Out of Town News
Speaking of smoking, the confidence in the economy of America’s elite is sure to be shattered by the news that Out of Town News, the newstand smack in the middle of Harvard Square, is shutting down. The internet had basically made its core business model obsolete some time ago. The general idea, as witnessed by the name, was that you could buy all kinds of “out of town” publications there, thus serving the news needs of the university’s geographically diverse community. But people still buy other stuff — I used to buy cigarettes there, and sometimes Diet Coke (but soda’s cheaper at the university vending machine), but I think cigarette retailing is a declining industry as well.
Note that the closing of Out of Town News is part of the dystopian vision of The Handmaid’s Tale.
52 Responses to “Out of Town News”
Register
RSSLogin
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog RollAbout Matt YglesiasContact Me
Donate
November 21st, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Ah, the good old days, when being an expatriate really risked cutting you off from the motherland.
November 21st, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Good god! Where will all the Cambridge goths hang out now?
November 21st, 2008 at 2:09 pm
I feel like one of the reasons parents should encourage their children to work hard in high school and do well on their SATs to attend big-name elite universities is to, in part, be able to culturally participate in these inside-baseball discussions about what goes on in Harvard Square.
November 21st, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Wait. So there’s a version of the Handmaid’s Tale that’s even bleaker? Or did I read the depressing version, and the other version is a light-hearted romantic comedy?
November 21st, 2008 at 2:20 pm
soda’s cheaper at the university vending machine
Not anymore it isn’t. They used to have $1 20oz cokes at all the university vending machines, but they’re $1.35 now. The indignity! What the hell is that big endowment for if not dollar cokes?
November 21st, 2008 at 2:43 pm
For some reason, a magazine shop opened up recently right by my apartment. I can’t imagine they are doing well, especially as there is constant construction for the 2nd Ave Subway, so I don’t know if anyone who doesn’t live on my block even knows the place exists. I buy bottled drinks from them sometimes, but I don’t really buy magazines anymore… Oh well - they’ll probably have more luck than the high end tool store that was previously in the space. I understand why there is the hardware store down the street, but this place sold like tools contracters would use.
November 21st, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Good god! Where will all the Cambridge goths hang out now?
They’re not closing down the pit, don’t worry.
November 21st, 2008 at 2:54 pm
I’m still trying to get over the loss of Elisie’s. I never spent money at Out of Town News anyway.
November 21st, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Out of Town was the only thing that made being a football (i.e. soccer) and cycling fan possible in the ’70’s and ’80’s.
I’m still trying to get over the loss of Elsie’s. I never spent money at Out of Town
Like the Square needed another ATM vestibule. When I was broke three Elsie’s potato knishes was a day-and-a-half’s worth of food for a dollar-five. If flush, an Elsie’s special (roast beef, red onion, Russian dressing on a real bulkie) was paradise on a bun.
I pray for Schoenhof’s every night. Is Bob Slate Stationers gone? I’m afraid to ask….
November 21st, 2008 at 3:25 pm
I can’t tell you how sad that makes me. Now I feel even older. I think my husband (10 years ahead of me there) will be crushed.
November 21st, 2008 at 3:29 pm
For some reason, a magazine shop opened up recently right by my apartment. I can’t imagine they are doing well, especially as there is constant construction for the 2nd Ave Subway
They’ll be fine if they can just hold out until the Second Avenue Subway construction is complete in 2125.
November 21st, 2008 at 3:34 pm
What are they going to do with the building? It’s gotta be landmarked or something.
This makes me sad.
November 21st, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Sad news. So long as the downturn doesn’t get Mr. Bartley’s, there’s probably a reason to visit Cambridge, but not much of one.
November 21st, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Note that the closing of Out of Town News is part of the dystopian vision of The Handmaid’s Tale.
November 21st, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Could be worse. They closed the Yankee Doodle in New Haven. To put in a copy shop!
The Doodle!
November 21st, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Stop talking about Elsie’s, people. You’re making me sad, and hungry.
There hasn’t been a reason to visit Cambridge in years- even when I’m in Boston I no longer bother. This is one of the few things that make me glad I’m not younger than I am- you whippersnappers will never know the pre-yuppification Cambridge.
Now get off my lawn!
November 21st, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Boo-freakin-hoo. They also close the Radical Rye to make way for some stupid arts center. How are good Madisonians supposed to support the Sterling Hall bombers now?
November 21st, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Schoenhof’s is still there. Bob Slate has two locations in the Square and both seem pretty busy every time I’ve been there lately. There is still hope.
November 21st, 2008 at 4:37 pm
I miss The Tasty for the incredibly cheap coffee/egg salad sandwich combo. The late night emergency menu is not missed because you paid extra late at night and the next morning.
November 21st, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Say it ain’t so!
That place always gave such a feeling of cosmopolitanism when emerging from the Red Line…. Sic transit gloria mundi, I guess.
