Omni Travel, however, is hoping to give Bow Street a new, upgraded look. It has razed the old Bicycle Exchange building this summer and built a four-story headquarters for its Cambridge operation.

One of the developers, Eric Rodine of Line Company Architects, says the new structure will remedy the bleak impression of Bow Street.

The old building was too low, he says, causing the walker's eye to roam over the roof to the buildings in the rear, rather than straight down the street to the plaza in front of St. Paul's Church.

"It made Bow Street fall apart as a tight facade," Rodine says.

Rodine says the new building will alter the streetscape, as Bow Street will now act like a tunnel between St. Paul's plaza and Quincy Square.

He added that there are also plans in the works by other agencies to develop Quincy Square, in a further attempt to beautify the eastern side of Harvard Square.

The Omni Travel building, originally scheduled to open on Labor Day, will not be finished until November, according to Csilla Jacobson, owner of Omni Travel.