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Jun 1, 2025

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Denise Jillson has tunnel vision, literally.

“One would say that’s preposterous. What we say is it’s equally preposterous to have the tunnel already built and not take the opportunity to examine its potential,” said Jillson.

The executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association is hoping to transform an unused tunnel underneath Harvard Square into an entertainment venue. 

“This tunnel, this piece here from about Mount Auburn St. down to Bennett is completely abandoned,” she said.

The 116-year-old tunnel, once home to MBTA’s Red Line, has been deserted for 40 years. What some may see as a dilapidated space, Jillson sees as an opportunity for growth.

“And the nicest thing about it is there are no columns so it’s just an arch. It’s about 22 feet high. At its widest, it’s about 58 feet wide, and it’s just wide open.”

The Cambridge City Council approved a $70,000 proposal to study the space’s potential. In the meantime, Jillson commissioned a designer to create mockups demonstrating how the space can be used for art exhibits, TED talks, speaking engagements, and of course concerts. And she already has a performer in mind.

“Bruce Springsteen!”

By Nick Peace, Dept. Photo Editor & Video Editor / May 31, 2025

Crowded around a multi-colored mountain of shirts and pants, thrifters of all ages, each with their own unique style, sifted through piles of clothes at The People’s Party block party. 

Drawn by the promise of $5 clothing piles, food vendors, and live music, thousands of thrifters took over Church Street in Harvard Square on May 17, 2025, for a block party featuring over 100 vendors in collaboration with Select Markets. 

The event, sponsored by and held in partnership with The Boston Globe, Flare 360, Boston.com, DX Arcade, SoundCloud, Topo Chico, and the Harvard Square Business Association, aimed to create an open-air celebration of community, culture, and creativity. 

“We wanted to create something to give back to the community and have people come out and have a great vibe,” said Edgard Arty, one of the co-producers of The People’s Party. Arty worked on the Block Party, mainly focusing on setting up events, parties, and nightlife.

By blending shopping, music, and food vendors, the all-day street festival was a hybrid of a vintage market and a celebration of Cambridge culture. The Church Street parking lot held both booths from local vendors and event sponsors, as well as a stage with rotating live DJs.  Vendors sold everything from 70s to Y2K-style clothes to homemade candles and crocheted flowers.

Jason Suzuki, a 20-year-old vendor from Boston, was selling custom airbrushed shirts, something he’s been doing for four years. Each piece of clothing is customized with designs requested by his customers, something which Suzuki said was his favorite part.

“I am helping their vision come to life,” said Suzuki, as he lightly sprayed the outline of a new design for a customer.  “It’s simple but can make someone so happy. That’s one of the best parts about it.”

Suzuki, who had worked in similar pop-up markets for a year and a half in Boston, said, “This is the best one. I can pull up with my airbrush and have a good time.” 

The People’s Party has been in development for the past year. The event is the successor to the music and cannabis-centered Dx420 Block Party held in April 2024. 

Despite the organizers’ initial concerns about the weather, the first People’s Party went off without a hitch.

 “It’s been phenomenal,” Arty, the co-producer, said. “The weather held out. The street’s looking great. The vintage vendors are having a great time…we want to do this for the people.” 

The crowded streets caused many to take refuge on the sidewalks. Kristina Ocasio, a junior architecture major at Wentworth, stood on the sidewalk, staring into the constantly moving stream of people. 

“The middle is very crowded; it’s nice to walk around the outside,” Ocasio said. She attends similar events, and said the vintage market was larger and more crowded.“It’s in a nice area, so I can’t really complain.”

In the chaotic mix of jubilant thrifters on Church Street, Emerson students with Dreamworldgirl Zine walked around, asking pressing Boston fashion questions to passers-by.

Dreamworldgirl Zine, a print and digital multimedia magazine for all things girlhood, was created by recent Emerson graduate Daphne Bryant ‘25. Bryant currently serves as co-editor of the magazine. 

In collaboration with Select markets, members of Dreamworldgirl Zine conducted on-the-street interviews with fashionable thrifters. 

“We thought it’d be cool to collab and bring our identity of Dreamworldgirl into, not only the questions, but also the interviews themselves,” said Isabelle Galgano, a junior communications major and co-editor of the Dreamworldgirl Zine.

Galgano responded to the claim that Boston has no fashion scene, saying, “I feel like this has proven them wrong. It’s great to see a Boston-based org doing some awesome stuff.”

Looking to the future of the event, Arty explained, ”As [The People’s Party] grows, we want it to be a greater and greater legacy event for the City of Cambridge.”

 | Charles Krupa/AP/File

A sculler rows down the Charles River near Harvard University April 15, 2025, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Harvard community has unified behind the oldest university in America in the wake of Trump administration cuts totaling $3 billion so far.

