Toward a Happier New Year on Harvard Square

December 18, 2008 in Ideas, Travel | 7 comments

Wahyd of Manifest has an original idea for saving the Out of Town News landmark at the heart of Harvard Square.

7 comments

  1. Yule Heibel’s avatar

    Yule Heibel on December 18, 2008 at 9:33 pm

    I like Wahyd’s idea – it would have to be a boutique service, without the excess that characterizes the present Out of Town News offerings.

    It would no longer *be* OoTN, obviously. If OoTN is, oh, Galerie Printemps or Kaufhaus des Westens or Bloomingdale’s right now (something for everyone), the new incarnation would be a specialty boutique, based on existing consumer demand (*but without all the serendipity of finding something completely different from what you were looking for, perhaps*).

    But it’s still the case that the new format could morph and grow eventually. Serendipity *is* (or should be) built into markets – maybe into the mature ones. That is, it doesn’t happen in the new formats overnight – it has to grow, get cultivated (imo).

    Regardless, trying to bring print-on-demand *to the street* is a really interesting idea.

  4. Gifts to Bangalore’s avatar

    Gifts to Bangalore on December 19, 2008 at 6:39 am

    Wish you all a Happy New Year in advance.

  5. Aaron Pressman’s avatar

    Aaron Pressman on December 19, 2008 at 12:24 pm

    Doc, FWIW it sounds like the icon will retain its soul under new ownership – City of Cambridge has 11 bidders to take over the property, bids to be opened on January 8. See http://www.wickedlocal.com/cambridge/news/business/x776478317/Former-Harvard-Square-newsstand-owner-wants-his-business-back

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