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The Harvard Square Theater, located at 10 Church St. and owned by billionaire investor Gerald L. Chan, has been vacant for 13 years. On Monday, the Cambridge City Council voted to ask owners of long-vacant buildings to describe their plans for development. By Brenda Lu

By Jaya N. Karamcheti and Kevin Zhong, Crimson Staff Writers

Yesterday

The Cambridge City Council voted unanimously to ask owners of long-vacant buildings to come before the city council to discuss next steps for their properties in a resolution that specifically called out Gerald L. Chan, the billionaire real estate owner and Harvard donor who owns the former Harvard Square Theatre.

The vote is a step forward for several groups, including the Harvard Square Business Association and the city council, who are looking to pressure Chan into action over his long-delayed plans to redevelop the theater — a large building on Church Street that has sat vacant for 13 years.

At a committee hearing last month, councilors floated the idea of establishing fines for the owners of vacant property to reduce the problem generally, although they have not since taken any action toward such a policy.

That discussion did, however, catalyze Monday’s resolution to invite Chan to testify, with Vice Mayor Marc C. McGovern citing the vacant theater as an egregious example of harmful vacant property in the city.

“It’s the heart of one of the busiest commercial districts and most important commercial districts in our city,” McGovern said.

“The vibrancy of our squares are really dependent upon businesses being there,” Councilor Ayesha M. Wilson said. “The theater, being such a historic space, is something that we can’t turn a blind eye on.”

While the policy order originally targeted Chan alone over his vacant theater, councilors agreed to amend the order to include the owners of 22 other properties that have sat vacant for five years or longer, at the suggestion of Councilor Paul F. Toner.

Councilors, residents, and business owners at the hearing all emphasized that the shuttered Harvard Square Theatre particularly detracted from visitors’ experience of the Square because it is so large and central to the area.

The Harvard Square Theatre first closed in 2012 after AMC sold it to local developer Richard L. Friedman. Chan then bought the building from Friedman in 2015, and put forward a proposal two years later for its redevelopment into a multi-use complex that would include storefronts, movie screens, and office space.

That plan received conditional approval from the Cambridge Historical Commission, but Chan never took the proposal to the Cambridge Planning Board.

Since 2019, the project has stalled.

Dan White, the manager of Chan’s investment firm which owns the theater, blamed the Covid-19 pandemic for the company’s lack of action in a statement to the Crimson.

“Our previous plan, which was well received and on its way to final approval, was derailed by the pandemic, requiring us to reappraise what might work best for the site,” White wrote. “We continue to work diligently on these efforts.”

Ivy Moylan, executive director of the nearby Brattle Theatre, said at the hearing she and her team had tried to speak with Chan regarding his intentions for the Harvard Square Theatre, but had never been able to make contact.

Moylan called the theater “a blight on a beautiful, historic street.”

While the order ultimately received support from all councilors, Toner and Councilor Catherine “Cathie” Zusy both criticized the original draft for targeting Chan too directly.

“I don’t think shaming is the best way to motivate people,” Zusy said. “We want to partner with Mr. Chan. We don’t want to humiliate him.”

Suzanne P. Blier, president of the Cambridge Citizens Coalition and professor of fine arts and African and African American studies at Harvard, offered a rare defense of Chan during public comment, calling him “a generous individual who cares very much about Harvard Square.”

Many of the dozen public commenters on the vacancy issue emphasized their personal fondness for the theater and the “bohemian” character of the area it represented, while urging the council to take action.

“It’s an emotional connection that people have,” McGovern said during the hearing. “It has such an incredible history and has meant so much to so many people, particularly those of us who grew up here.”

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

By Adelaide Parker Globe Correspondent,Updated April 8, 2025, 7:36 a.m.

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Like any good college student, I’m always running on coffee. I recently spent a month sampling all the cafés in Harvard Square to find the best my campus has to offer. Here are my recommendations for which coffee shops to visit (and which to avoid).