Harvard Yard is bustling on a bright day in May. With graduation nearing, large white tents stand ready for celebration. Tourists and Cambridge residents enjoy the sunshine, as Harvard students study al fresco for finals. A few SUVs loaded with boxes are parked on the quad in preparation for the end of the semester.

Those students who were willing to speak to a reporter said they were proud to belong to an institution that is taking a stand for what it believes in. Christoffer Gernow, a first-year student from Denmark, says he’s “very supportive” of Harvard fighting back against the Trump administration, and thinks a lot of other students are, too.

“We’ve never been as united as we are right now” around supporting the university’s decisions, he says. The federal government’s list of demands is, in his view, “completely unreasonable and almost somewhat dystopian,” as well as “contradictory.”

Why We Wrote This

A story focused on

Community

The Harvard community is processing the loss of $3 billion in funding from the Trump administration. But ahead of graduation, students, faculty, and local businesses share what is unifying them – and fueling their pride in the school.

As swiftly as the canceled grants have piled up (so far to a total of $3 billion), so have responses in support of the United States’ oldest and most affluent university. After the university filed a First Amendment lawsuit in April and spearheaded an open letter defending “essential freedom” signed by the presidents of more than 400 universities, donations began pouring in at a rate of 88 an hour, according to The Harvard Crimson.

The floods of goodwill and small-donor donations stand as a strong contrast to a year before, when the university was awash in protests, its first Black president had resigned amid plagiarism allegations and unsatisfactory testimony in Congress on campus antisemitism, and large-scale donors were pulling their support. From faculty and alumni to area businesses, the expressions of pride in Harvard’s stance for academic freedom are effusive. Actions by the White House have galvanized people, they say.

“Trump has a way of unifying people – Canadians, Australians, Harvard faculty, you name it,” says Theda Skocpol, the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology at Harvard.

Apr 8, 2025

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Cambridge City Council is looking to tackle the issue of vacant properties in Harvard Square, including a historic theater that is approaching its 100th anniversary. 

The Harvard Square Theatre on Church St. has been unused since 2012.

Vice Mayor McGovern is calling on billionaire and owner of the building Gerald Chan to testify before the council to discuss plans to revitalize the building, along with other vacant properties of his.  

 He said it’s important that Chan be a part of that public discussion. 

“People can have a chance to express their feelings … why it’s important that something be done with that building sooner rather than later,” McGovern said. 

“We can all try and get on the same page about what the future of that building is going to be.” 

Councilor Ayesha M. Wilson supported the order. 

“When we have so many closed spaces, it does bring down that level of vibrancy,” Wilson said. “And that theatre, being such a historic space, is something we just can’t just turn a blind eye to.” 

The Harvard Square Theatre Business Association sent Chan a letter asking him to re-establish the theatre. 

Harvard Square Theatre opened in 1926 and seated more than 1,600 people.

Its live performances over the years included Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, and Joan Baez. 

The Clash performed their very first live show in the United States at Harvard Square Theatre back in 1979. 

Mar 3, 2025

Photo: Emma Friedman/WBZ NewsRadio

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Luxor Cafe in Harvard Square is staying open long after dark this month to cater to those celebrating Ramadan. 

Muslims observing the Islamic holy month abstain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk. Mealtime comes after an evening prayer, so the cafe-deli is serving guests until 2 a.m. through the end of Ramadan on March 29. 

“If you go to an Arab country or a Muslim country, you’ll see that after prayer, that’s when the cafes open up,” said Luxor Cafe owner Abdelrahman Hassan. 

The spot on Mount Auburn Street opened just over a year ago. Hieroglyphics run along the walls, and the menu includes traditional Egyptian dishes like hawawshi, a pita stuffed with minced ground beef, and kibda, a liver sandwich. 

“A lot of people living here, they kind of long for that thing they miss at home. We’re just trying to be that space for them,” Hassan said. 

Different mosques have different prayer times during Ramadan, so Hassan said he gets waves of rushes late at night for post-prayer meals. 

“For the most part, the same people stay, and it gets really, really lively,” Hassan said. 

He wants the cafe to be a meeting space for the community during the late hours, enjoyed by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. 

“It kind of gives you an idea of what you would expect in a different country,” Hassan said. “You’ll meet people, you’ll hang out with people, it’ll be like a place to play card games. You just make friends there.”

Phillip Martin

January 21, 2025

In late December, Dan McGuire said goodbye to friends and longtime patrons of Whitneys of Harvard Square, and locked the doors for good.

