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Harvard Square's major changes, mapped

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Sweeping renovations, notable exits, and gaping vacancies are transforming the streetscape and the feel of Cambridge's Harvard Square. Blame (or credit) rising rents as well as changing shopping, eating, and entertainment habits.

This map tracks the alterations. Stay tuned as things might... well... change.

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Out of Town News

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The 500-square-foot, city-owned building dates from 1928 and has been used as a newsstand since 1984. That could soon end, however, as the city is looking to renovate the kiosk as part of a general renovation of the square's central plaza. Officials and residents are not expected to decide the fate of the kiosk before this fall, so things will continue as they are for most of 2017. That could change toward 2018 and beyond.

Crimson Corner

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The newsstand has been here for 54 years, but will have to vacate by the spring to make room for a 62-seat &pizza restaurant, including 10 outdoor tables where Crimson Corner's magazines and newspapers currently reside.

Tory Row

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The seven-year-old restaurant closed in the fall to make room for a 62-seat &pizza restaurant.

9-11 John F. Kennedy Street

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Developer Equity One wants to redevelop these buildings, along with 5 JFK and 18 Brattle streets, into a mall-like retail run of shops. The move, which has not been finalized and continues to draw opposition from residents, would likely mean the end of the world's only Curious George store.

Forbes Plaza

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The changes to this public plaza are part of a wider renovation that Harvard is undertaking of its Smith Center student union. Work is supposed to wrap next year and will bring changes such as a four-foot extension of the center into the plaza and a second-floor balcony that overhangs the first floor and therefore overlooks the plaza. The center's renovation also meant the displacement of eateries such as Al's and Au Bon Pain, and the relocation of Oggi's.

Harvard Square Theatre

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Movie-house giant AMC shuttered this location in 2012. It had been used as a theater of one sort or another since the Jazz Age. A trust that Chinese investor Gerald Chan controls snapped up the building in 2015 for $17.5 million (Chan owns several other properties in the Harvard Square area). The building has been vacant since that 2012 shuttering, with no apparent plans for redevelopment or a reopening.

FiRE + iCE

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This restaurant closed in September after nearly 20 years in business. The space remains vacant with no apparent plans for redevelopment or reopening.
The restaurant closed in September because the rent had "gotten out of whack" lately, according to an Uno representative quoted in the Harvard Crimson. There are no apparent plans for a reopening or redevelopment.

Out of Town News

The 500-square-foot, city-owned building dates from 1928 and has been used as a newsstand since 1984. That could soon end, however, as the city is looking to renovate the kiosk as part of a general renovation of the square's central plaza. Officials and residents are not expected to decide the fate of the kiosk before this fall, so things will continue as they are for most of 2017. That could change toward 2018 and beyond.

Crimson Corner

The newsstand has been here for 54 years, but will have to vacate by the spring to make room for a 62-seat &pizza restaurant, including 10 outdoor tables where Crimson Corner's magazines and newspapers currently reside.

Tory Row

The seven-year-old restaurant closed in the fall to make room for a 62-seat &pizza restaurant.

9-11 John F. Kennedy Street

Developer Equity One wants to redevelop these buildings, along with 5 JFK and 18 Brattle streets, into a mall-like retail run of shops. The move, which has not been finalized and continues to draw opposition from residents, would likely mean the end of the world's only Curious George store.

Forbes Plaza

The changes to this public plaza are part of a wider renovation that Harvard is undertaking of its Smith Center student union. Work is supposed to wrap next year and will bring changes such as a four-foot extension of the center into the plaza and a second-floor balcony that overhangs the first floor and therefore overlooks the plaza. The center's renovation also meant the displacement of eateries such as Al's and Au Bon Pain, and the relocation of Oggi's.

Harvard Square Theatre

Movie-house giant AMC shuttered this location in 2012. It had been used as a theater of one sort or another since the Jazz Age. A trust that Chinese investor Gerald Chan controls snapped up the building in 2015 for $17.5 million (Chan owns several other properties in the Harvard Square area). The building has been vacant since that 2012 shuttering, with no apparent plans for redevelopment or a reopening.

FiRE + iCE

This restaurant closed in September after nearly 20 years in business. The space remains vacant with no apparent plans for redevelopment or reopening.

Uno

The restaurant closed in September because the rent had "gotten out of whack" lately, according to an Uno representative quoted in the Harvard Crimson. There are no apparent plans for a reopening or redevelopment.