Blank Street — 8/10

Blank Street’s Harvard Square location opened last year and has been packed ever since — especially because of its Regulars program, which allows members to get essentially unlimited coffee for a flat weekly subscription. Because Regulars subscriptions are tightly capped, they’re a coveted commodity on campus. (I’ve been trying to get one for months — if you have a referral code, my email is at the bottom of this article.)

I ordered the Daydream Latte with cinnamon and honey on the Blank Street app. The app took a few minutes to load, but from there, ordering was easy. Blank Street is right next to the Harvard T station, so I grabbed my drink on my way to work. The cinnamon shone through nicely, and although the drink was sweet, it wasn’t overly so. I wish I’d been able to taste the espresso more, though.

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Blank Street, 1380 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge. blankstreet.com

Price range: $3.50-$9. Most simple drinks (an espresso, americano, or cappuccino) are just under $4, but flavored drinks and larger sizes reach $9.

Bluebottle — 10/10

Bluebottle is my personal favorite Harvard Square coffee shop. Every morning, I come here and order a 16-ounce iced NOLA (cold brew concentrate with chicory). In my opinion, the NOLA is the perfect drink. It has a refreshing taste with just the right amount of coffee flavor, it only takes one minute to prepare, and its caffeine content is equivalent to four espresso shots.

Bluebottle is on the pricier end of Harvard Square cafés, but its coffee is noticeably high-quality. (Even Jeffrey Grossman, an MIT professor who teaches a class on coffee, says Bluebottle is the best coffee chain.) Service is fast, but seating is limited and not very comfortable. Bluebottle works best as a place to order coffee to-go.

Bluebottle, 40 Bow St., Cambridge. bluebottlecoffee.com

Price range: $6-$9.

Café Gato Rojo — 9/10

Café Gato Rojo, in the basement of Harvard Yard’s Lehman Hall, is this list’s only student-run café. If you’re not a Harvard student, you can’t enter. But if you are a Harvard student, it’s wonderful! The café is packed with tables and cozy armchairs, and there’s always an ambient buzz of conversation and indie music. It’s one of my favorite places to sit and work.

I ordered a chai latte because, at 3:30 p.m., it was too late in the day to drink something genuinely caffeinated. The latte was tasty and came ….

(updated)

By Marc Levy

Sunday, April 6, 2025

Marc LevyThe former AMC Loews Harvard Square 5 at 10 Church St., Cambridge, seen March 18.

Billionaire Gerald Chan is being urged to act on redeveloping a former AMC Loews theater in Cambridge’s Harvard Square. It’s been more than a dozen years since it closed, with Chan the owner for much of that time, and the space is nearing its 100th anniversary.

Chan is being invited to come “answer questions and present his plan” in a policy order on city councillors’ Monday meeting agenda.

There are 23 storefronts in the city that have been vacant for five years or longer, and a March 11 committee meeting suggested there were some 10 owners whom councillors would like to pressure to finally fill them. The Monday invitation, though, is just for Chan.

“He’s the big one, so we’ll start there,” said vice mayor Marc McGovern, writer of the policy order. “Obviously everybody’s hot about the theater, right? It’s been 10 years.”

Dan White, a manager for Chan’s Mayhaw real estate investment firm, said Sunday: “We remain fully committed to bringing forward a new plan to develop the site in an innovative way that will energize both Church Street and Harvard Square.”

“Our previous plan, which was well received and on its way to final approval, was derailed by the pandemic, requiring us to reappraise what might work best for the site. We continue to work diligently on these efforts. Ultimately, our goal is to create a vibrant space on Church Street by developing a venue that will create jobs, help drive visitors to Harvard Square and, most importantly, bring the site back to life and carry it into a new era,” White said.

Plan meets resistance 

Marc LevyA proposed cladding for 10 Church St. in Harvard Square is tested June 28, 2019.