Whitneys was one of the neighborhood’s oldest establishments, a mainstay on busy John F. Kennedy Street since 1953. McGuire was forced to close after losing an eviction battle with his landlord, billionaire Gerald Chan.

A spokesperson for Chan says McGuire owed some $44,000 in past due rent. But McGuire countered that he withheld rent following a dispute over upgrades to the building’s electricity system.He claims Chan wanted him out because his bar doesn’t fit Chan’s “profile.”

Chan owns about 13 properties in Harvard Square, making him second only to Harvard University when it comes to property ownership in the neighborhood, according to the Harvard Square Business Association. His holdings include 40 Bow St., which he restored and was honored in 2017 with a Cambridge Preservation Award . Chan’s properties also include the long-shuttered Harvard Square Theater, the empty Dickson Bros. hardware store and the restaurant once occupied by Upstairs on the Square, no longer open to the public.

Some community members worry the once-vibrant urban center filled with local shops is losing its character. The city has tried to step in to address the issues of vacant properties and intimidation tactics. Business owners and leaders say problems have accelerated with Chan’s real estate investments; his companies have purchased some $170 million in property since 2012, according to the Harvard Square Business Association.

McGuire said the neighborhood has turned into a “billionaire’s playground.”

“It’s almost like he wants this to be his square — and it is becoming his square,” he said.

Chan was not available to comment for this story. But Dan White, a manager for the real estate investment firm he owns, Mayhaw LLC, said changes in the square are simply a matter of dollars and cents.

“That is the nature of the business,’’ White said.“We want the square to be as vibrant as we can, and we do our best to make that happen.”

read more…

January 21, 2025 1:21 PM ET

By Raina Douris, Miguel Perez

Matt Smith, Club Passim’s managing director

George Murphy/WXPN

Cambridge, Mass., is full of grand academic buildings. It’s a place that oozes prestige, grandeur and history.

But nestled in an alley in Harvard Square, down some stairs and so unassuming that you might walk by without even realizing it was there, is a legendary music venue as important as any of Cambridge’s stately halls.

Club Passim has been a sanctuary for folk music for over 60 years. Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Bob Dylan and arguably any major folk musician you can think of have all performed at this intimate venue.

To kick off our Sense of Place: Boston series, we talked with Club Passim’s managing director, Matt Smith, to find out how this modest club became a cornerstone of Boston’s music scene.

Smith and World Cafe host Raina Douris on the stage of Club Passim.

George Murphy/WXPN

Listen • 23:57

Boston Public Radio

Nicole Garcia

January 10, 2025

The 22nd Annual Boston Celtic Music Festival will take place from Jan. 16-19 across various venues in Cambridge and Somerville. The event celebrates the traditions of Irish, Scottish, Cape Breton, Quebecois and other Celtic cultures.

A Brian O’Donovan Legacy Artist Grant will be awarded for the first time at this year’s festival.

The grant recognizes an artist who embodies the spirit of community and musical collaboration. Rakish, the inaugural recipient, will be featured during the festival finale, with more artists to be announced, along with a tribute to O’Donovan.

“We wanted to do something that would celebrate his musical legacy,” said Lindsay O’Donovan, reflecting on her late husband’s influence on the Boston Celtic music scene on Boston Public Radio Friday.

One of the festival performers, fiddler Hanneke Cassel, credits Brian O’Donovan for fostering the spirit of live music.

“It’s really hard to even come up with a great description of everything he did for the scene,” said Cassel. “Boston is such a unique place … bringing together the Irish, Cape Breton and Scottish communities.”

The festival has expanded over the past two decades, reflecting the growing appreciation for Celtic traditions in Boston.

“We were doing things mostly in Harvard Square, but being able to expand it into bigger spaces in Davis Square has been a really great thing to bring more people in,” said Matt Smith, managing director at Club Passim. “This is the biggest BCMFest ever.”

“When you’re playing music with people, it kind of surpasses … even if people have different ideas and opinions about how things should be run, music brings that together,” said Cassel.

Artist Isola Murray’s child-size animals

by Olivia Farrar

Septimus, a sculptural character within Tired Clichés, a solo installation by artist Isola Murray | PHOTOGRAPH BY OLIVIA FARRAR/HARVARD MAGAZINE

In the middle of Harvard Square, with pedestrians bustling by, there’s a fish sitting in a bathtub. He’s patient, watching everything unfold from behind a window. His name is Septimus, and he’s a sculptural character within Tired Clichés, a solo installation by Isola Murray, an artist and art educator originally from Western Massachusetts. The exhibition, curated by Yolanda He Yang, runs at 25/8 artspace located at 2 Linden Street, Cambridge through February 4.

