Gifford says the Carpenter development, which was originally scheduled to be larger than the Prudential Center, was the kind of "big, bad and ugly" development that the fund was intended to prevent. The fund successfully appealed the zoning changes needed to establish the development in Cambridge.

The defense fund considers people like Paul A. Corcoran, owner of the Harvard Shop, as important constituents. Corcoran has lived in the Square area for 38 years.

He inherited his father's department store, Corcoran's, but it closed in 1987. The store closed for the same reason many owner-operated businesses are finding it difficult to cope in today's Square: Corcoran couldn't pay the rent.

"We had a store in Harvard Square since 1949 until 1987 when it closed," Corcoran said. "We were the last of the general merchandise stores, except for the Coop."

The Coop, too, is having problems. For the first time in its history, the student cooperative failed to offer a rebate to its members this year. Corcoran says that's because department stores can't survive in today's Square.

"In order to survive, you need to specialize," he says.

Corcoran has taken his own advice. When Corcoran's closed down, he started the Harvard shop, which sells Harvard-labeled gear. "By specializing in only Harvard products, we've been able to be profitable," he says.

Specialization, however, has been the driving force in turning the Square into something approaching a mall, Corcoran says. Slowly but surely, the Square has lost its unique atmosphere.

"[The Square] used to be a small little village with no chains at all except Woolworth's," Corcoran says. "We're becoming more and more like a shopping center."

"Personally, I think we've lost a little flavor," he adds.

As it fights more battles, the fund has come under increasing criticism.

The family of real estate developer John DiGiovanni has been doing business in the Square for more than 50 years. He says the fund's main problem is its arrogance. Fund members, he charges, believe the Square belongs to them.

"[The Defense Fund] wants Harvard Square to be private," DiGiovanni says during an interview in his third-floor office in The Garage. "They want it to be their Square."

In particular, DiGiovanni accuses the fund of using its legal and political power for "elitist" ends. While it allows some stores into the Square, it has fought against potentially popular fast food outlets, he says.

"When does zoning cross the line into 'snob-zoning?'" DiGiovanni asks.