The AMC Loews Harvard Square 5 at 10 Church St. closed July 8, 2012, and Chan bought it in 2015 for $17.5 million, adding to his $100 million portfolio of real estate in and around Harvard Square.

In year five of the theater sitting empty on a languishing Church Street, city councillors threatened him with a land taking if he didn’t develop a plan for its use. Chan presented a plan for a 60,000-square-foot building with five stories of office space; street retail; and two lower-level movie screens that would be programmed by a team from the Somerville Theatre. He wanted to cover the building’s facade with digital screens.

Though the plans drew initial excitement – “Gerald Chan has clearly heard the council’s and the community’s concerns,” then-city councillor Leland Cheung said; “The design is fabulous,” said Suzanne Blier, of the Harvard Square Neighborhood Association – the screens also met resistance. There’s been no action on the plan since a June 2019 test of the cladding.

Pall on Church Street

Denise Jillson, executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association, is urging people to write in support of the council order. In a March 19 letter to Chan that she made public Sunday, she asks him to take it seriously.

“I am truly concerned that you may not be fully aware of the negative impact of your building on Church Street,” Jillson wrote. “Gerald, this once-thriving, now desolate and ignored section of Church Street is unsafe and a blight to our district. When it was operational, on average 1,000 people a day visited the theatre. The loss of this entertainment use has had and continues to have an enormous daily adverse impact on the entire district.”

https://embed.documentcloud.org/documents/25880331-031925-hsba-letter/?embed=1

In addition to the loss of nightly first-run movies, the closing meant the end of a local “Rocky Horror Picture Show” phenomenon; the cult classic drew crowds every weekend since it began showing there in 1984. The effect was obvious and immediate, maybe most so at the nearby restaurants. Tex-mex Border Cafe (which left after a fire) once had lines out the door and a regular need for police details to watch over customers. John Schall, owner of the former Fire + Ice at 50 Church St., said he shut down the restaurant after nearly 20 years because he couldn’t recover from the loss of business. “It created a dynamic on Church Street – a loss of traffic and activity that I wasn’t able to recover from,” Schall said in 2017. While there were other factors, “the life of Fire + Ice would have been significantly longer if that building hadn’t remained vacant for the last five years.”

The pall affected businesses all the way to Brattle Street.

“It is not an overstatement to share that nearly every day I am asked about its status,” Jillson said of the empty theater space.

Katie Labrie, executive director of the small-business organization Cambridge Local First, said her experience has been the same since starting work in September. “The state of the property that previously housed the Harvard Square movie theater has been one of the most talked about issues amongst our membership,” Labrie said. “The obvious, wholly detrimental, effects that this particular streetfront vacancy has on our community has become a lightning-rod example of how vacant storefronts negatively impact all of us.”

Hallowed ground

Next year’s 100th anniversary of the structure, with its Trompe-l’œil painting of Charlie Chaplain defaced and a 1999 mural by Beatrice Sargent, is another reason to act, McGovern and Jillson said.

Jillson cited a History Cambridge appreciation of the building:

The Harvard Square Theatre, originally the University Theatre, opened in 1926, with an original entrance on Massachusetts Avenue. The theater could seat 1,640 people, and had wicker chairs and a velvet curtain displaying George Washington commanding the continental army on Cambridge Common. While it was always a movie theater, it also held live performances, including magic shows, vaudeville and rock concerts. Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Hall and Oats, the Clash and Bruce Springsteen all played at the University Theatre.

In fact, Bruce Springsteen got his start at the theater. After [Springsteen opened] for Bonnie Raitt in 1974, music critic John Landau wrote, “I saw rock and roll future and its name is Bruce Springsteen.” The theater also hosted the first “Rocky Horror” stage show in the country, which was played by the full body cast.

