{shortcode-c285aa9e4a9fc8785267da04d450de32c06cd9a3}

The Cambridge Kiosk Advisory Committee held the first of a series of public committee meetings on Tuesday to discuss the future of the Harvard Square Kiosk, which is set to reopen next month.

The Kiosk has been vacant since newsstand Out of Town News closed in 2019 after 36 years of operation. For the 56 years prior, the Kiosk was the entrance to the Harvard stop on the Red Line.

Daniel Wolf, a senior planner in Cambridge’s Community Development Department, is leading the advisory committee. He is joined by nine local Cambridge leaders and residents, who are tasked with making recommendations to City Manager Yi-An Huang ’05 about the Kiosk’s operation and programming.

During the meeting, the committee previewed the physical design and layout of the newly renovated Kiosk. When the Kiosk opens, only the front entrance — which faces the Harvard Coop and Joe’s Pizza — will be accessible to pedestrians. Many parts of the plaza surrounding the back side of the Kiosk will still be closed due to construction, which is expected to last until the fall of 2026.

The renovated Kiosk and Plaza will maintain many of their original characteristics, but will also come with some new additions. The Plaza will be flatter than the original, with steps and bleacher-style seating. The Kiosk will also now feature large, opening windows – giving students, residents, and tourists a look into the programming inside.

The city started preliminary, public working group meetings to provide ideas for a new Kiosk starting in 2017 in anticipation of Out of Town News’ closure. While the Covid-19 pandemic delayed initial renovations, the Kiosk has been under construction since 2021.

Now, the Kiosk is planning to take on a new role in the Square.

CultureHouse, a Somerville-based organization focused on revitalizing unused spaces, will manage the day-to-day programming for the first few months of the Kiosk’s opening as they approach the end of a two-year contract with the City of Cambridge .

Committee members shared their different visions for the future of the Kiosk, many of which were in line with the goals and themes laid out by the prior working group. Many members expressed their hopes for the Kiosk to become a welcoming, engaging space for all.

“Vision was for the Kiosk and Plaza to be flexible, dynamic, and welcoming community assets that enhance the everyday life of Harvard Square, act as platforms for community gatherings — including civic, artistic, and social activities — and attract and serve a broad range of people,” Wolf said.

Committee members floated various ideas for the space, including converting the Kiosk into a venue for art galleries, stand-up comedy shows, voter registration, newsstands, and services for unhoused residents.

The Cambridge Visitor Information Center, which is operated by the Cambridge Office of Tourism, will also return to the Kiosk.

Many committee members also expressed the importance of preserving the Kiosk’s historical significance within the Square.

“If you’re a Harvard undergrad right now, there is nothing that will tell you that that was ever a newsstand,” committee member Ed Rodley, longtime Cambridge resident and co-founder and principal of The Experience Alchemists, said.

“Its sense of place has been decontextualized in its current form — it’s just a big, empty room,” Rodley added.

Rodley and other committee members also mentioned their desire to avoid over-programming in the space, allowing it to serve as an open gathering space for all.

“When we thought about things that give you an opportunity to just hang out and you don’t have to actually consume anything, there are not a lot of those kinds of opportunities,” Rodley said.

The committee hopes that “the Kiosk remains a vibrant cultural and community space” for the years to come, Wolf said.

—Staff writer Jaya N. Karamcheti can be reached at jaya.karamcheti@thecrimson.com.

—Staff writer Kevin Zhong can be reached at kevin.zhong@thecrimson.com.