25/8 artspace is itself an intervention in the everyday. A slim, hallway-sized gallery nestled in the heart of Harvard Square, it was opened in 2023 through a collaboration between building owner Intercontinental Management, Yang, and Denise Jillson, executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association (HSBA). The tiny gallery serves as a physical reminder that creativity can thrive even when made narrow.

The space was created almost serendipitously, the result of a Cambridge zoning code requiring a maximum street frontage of 25 linear feet (here, between Mass Ave and Linden Street)—which inadvertently created a “false wall” on the side of Santander Bank. Rather than let the area go to waste, the HSBA worked with Intercontinental Management to transform it into a refuge for art.

The name given to 25/8 reflects two sources of inspiration. First, in curator Yang’s view, it’s a reference to the amount of time museum staff spend in their jobs: somehow, they find and devote an extra hour to each day, and an extra day to each week. Second, it references the original “Gallery 24/7,” a former repurposed Bank of America ATM at Mount Auburn and Holyoke Streets, which was converted into a temporary all-day, all-night artists’ collaborative in 2022. That gallery featured local artists and exhibited work in a mix of styles. From those beginnings, 25/8 artspace emerged as a more permanent, if still snug, home for artistic exploration.

25/8 is also the gallery for the larger project “Behind VA Shadows” (VA stands for Visitor Assistants), a creative collaboration created by Yang after the pandemic. Noticing the level of burnout experienced by museum staff at the Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA), Yang spearheaded an initiative to create art opportunities for museum workers. Murray and Yang originally met working together at the ICA, where they bonded over a shared love for whimsical and inventive art. 25/8 has become the dedicated spot to showcase the art of museum workers, like Murray, through this project.

“There’s a term, called an ‘alternative art space,’” explains Yang. “Meaning, out of institutional control or management—and we all know why we need places like this. Too often, management is more concerned with administrative processes, like paperwork, than artistic vision. So, one thing I keep very clear and firm about the curatorial vision of this space is that I want artists to have the opportunity to experiment.”

Bringing new installations into the petite space always requires a bit of physical and logistical finagling, and Murray’s Tired Clichés is no exception. According to Yang, all new exhibitions are set up by community volunteers, who help to create the view seen from the street. The space rotates art every 4-6 weeks, sponsored by the HSBA.

Inside this portal now, all nine of Murray’s sculptures from Tired Clichés gaze out. They are a whimsical tableau of papier-mâché and mixed-media creatures, set within household scenes. Each are imbued with distinct personalities and clothing. According to Murray, Septimus the fish is a gifted and deeply sensitive chef; Muriel is a “loud and good-natured” ewe; Monique the bee is a connoisseur of “the finer things,” and is accompanied by her partner, Laverne (also a bee); Coriander the owl is a “great listener”; Celeste is a gossip-prone but “formidable” horse; Delia is a bossy songbird who “reads to Coriander at night”; Algernon is a discerning goat; and Florian is a stamp-collecting hound.

“Murray and I are both big fans of Hayao Miyazaki,” Yang said. Miyazaki is the Japanese animater and artist who co-founded Studio Ghibli, the production company behind Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, and Howl’s Moving Castle. “So, we’re very inspired by the fantastical world and storytelling—and imagining that objects or animals might magically begin communicating with us at night.”

25/8, and its predecessor 24/7 Gallery, are also part of a larger story about bite-sized art in Harvard Square. Down the street, the Shadowbox at One Brattle Square—curated by artist Kyoko Ono—similarly houses small-scale exhibits from artists affiliated with Gateway Arts, a nonprofit studio for adult artists with disabilities. Last spring, Gateway displayed a show at 25/8 artspace curated by Yang, entitled “fanfare of clouds” (a title drawn from Welsh poet Dylan Thomas’s “August Bank Holiday,” 1954). In Ono’s words, “These windows give opportunities for artists to connect with the public through their art. They can bring peaceful moments of joy and appreciation. They can brighten small alleys. They might [even] inspire passersby to have a go with their own creative projects. And these windows stay open all the time.” Like “Little Free Libraries,” which have also gained popularity across the country in recent years, these three miniature open art galleries expand the goals of literacy and art beyond the institutional spaces of the library or museum.

As life ebbs and flows outside 2 Linden Street, Tired Clichés invites a moment of pause. As good art does, the installation entices passersby to reflect—in this case through the simplicity of the silly. The effect is twofold. First: What? And then, inevitably: a smile—a welcome bit of warmth on the cold, winter streets of Cambridge.