“As we approach the 100th anniversary of this beloved and iconic building, we appeal to your sense of decency, love for community, appreciation of art and culture, leadership as a business owner, your solidarity with those who loathe urban blight and deplore the deterioration of public art,” Jillson wrote to Chan. “We implore you to reestablish the theater in time for its 100th anniversary. Take your investment to your community a step further by leading the restoration of the movie theater and reactivating live performances.”

The theater has been vacant on Church Street since 2012. The Cambridge City Council wants to question the owner about its reopening.

By Molly FarrarApril 7, 2025

3 minutes to read

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Harvard Square is marred by at least a dozen of vacant storefronts, including, notably, the nearly century-old Harvard Square Theatre on Church Street.

It’s been closed since 2012, and, after a failed proposal to reopen the theatre in 2022, it’s still boarded up. The historic theater is one of the many properties owned by billionaire investor Gerald Chan, known for his $350 million gift renaming Harvard University’s School of Public Health to honor his father.

Harvard Square Business Association President Denise Jillson is asking Chan to reopen the theater. The Cambridge City Council voted Monday evening to call Chan to testify to a committee about his plans for the theater and his other vacant properties in Cambridge.

“I am truly concerned that you may not be fully aware of the negative impact of your building on Church Street,” Jillson wrote in a letter to Chan last month. “It is not an overstatement to share that nearly every day, I am asked about its status.”

Harvard Square Theatre, which opened in 1926, could seat more than 1,600 people and held live performances. Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Hall and Oates, the Clash, and Bruce Springsteen all performed at the venue when it was called the University Theatre, according to the Cambridge Historical Society.

Jillson spoke at the City Council meeting, where several neighbors spoke about the neighborhood’s decline. Jason Doo, owner of Wusong Road in Harvard Square, said the business neighborhood has too many bowl restaurants, banks, and blights.

“I would love to see as a small business owner,.. to see Harvard Square go back to those bohemian fun roots that used to be instead of now we’re on our back foot,” Doo said. “We used to have a headstart, and now we’re just trying to get out of from underwater.”

Councilor Paul Toner, who is facing calls to resign following allegations of paying for sex at a local brothel ring, voiced concerns that the policy order “targets Mr. Chan.” He proposed an amendment to call the other owners of 23 storefronts that have been vacant for more than five years to also answer questions. The amendment passed unanimously.

“I’d like to hear from all of them about what their plans are. Again, I don’t know the reason why Mr. Chan hasn’t moved forward with his plans,” Toner said. “I know some people accuse him of land banking and, you know, this is some sort of tax write off.” 

Vice Mayor Marc McGovern said that “this is not about calling out Mr. Chan.” The policy order that passed calls Chan to answer questions in front of the Economic Development and University Relations Committee about plans for the theater.

“When people talk about vacant buildings. It’s the Harvard Square theater that they talk about,” McGovern said. “He is the property owner. It has been vacant for a while … Now the question is, now what? And I think it’s appropriate to have a conversation and a public conversation.”

Mayor Denise Simmons also called attention to the mural on the historic theater’s facade. She said she’d bring forward a separate policy order to address it.

The amended order also passed unanimously. When Chan was contacted for comment, a spokesperson for Kirche LLC, the group developing the site, said “we remain fully committed to bringing forward a new plan to develop the site in an innovative way that will energize both Church Street and Harvard Square.”

“Ultimately, our goal is to create a vibrant space on Church Street by developing a venue that will create jobs, help drive visitors to Harvard Square and, most importantly, bring the site back to life and carry it into a new era,” Kirche LLC Manager Dan White said.

The Harvard Square Theater, located at 10 Church St., is owned by billionaire investor Gerald L. Chan. The property has been vacant for 13 years. By Amanda Y. Su

By Jaya N. Karamcheti and Kevin Zhong, Crimson Staff Writers

13 hours ago

Gerald L. Chan — billionaire investor, Harvard donor, and prominent Harvard Square property owner — is under fire from city officials for the 13-year vacancy of the Harvard Square Theatre.

