturbed corpse of what used to be Out of Town News nearly every day for the next three years, I naïvely assumed the structure was undergoing renovation. I dreamed of the day I — like the leagues of Harvard students and locals before me — might stroll up to the charming newsstand to buy that rare Italian Vogue, a pack of Marlboro Golds, and some mint gum.

My hope that the refurbishment would finally conclude before my high school graduation peaked last spring when, for the first time in four years, I actually saw construction workers on-site. However, when I approached the still largely unfinished Harvard Square intersection last May, I was instead greeted by the new-and-unimproved, sterilized Cambridge KiOSK.

I pass the KiOSK at least twice every weekday on my way to and from class. I have never seen a single visitor inside. The building is often instead occupied by a lone employee with little to do. It is no longer decorated with niche magazine covers, but by lukewarm, minimalist political installations that espouse the unflattering aesthetic of Instagram social justice infographics.

The chronic vacancy of this allegedly lively community center makes me wonder: Who asked for this? While the KiOSK claims to fill a cultural void, articles on the topic show that Out of Town News was greatly effective in fostering public connection, even well past its heyday. At its closing, numerous outlets quoted residents and employees attesting to Out of Town’s landmark significance and utility — past students, professors, and public figures alike heralded not only its diversity of publications, but its convenience.

The decision to exchange Out of Town News for the modern-day KiOSK seems to have arisen neither from necessity nor the previous tenant’s wishes. Though city staff reported that the owners of Out of Town News declined to extend their lease in 2019, the city had already pitched a $4.5 million redesign of Harvard Square Plaza as early as 2017. The company was informed they would have to vacate the kiosk because it would become a visitor information center.

The rise of digital media and slowing print sales may explain why Out of Town News bowed out of business, but these factors hardly justify the creation of the KiOSK — part of a project that turned the heart of Cambridge into an eyesore for five years and ultimately cost $12.6 million. The result? A plaza that remains unfinished and an empty establishment that appears to serve no one and fuels Harvard Square’s increasingly grotesque tourism industry. Further, the death of Out of Town marks one less locally-owned business in Harvard Square, a once-charming landscape now increasingly saturated with corporate chains.

Going forward, Cambridge city planners and the Harvard Square Business Association might take more seriously their duty to the Harvard community — and the character that once put our intersection on the map — before so easily succumbing to the dollar signs promised by passerby.

To me, the KiOSK represents not a center of thriving public life, but the ghost of Harvard Square’s once-endearing culture — one our city planners have rejected in favor of monoculture, disruptive tourism, and hollow promises of the very community they’ve helped to destroy.

By Community Advocate Staff

October 29, 2025

By Sharon Oliver
Contributing Writer

CAMBRIDGE – Harvard Square area has been home for a lot of “local celebrities” over the years. They may not be household names outside of Massachusetts or even Cambridge, but many people remember them well and were touched or influenced by their character. One such person was Dr. Hugh Morgan Hill, better known as Brother Blue, the storyteller.

Captivating audiences
Brother Blue served as a first lieutenant in the army during World War II, graduated from Harvard in 1948, and earned a master’s in playwriting from the Yale School of Drama with a Ph.D. from Cincinnati’s Union Graduate School. During his struggles in playwriting, the Ohio native discovered he had a gift for captivating audiences while describing his stories. With his wife Ruth at his side while bedecked from head-to-toe in blue attire and his trademark butterflies painted on his face and hands, Brother Blue told his stories to local prison inmates. He also brought his storytelling to festivals, college campuses and stages across the globe including the Bahamas, England, Canada, Italy and Russia.

Commentors like memorablem72 took to Facebook to share, “I remember seeing him perform in Beverly. I loved him so much. He was one of a kind who would make you feel better about yourself. I wish I could have introduced my kids to him.”

TenBearsII added, “I was a child growing up in the city of Cambridge, Brother Blue would appear from nowhere, while we were in camp, bored by the activities, he would show up and tell us a story. He would captivate children and adults alike, he was a Griot in every sense of the word, I saw him tired in years as the winter of our lives took shape. While he tired, the shine in his eyes, the hope on his lips and the sweet love in his heart never diminished. He continued to do his thing until the thing was done, no one else could do his job, He was the ONLY ONE!! He taught us about me, and he taught us about you. There was only one and incomparable, Brother Blue!!! I love and Treasure you Griot!!!”

Soothing the emotionally wounded
Brother Blue did not have a standard job. He made his living weaving stories while often walking about Harvard Square or downtown Boston barefoot. His educational credentials would have allowed him to counsel the emotionally wounded within the walls of a warm and welcoming office. Instead, he chose to go where the emotionally wounded dwelled be it a prison, bar, street corner or homeless shelter. He was named the official storyteller of both Cambridge and Boston by resolution by both city councils.

Born into poverty rife with childhood memories tarnished by racism, neither of Brother Blue’s parents went beyond the third grade. His father, a bricklayer, was once beaten by muggers for refusing to hand over money he was planning to mail to Brother Blue. Despite his Ivy League education, Brother Blue’s intentions were to attend Harvard Law School and as an attorney he would set free all those who did not belong in jail. He did not chase after economic freedom either but rather the freedom to be like a butterfly and like butterflies, epitomize hope.

He was cast as a modern Merlin in the 1981 film “Knightriders,” and his show “Street Corner Classics with Brother Blue,” on Cambridge Community Television was a fan favorite. Two books have been written about him: “Brother Blue: A Narrative Portrait of Brother Blue A.K.A. Dr. Hugh Morgan Hill” in 1995 and “Ahhhh! A Tribute to Brother Blue and Ruth Edmonds Hill,” released in 2003.

The beloved street poet and philosopher who encouraged his listening audience to imagine bigger worlds, died in 2009 at the age of 88. At the time, The Boston Globe had reported that even on his deathbed Brother Blue had one last story to tell – a love story.

Iris Zhan, Staff Writer | October 23, 2025

Iris Zhan

Photos taken at the Honk! Festival

On Sunday, Oct. 12, local activist organizations and activist street bands from across the country filled Harvard Square for a spectacular parade to celebrate 20 years of street music activism. 

The parade was the conclusion to Honk! Festival of Activist Street Bands, a three-day event celebrating different forms of art for activism, featuring concerts, dance parties and banner and lantern making. 

One participant in the parade was 350 Massachusetts, a statewide climate action group dedicated to advancing climate justice solutions in Massachusetts. Signage and banners advocated the call to “Make Polluters Pay,” a reference to one of their main statewide campaigns: a bill in Massachusetts that would create a climate change superfund, paid for by the largest polluters in Massachusetts, to enable the state to prepare and recover from climate disasters. 

Other local activist groups included the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition, Food Not Bombs, and Boston Voices of Community and Labor (BVOCAL). 

“These bands don’t just play for the people; they play among the people and invite them to join the fun. They are active, activist, and deeply engaged in their communities,” according to the Honk! Festival website. 

As each group made its way to Harvard Square, an announcer welcomed each group, with warm welcomes received by the packed streets of people. 

Parades are typically celebratory and not advocacy-oriented, and events like the Honk! Festival and the most recent Boston Labor Day Parade mark an important shift in less traditional modes of demonstration that bring together political messaging and celebratory cheer. 

Because of Trump’s crackdown on free speech, many are scared to participate in protests for fear of surveillance, detention or deportation. But a parade or concert are less risky ways to keep people engaged in social justice causes and build community.