November 21st, 2008 at 5:09 pm
The original owners of Out of Town News sold it
several years ago to Hudson News, a chain. They’ve
decided to close down. But the kiosk is owned by
the City of Cambridge who was charging them $5k a
month in rent. They say they’re looking for someone
to take it over. Lots of luck.
As for the Square itself, they’ve sapped every ounce
of vitality out of it by turning it into a mall.
November 21st, 2008 at 6:04 pm
There hasn’t been a reason to visit Cambridge in years- even when I’m in Boston I no longer bother. This is one of the few things that make me glad I’m not younger than I am- you whippersnappers will never know the pre-yuppification Cambridge.
Oh, come on, that’s a load of crap! As someone pointed out above, Bob Slate is still there, as is Bartley’s, as is Schoenhof’s, as is Levitt & Pierce, as is Twisted Village records, and even the Globe Bookstore. Those are in Harvard Square, which has been ground zero of retail chainification in Cambridge. That’s not even counting Central Square and Inman Squares, which, while yuppified, are still chock full of great places to eat, hang out, shop, and see live music.
Yes, I suppose if your life revolved around the Golden Donut, Man-ray, and The Tasty, you’re out of luck, but please spare us your pre-yuppification sanctimony.
November 21st, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Suddenly, I’m reminded of when all the video rental stores vanished from the Square and were replaced by cell phone stores. Sigh. I’m not sure that’s yuppification, but as a student, it became a lot more annoying to live in Cambridge.
November 21st, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Yes, it’s explicitly Harvard/Cambridge, from what I recall of reading it for umpteen Women’s Studies classes. For the film version (yeah, I know), they used the Duke University campus (Harvard of the South!) and the Durham area to film in and around, and some parents were rather upset that their darlings had to see that death wall right in front of Duke Chapel.
November 22nd, 2008 at 1:40 am
The Coop should just take it over. It would seem appropriate to stay in the family like that.
November 23rd, 2008 at 9:57 am
No one seems to have pointed out that the OOTN owners/staff are rude and surly, and, like swathes of Cambridge and Square shop-owners (I’m thinking of Leo’s diner) have apparent anger-management problems. For some foreign newspapers, try the Center for European Studies. Good riddance to OOTN
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:18 am
@mainstreet: The building is not historical at all. Until the 1980s, that was just a traffic intersection; when they rerouted the Red Line up to Porter Square and beyond, they created the much larger island and put the OOTN kiosk there, as I recall.
Remember, also, that there’s ANOTHER newstand and magazine store right across the street, though not one that specializes in “Out of Town” things. But undergraduates could slip in and buy their first naughty magazines there. Of course, that’s another business that the internet has decimated…so maybe Harvard Square will soon be newsstandless, as people read their Die Zeit and Osservatore Romana (and more) while sipping their Lattes at Au Bon Pain.
December 4th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
The most asked question this fall by students whenever I’ve been introduced in classrooms has been: “So are you the guy who decides on snow days?” “Yes, children, the responsibility for determining whether school is to be held rests with me
December 4th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
Pontiac may soon have fewer classrooms. Administrators are dealing with an estimated 10 million dollar deficit at the end of the currrent school year. The district can handle 20 thousand students on 19 campuses. However, Pontiac only has 75
December 5th, 2008 at 12:39 am
Horses stand along a fence as light snow falls this morning on a farm near Saxonburg, Butler County. Widespread lake-effect snow bands continue to cross Western Pennsylvania this morning, causing slick spots along many highways for
December 5th, 2008 at 1:24 am
With most departments in state government expected to face cuts of 10 percent or more, Gov. Phil Bredesen said Monday he hopes to keep funding steady for grades K-12 and preschool education. He also warned that the state payroll is likely
December 7th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
For your edutainment, here are the results of a brainstorming session carried out by Sarah Palin on the back of a City of Wasilla budget in 1996 as she marshalled her thoughts about how to become mayor, step one in the nefarious
December 8th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
CLEVELAND - Saks Fifth Avenue is the latest big retail chain to announce serious losses, and on Tuesday the CEO said people are not in the mood to shop. Macy’s, Gap, Target, Nordstroms and Kohl’s all reported feeling the pinch, and one
December 14th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Butch Waisanen of Suttons Bay says
December 14th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Butch Waisanen of Suttons Bay says
January 13th, 2009 at 9:55 am
laptop battery
laptop batteries
February 9th, 2009 at 3:20 am
laptop battery
March 1st, 2009 at 5:57 am
viagra
Great site. Good info
March 22nd, 2009 at 6:23 am
tramadol
Excellent site. It was pleasant to me.
April 3rd, 2009 at 4:19 am
Great site. Good info
cheap brand pfizer viagra
April 9th, 2009 at 6:43 am
thanks !! very helpful post! viagra
April 13th, 2009 at 8:17 pm
Could you recommend any specific resources, books, or other blogs on this topic?