The theater, which sits on 10 Church St. across from the First Parish Church, has sat vacant since 2012. On Monday evening, the Cambridge City Council will vote on a policy order to invite Chan to present his plans for the property.

Since a March meeting about vacant properties throughout the city, the Council has considered options to reduce the number of empty storefronts — including imposing fines and taxes on owners.

In response, Denise A. Jillson, executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association, wrote in a public statement that she is opposed to the fines on developing businesses.

“It has always been our preference to partner with property owners and the city to use unleased space in more useful and community-oriented ways until leases are signed or development plans are underway,” she wrote.

In addition, Jillson publicized a letter from her to Chan urging him to revive the theater before its 100th anniversary in 2026.

“Take your investment to the community a step further by leading the restoration of the movie theater and reactivating live performances,” she wrote.

Jillson also recognized the negative economic impact of the vacant theater on Harvard Square.

“Gerald, this once-thriving, now desolate and ignored section of Church Street is unsafe and a blight to our district,” she wrote. “When it was operational, on average 1000 people a day visited the theatre.”

“The loss of entertainment use has had and continues to have an enormous daily adverse impact on the entire district,” she added.

The theater was first opened in 1926, but has been vacant since 2012 after it was sold by AMC. Chan purchased the property in 2015, and proposed a plan two years later to demolish the building and construct a new mixed-use space.

The Cambridge Historical Commission approved the project after a series of public hearings under the condition that the renovations were also supported by the Cambridge Planning Board.

But, according to Charles M. Sullivan, the executive director of the Cambridge Historical Commission, Chan and his team never made it before the Cambridge Planning Board.

“He’s never spoken to us, and he’s never made any public pronouncements that I know of,” Sullivan said.

Dan White, the manager of Chan’s company, Morningside, wrote in a statement that the Covid-19 pandemic impeded initial plans for the theater’s revitalization.

“Our previous plan, which was well received and on its way to final approval, was derailed by the pandemic, requiring us to reappraise what might work best for the site,” White wrote. “We continue to work diligently on these efforts.”

But no changes have been made to the theater since the plan fell apart in 2019. Now, local leaders are seeking action to bring Chan in front of the council.

Chan has numerous property holdings in Harvard Square, including 40 Bow St., 115 Mount Auburn St., and 39 JFK St., all developed sites occupied by operating businesses such as Blue Bottle, Warby Parker and an apartment complex. But Jillson noted that the theater has not seen the same attention from Chan.

“It seems incompatible to many, myself included, that since acquiring the theater in 2014, you subsequently purchased six additional Harvard Square properties while this asset sits fallow,” Jillson wrote.

Jillson added that she hopes to work with Chan and other business owners to restore the theater.

“Let’s work together to celebrate the theatre’s historic importance, resume its reputation as a cultural destination, repair its cherished mural, and restore its value as an economic driver to our district,” Jillson wrote.

— 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.

Time Out says

The Bookish Ball, a celebration of Harvard Square’s bookstores complete with a Revolutionary theme, returns to Harvard Square on April 12 from 11am to 4pm. This free, family-friendly extravaganza put on by The Harvard Square Business Association, in partnership with the City of Cambridge, features literary tours of Harvard Square, sweet treats, live music, and special book-themed promotions within Harvard Square businesses. The festivities begin at 11am on Harvard’s Smith Campus Plaza, where you’ll be greeted by Elizabeth Glover (portrayed by Linda Peck), who established the first printing press in the Thirteen Colonies on nearby Dunster Street. Grab a “Passport to Wisdom” and visit Harvard Square’s five book stores, Groiler Poetry Book Shop, Harvard Book Store, Harvard COOP, Lovestruck Books, and Rodney’s Bookstore to collect stamps. Return to the Smith Campus Center plaza by 4pm to be entered to win the Grand Prize – a one-night stay at the Sheraton Commander Hotel, $300 gift certificate for The Hourly Oyster House, and a $50 gift certificate for each of the five bookstores.

