Globe Corner Bookstore & Curious George to close

Harvard Square institutions Globe Corner Bookstore and Curious George Goes to Wordsworth are both set to close, leaving a huge hole in the city’s independent bookstore landscape. Curious George is also one of the only places in Harvard Square left to buy toys and great kids books.

Read more at Wicked Local.

Location update: Hollywood Express is now Life Alive

I had a sad in my blog when Hollywood Express closed down, but I have to admit, the new restaurant Life Alive is rocking Central Square. Food is great – fresh, nutritious, tasty.Vibe is spiritual-hip, with lots of wood, comfy seats, flower of lifes, Buddhas, wood and growing things. the place always seems to be packed. This is a good thing.

And it has a kids playspace downstairs.

And you can get beer and wine. No coffee though (thanks to a non-competition agreement with 1369 Coffeehouse next door). Hope you like dandelion tea.

OMG Boomerangs in Central Square

Have you been to the new Boomerangs that just opened in Central Square where the Attic once was? (563 Massachusetts Ave)

Go. Now.

Not only do your purchases support the AIDS Action Committee, but it’s shaping up to be a Central Square institution.

Treasures. Clothing. Furniture. Local Central Square celebrities (such as the “guy with the fence” on Brookline and Franklin, aka my neighbor).

Last week I found an unused full cowhide for $5 that I used to patch our leather chair.

Also, make sure you check out the stairway to nowhere and the old air conditioning sign that used to be the wall for the Central Square Movie theater that was most recently a Blockbuster video.

Happy Mass Ave: Artist & Craftsman Supply

Sure, there are plenty of banks in Central Square, but where do you go for things that are actually useful, like drawing pads, paint, and toys?

Artist and Craftsman Supply is hands down one of the best shopping destinations in Central Square – hell – in CAMBRIDGE. Not only do their art supplies blow the pants off of other art stores, like the now mercifully shuttered Pearl, they have actual, awesome toys.

toys!

Maybe you don’t care about toys, but I do. And my daughter sure as shakes cares about them. And not just any toys mind you, but interesting, well-crafted, often eco-friendly toys that make great gifts for, I don’t know, birthday parties and as a reward for going potty on the actual potty itself.

They have a ton of more grown-up toys, just in case the kid scene isn’t your thing.

Please go in and support them, or just say hi. The entire staff is very friendly and helpful, which might just be in part because the store happens to be worker-owned.

Happy Massachusetts Ave

springtime ant hole mandala by my 4-year-old

I can’t post any more negative news for a while. There are so many batshit insane things happening in the world that I need my own little corner of the universe (aka Central Square) to be warm and fuzzy. But seriously, there is some great stuff happening in Cambridge these days and I can’t wait to tell you about it. Some of the closed storefronts have found great new uses recently (many are still shuttered too), and I am a happy girl.

• A few new vegetarian restaurants opening in Central Sq (one vegan)
• A Pinkberry in Harvard Sq (I don’t care what it is, it sounds happy)
• The Central Square library has reopened after a ridiculously long renovation.
• Boomerangs is going to be opening up in Central Sq
• Jeff Mangum is playing the Sanders Theater in September.

Cambridge is a wonderful place.

Jeff Mangum pen and ink drawing, won in a charity auction

Thank you, Billy Ruane

Billy Ruane in front of the Middle East on Mass Ave, 1988

Stores, as vital as they are to the health and wealth of a city, are ultimately cold shadows compared to the people that make the streets hum and breathe.

 

We learned this the hard way when Boston music patron, impresario, wild dancer, and all around beloved friend Billy Ruane passed away last week at the age of 53.

While I did not know him personally (although many of my friends did), I am celebrating all that he brought to the city. I did not know it in my music days, but I had Billy to thank for bringing music to the Middle East, and helping to establish countless bands.

Thank you for making Mass Ave such a vibrant place, Billy. You will be missed.

Central Square Banksy mural removed

Before

So what do you do when you get a mural on the side of your building by a world-famous artist whose other murals have been valued at upwards of $600,000? You remove it of course!

In all fairness, I don’t know if it was Supercuts or the City of Cambridge who had it removed, but either way, bad move.

(Thanks JJ for the heads up)

Oriental Dynasty Furniture is closing

Another venerable member of the old Mass Ave furniture row is closing. This time it’s Oriental Dynasty Furniture, which sold new and used Asian furniture and home accessories. I sensed the end was coming a few months back when I saw the “Now taking consignments” sign in the window, followed by a permanent sale sign. That and almost every other furniture store on the block has closed (closely watching Bo Concept and Crate & Barrel now).

Please excuse the lame photo. I am now working full time far, far from Cambridge and can’t get over to photograph that often. Or post for that matter!

Have any tips or photos you would like me to post? Let me know: lotuspadyoga [at] gmail [dot] com

Rodney’s Bookstore is closing

This one is really depressing. I love Rodneys. I love it for so many reasons – not only do they have one of the biggest and best collections of used books in the area, they also have an amazing selection of new books, toys, posters, and most importantly, kids books. Rodneys is one of the few kid-friendly retail destinations left in the neighborhood. And it is a destination, about as much fun to go to as the park for my daughter.

Apparently, they will be open through the summer. Everything is 50% off. Come fall, Central Square will shed a collective tear.

UPDATE: Rodney’s is most definitely NOT closing. When asked why, the terse clerk responded that the “city stepped in.” He clearly did not want to discuss it,  so does anyone else have the story?

Empty Mass Ave in the Harvard Crimson

Our little blog got a mention in today’s Harvard Crimson, which we thought was pretty cool.

I was excited to hear that “many of the businesses whose closings are documented on Downey’s blog already have been or will soon be replaced.” Great news!

Apparently there are plans to demolish the old Bowl & Board and replace it with a new construction (wonder if it will include retail?), and certainly the old Adidas/Briggs & Briggs store seems to be getting some action. But I would love to know the plans for many of the others, including the old Alpha Omega store, and the row of empty storefronts that run from about Trowbridge Street to Dana Street (the old furniture row), ans especially the many large storefronts in Central Square.

Comment, HSBA?