First he grabbed an apartment and retail building in the heart of Harvard Square. Months later he bought another apartment and retail complex on the other side of JFK Street. Then came the deal for a building known as the American Express travel office, quickly followed by the purchase of apartments behind the Harvard Lampoon office.
For most Harvard students, Winthrop Square Park is just a small patch of grass wedged between Peet’s Coffee and JFK St. However, this small plot of land has played an outsized role not only in American history, but also in the current controversy over development in Harvard Square. According to the Cambridge Historical Commission, Cambridge—then called Newtowne—was founded at the current site of the park in 1630 by Governor John Winthrop and Deputy Governor Thomas Dudley. In the mid 1890s, prominent architect Frederick Law Olmsted’s firm helped develop the space, after it was enclosed as a public park in 1834. According to some Cambridge citizens, that makes it the oldest such park in the country.
Though Harvard Square is already a popular tourist attraction, local businesses are working to bring in even more visitors, particularly targeting Chinese travelers. The Harvard Square Business Association recently partnered with the company Attract China to reach out to Chinese visitors, according to HSBA Executive Director Denise A. Jillson. With the company’s help, HSBA and businesses in the Square will advertise to Chinese tourists with a website in Mandarin.
Harvard Crimson
March 5, 2014
Billionaire Hong Kong investor and Harvard School of Public Health alumnus Gerald L. Chan has made waves in Harvard Square in recent months with purchases of Square real estate totalling more than $100 million. Chan’s acquisitions include the property at Winthrop Square, which houses Grendel’s Den and the recently closed UpStairs on the Square, a recently vacated American Express building, and the stretch of property from 18 to 28 JFK St., which includes UNO’s and Papyrus.
When Buoy Lee, owner and founder of the Hong Kong Chinese restaurant, first walked by the property on 1238 Mass. Ave. in 1954, she could sense its potential. “I thought to myself—jeez, that place has feng shui,” Lee said. This week, as the Kong, as the restaurant is affectionately known among students, prepares to celebrate its 60th anniversary, Lee and her family reflected on the growth of the business and its landmark status in Harvard Square.
Alden & Harlow, the new Harvard Square restaurant from chef Michael Scelfo, located in the former Casablanca space.
The winter of 2013-2014 has not been an easy one for Harvard Square’s homeless population, but most winters are not. With nearly a foot of snow last week and more in the forecast, the weather has exacerbated existing shortages in space and resources at area shelters and placed added burdens on the population that spends most of its days on the street.
Harvard Square is a place where even the threatened passing of a Dunkin’ Donuts can prompt student outrage; passion for favorite food haunts runs deep. While both students and restaurants in the Square turn over as fast as patties at Tasty Burger, some local favorites persist. Enter the Grafton Group, one of Harvard Square’s largest locally-owned families of restaurants, which has been around since 1996. In the nearly twenty years since the group’s founding, it has been a witness to a Square in flux.
Alden & Harlow, the restaurant that opened Friday in its location under Cafe Algiers on 40 Brattle St., pays homage to Harvard Square with its decor, its independent ownership, and even its personnel. Featuring many of the murals that decorated the walls of its predecessor, the new bistro employs a line cook whose great uncle was the original owner of Club Casablanca, the iconic bar that occupied the space for more than 50 years. “The name of the restaurant itself is the ultimate nod to the Square,” owner and chef Michael Scelfo said.
Students might have to walk a little farther for their late night burritos once Felipe’s Taqueria, the popular Harvard Square Mexican restaurant, completes its move from Mt. Auburn St. to a new spot two blocks away on Brattle St. Although some students may be dismayed by the longer walk, co-owners Thomas J. Brush and Felipe Herrera said they are excited about the benefits presented by the move.