By Spencer Buell Globe Staff,Updated April 6, 2025, 8:15 a.m.

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CAMBRIDGE — It’s been 13 years since the Harvard Square Theatre showed its last blockbuster, and hosted its last “Rocky Horror”show. The only reminders of its heyday are a yellowing marquee and a graffiti-tagged mural.

Now, with frustration mounting over a building that has been vacant longer than any other in Harvard Square, Cambridge officials want answers from the person with the power to change that: its owner, the investor and philanthropist Gerald Chan.

City Councilors thisweek are expected to take the uncommon step of asking Chan, one of the largest property owners in Harvard Square, to appear before them to account for the holdup.

“It’s been too long,” said Councilor Marc McGovern. “It’s time for him to do something.”

Chan, a Harvard-trained scientist and private equity and venture capital investor, didn’t respond to requests for comment. Dan White, the manager of the company controlled by Chan, said in a statement it remains “fully committedto bringing forward a new plan to develop the site.”

Related: End of an era: The Pit, a landmark of Harvard Square, is demolished

“Ultimately, our goal is to create a vibrant space on Church Street by developing a venue that will create jobs, help drive visitors to Harvard Square and, most importantly, bring the site back to life and carry it into a new era,” White said.

But many of his neighbors are getting impatient.

The theater isn’t much to look at now, and in truth was never an architectural marvel. From the street, it’s mostlyjust a long, tall brick wall.

But what it lacks in curb appeal, the nearly 100-year-old Harvard Square Theatre makes up for in nostalgia, and, say many with fond memories of it, potential.

It was a cinema back in Hollywood’s Golden Age, when its entrance fronted Mass. Ave. It hosted live music of the likes of Bruce Springsteen, The Clash, David Bowie, and Tom Waits. For years, it was a long-term home for superfans of the cult film “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” and people came from across Greater Boston to get glammed up in fishnets and leather for the shows.

By the 2010s, when it was owned by the multiplex chain AMC, it had seen better days. It closed in 2012 and has never reopened.

Lots of people had their cultural education there, said Ned Hinkle, who grew up seeing both blockbuster and arthouse films in the quirky multiscreen theater, and is now creative director at The Brattle, a single-screen theater that is the last of its kind in Harvard Square. They’ve held out hope it isn’t gone for good.

“Since it closed, we’ve been fantasizing about everything that we could do in that space,” Hinkle said. “There’s such a history in that building with all different kinds of entertainment, and it’s sort of crazy that it’s just sitting there rotting.”

When it closed, AMC sold it to real estate titan Richard Friedman, who intended to renovate the space and keep the lights on.

“We didn’t buy it to flip it. We bought it to run it as a theater if we could,” Friedman said in a recent interview.

But he found the aging building, which by then needed significant investment to bring it up to code, was too far gone to save without losing lots of money.

“We couldn’t figure it out, which is not our style, because we usually figure out complicated problems,” said Friedman, whose firm built the One Dalton tower in Boston, and the Charles and Liberty hotels. “I care about Harvard Square and I care about the culture here. It was just a tough nut.”

He sold it two years later to Chan, who owns multiple properties in the square and remains a major figure at his alma mater: The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is named after his late father, after Chan’s Morningside Foundation gave the university a $350 million donation.

Other parcels under Chan’s control have flourished. The Cambridge Historical Commission has lauded his work restoring properties such as 40 Bow Street.

Chan once proposed a showstopper of a plan for the theater. In 2019, he devised a scheme that had wide support in the city, which would see it replaced by an office building with a hulking LED screen, with room for a two-screen movie theater.

It stalled. The COVID pandemic that hit the following year brought projects of all sizes to a halt and upended the market for office space. The movie theater business slumped, and the return of viewers to in-person screenings has been uneven. Actor and onetime Cantabrigian Casey Affleck publicly expressed interest in taking over the theater. That fizzled as well.

