LyLena

Issue: Homelessness in Central Square Problem Statement: Earlier this year a Cambridge City Councilor was assaulted while discussing with news crew the growing issue of homelessness in the Cambridge and Boston areas. The assailant himself was unhoused. As the population of unhoused peoples continues to grow in Cambridge, the city must go beyond offering shelter from the cold nights and take more initiative in proactively helping these people get into permanent housing. Short Description: This proposal aims to create a day center for the unhoused living in Central Square to be able to conduct necessary operations related to hygiene, survival, maintaining a job, and obtaining more permanent housing.  Long Description: Creating a day center for the unhoused will give them a place to go during the day where they can do productive work and remain connected to the city. Those who have health conditions that may make them dangerous to others on the street can be monitored and helped. ...

Music has played a large part in the development of Harvard Square over the years, which is why this tour looks closely at its history and future in the area. Stop 1: First Church Cambridge When the Puritans first immigrated to the area, religious psalms played an “integral part of worship” and, in a highly religious society, an integral part of life. First Church was one of the original sites where this music would have been sung, and also played a part in the printing of the Bay Psalm Book in 1640, “the first book printed in the British colony” of Massachusetts. Stop 2: Tulla’s Coffee Grinder Next in the tour we skip ahead to the 1950s, when music began to explode and Harvard Square became a center of the blast.  Tulla’s Coffee Grinder, which once stood on 30 Dunster Street, was first opened by Tulla Cook in 1955. As it was the only coffee house in Cambridge at that time, it quickly became a meeting place for Harvard students, and performances began to take place within its unass...

The Brattle Theater (aka Brattle Hall) should receive landmark status. This building sits on Brattle Street close to Brattle Square and beside the Cambridge Center for adult education. It was built in 1890 as a space for performances after the Civil War. Throughout its history, however, it has served as everything from a space for Harvard Gentlemen to meet Cambridge ladies to one of the first theaters to bring foreign films to America. It has had a central role in the fight against censorship, winning the rights to show controversial films and put on political theater shows. The Brattle Film Foundation took over the theater in 2001, and they have at times struggled financially to maintain their important place in the square. They now offer a variety of programming such as movies with drinks, poetry, and readings. Its large brick front stand out on a corner made mostly of large cement and glass structures. Designating this building as a landmark would ensure protection against pressures...