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Lost in the Blur of the Changing Square

“I think there are sinister commercial forces at work in the Square, who don’t have any sense of the quality, the character, the nature of the Square,” says Anthony Cornish, an artist in residence at Tufts University who has lived in the Square on and off since the 1960’s, raising his son in Cambridge for part of that time. “My son came back and said, ‘Where’s all the ice cream gone?’ It was more individualized back then, I suppose.”

While some long-time residents like Cornish favor conspiracy theories when they look at the changing face of Harvard Square, others point to more ordinary causes.

Local store owners, after all, are first and foremost running businesses. Many are quick to point out that despite rising rents, a poorly run operation does not deserve to stay in business simply because it is locally owned.

Lawrence Hopkins jokes about the collapse of the Sony Janus movie theater on JFK Street.

“I used to love going to see movies down there,” he says, affecting a tone of mock-tragedy. “There was never anyone down there—you had the whole place to yourself.”

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Keith Gamble, manager of Bob Slate’s Stationary, says the issue at stake for the community is not the fact that businesses are failing more than before, but that when they do, they are replaced by national companies with little interest in the community.

“I’ve been in the Square for a lot of years, and it doesn’t seem to be changing any faster than it’s ever been—there’s always been turnover in the Square,” Gamble says. “If anything, what’s changing is the character of the people coming in. They’re chain stores rather than locally owned businesses.”

“We wish Grafton was still there,” Gamble adds. “They were good neighbors and they brought a lot of traffic to the area.”

A few local businesses continue to move in, however, and many long-time enterprises persist and even thrive.

The “outdoor mall” of today’s Square notwithstanding, the view from the corner of Mt. Auburn and JFK St. also includes a new independent record store Other Music, which opened on election day this year, as well as the neighboring Market Theater, which opened its doors in April.

The theater is funded entirely by the Carr Foundation, which promotes human rights education and the arts. It plans to focus on producing and showcasing theater from local playwrights and performers, according to Jane A. Beall, director of marketing and press.

These new independents are next door to a stalwart neighbor--Grendel’s Den, which re-opened last year after an elaborate renovation.

And it is not only local businesses that fail in the Square. National chains Express, Structure and Adidas all vacated the Square this year in spite of highly desirable locations.

As ever, competition for space and survival in Harvard Square is fierce, and nothing is written in stone.

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