The Harvard Square Theatre has remained dark.

Meanwhile, its absencehas had an impact on business in the square, said Denise Jillson, executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association, who said the theater once brought 1,000 visitors a day into the neighborhood. The commercial district has 11 storefronts that have been vacant for at least six months, according to a database created by the city.

Jillson ideally would like to see entertainment return to the theater — movies, live performance, or both — so it can again be a draw to the square. But at this point she’s not picky.

“Anything is better than what we have now, which is nothing,” Jillson said. “Certainly what’s not helpful is buying properties and not developing them, and not understanding the negative impact of leaving a building or space empty.”

Related: George Howell comes full circle in Harvard Square

White, Chan’s business partner, didn’t respond to questions through a spokesman about their specific intentions with the property and whether they would commit to including an arts component in any redevelopment.

It’s expensive to do nothing. Last year alone, about $190,000 in taxes were assessed on the property, according to city records.

Still, it’s not an ideal time to be making big construction plans, experts say, as markets reel from new tariffs and renewed recession fears, and developers confront uncertainty about the kinds of properties that will be profitable to build, especially in a place like Harvard Square.

“The obstacles are probably the highest they’ve been in several decades,” said John DiGiovanni, who also owns properties in the square, including The Garage shopping center, as well as the building that houses music venue The Sinclair.

But that’s no excuse for letting a historic theater fester in the heart of Harvard Square, DiGiovanni said. If anyone can solve the problems this property presents, he said, it’s Chan.

“He’s a leader in all sorts of areas. He’s a model in the biotech world. We need that kind of focus with his real estate,” DiGiovanni said. “This is a really special, unique urban district that deserves good stewards.”

On the street outside the old theater on a recent afternoon, it was surprisingly quiet, despite being rush hour. A man spread out a flattened cardboard box to take a load off, lounging next to a fading collage of painted movie characters like Robin Williams’s “Mrs. Doubtfire” and R2D2, from “Star Wars.” Above, the Beatrice Sargent “Women’s Community Cancer Project” mural that clings to its exterior wall showed signs of falling apart — neighbors say a chunk of it recently clattered onto the sidewalk.

On the old marquee, which juts over Church Street, it reads “lifting as we climb,” and “onward and upward we go.”

The faded scene suggests otherwise.

Tired of spending every early morning productivity session and every late night grind in Smith or the Science Center? Or, worse, cosplaying a “cute” cafe grind in none other than Lamont Library Cafe? Well, sometimes a change of scenery (and certainly a better latte) is all it takes to refresh your brain. Luckily, the Square’s just slightly off campus offer no shortage of fun, cozy, and aesthetic coffee shops perfect for studying, chatting, or simply escaping the Harvard bubble. Here’s a list of fan-favorite spots by the T-stops that are 100% worth the trek.

Davis Square

Diesel Cafe

From the outside, Diesel looks like a regular neighborhood spot — but step inside, and it opens up into a spacious, diner-style haven complete with red retro booths, tons of seating, and an actual ice cream bar. It’s a solid study location during the week (although the Wi-Fi gets shut down on weekends). Plus, the seasonal drinks are no joke: Think strawberry mocha lattes alongside classic club sandwiches and an assortment of pastries.

Revival Cafe + Kitchen

Revival feels like walking into a hippie-themed Pinterest board. With its warm wood interiors and chill, boho vibe, it’s the kind of place you’d want to journal or settle into a meet-cute romance novel. The seating is definitely limited and it gets busy fast, but it’s worth it for the daily rotating pastries and dreamy seasonal drinks like rose matchas and salted brown sugar maple lattes.

Porter Square

Simon’s Coffee Shop

Simon’s is a no-frills gem with a very loyal following. The matcha here is so earthy and rich, and there’s a wholesome, local feel to everything — from the handwritten notes customers leave on the walls to the friendly baristas behind the counter. It’s a good spot to grab a drink, stamp a punch card, and get cozy.

Phinista

Phinista is one of the newer additions to Porter Square, and it brings Vietnamese flair to the coffee scene. It’s such a refreshing change of pace compared to some of the commercial chain coffee shops. Whether you’re sipping a phin drip latte or trying a purple-hued phin ube, everything feels intentionally-made and delicious. The menu blends traditional and modern flavors, offering banh mi sandwiches together with honey toasts, nutella crepes, and lychee spritzers, and the space itself is cute without feeling too curated.

Central Square

Verveine

Verveine is a dream if you’re into aesthetics. Think greenhouse vibes, plants in every corner, sunlit tables, and a glass pane through which you can watch bakers rolling out the fresh baguette dough. It’s 100% gluten-free and yes, a little pricey, but the lattes (especially the black sesame and matcha) hit the spot every time. The food, like the wondrously buttery chili biscuit or texturally delightful tiramisu cream puffs, is also top-tier. No laptops allowed on the weekends — which is when the foot traffic reaches a new high each day — but if you get there early enough on the weekdays, it’s a relaxing place to lock in.

1369 Coffee House

A reliable go-to with a cozy, classic feel, 1369 is the kind of place that feels truly homey and “lived-in” in the best way. It’s a proper coffeehouse with nothing too extravagant, solid drinks, and enough seating to hole up with your laptop for an hour or four. 1369 feels like a hug in cafe form — it’s always a great place to fall back on if all others fail (or get too crowded).

Kendall Square

PRB Boulangerie

PRB is for the pastry lovers, both layman and sophisticated. Run by actual French pastry chefs, this spot is stacked with flaky croissants, mouthwatering madeleines, and lattes that taste like dessert. Get the creme brulee PLEASE — it even comes with a mini croissant topping the whipped cream! While there’s no wifi and it leans more brunchy than study-friendly, it’s still a great spot to unwind with a pain suisse and pretend you’re in Paris.

Ripple Cafe

Attached to the MIT Press Bookstore, Ripple has the slightly chaotic student energy you’d expect — but that adds to the charm. Drinks and pastries are solid (check out their newest menu addition, strawberry cheesecake latte), and there’s usually a crowd of students or tourists typing away. If you’re looking for something campus-adjacent without being on the Harvard campus itself, this is the spot.

Whether you’re chasing the perfect matcha, a new study nook, or just need an excuse to escape campus for a few hours, these coffee shops have you covered. So, hop on the Red Line, grab a latte, and romanticize your academic burnout in style!

By Valerie Wencis Globe correspondent,Updated March 25, 2025, 10:00 a.m.

Aficionados of Darwin’s — the beloved coffee shop with multiple Cambridge outposts that closed its doors at the end of 2022 after 30 years during the pandemic — cautiously eyed its flagship location on Mt. Auburn Street as it changed hands multiple times since. But the current iteration, Luxor Café, seems to have staying power.

Walking through its doors, one feels transported to Egypt, from the expansive stone wall of hieroglyphics to the evocative vocals of Umm Kulthum playing overhead. Wander downstairs, and you’ll find an intimate space reminiscent of an Egyptian tea salon, with poppy and pomegranate cushioned benches, dangling mosaic lamps, and iridescent sadaf tiled tables. It appears no detail was spared in the rebirth of this space, down to the stunning, sadaf-tiled double-sink-and-mirror bathroom.

But perhaps what most harkens back to the motherland is the name itself — the capital of ancient Egypt, Luxor is known for its abundance of monuments, temples, and tombs — as well as the scarab logo. Holding a to-go cup adorned with what he calls the “cartoon version” of the scarab with a coffee bean for a body, owner Abdelrahman (“Abdel”) Hassan explains that the oval beetle “symbolizes rebirth, health, rejuvenation — basically a lot of stuff that food and coffee does for you.”