a little survey for you all to fill out...

[bridgesyoucross.livejournal.com]

Hi everyone!

I'm a student at Tufts, and I'm writing an anthropology paper about the possible ways we interact with Davis Square as tourist destination, not just a local place for practical everyday tasks.

You may think to yourself, "I live here, so I'm not a tourist." But that's ties into an overarching point that I'm trying to make in this paper - that you don't need to be a visitor to a place to be a tourist. We can all be tourists in our backyard, I say.

I'd really appreciate it if as many of you as possible could just answer a few questions about what you do when you go to Davis, and what you think of it. Many of these questions are closely connected, so if you'd rather answer in a paragraph or something, that works too. Just try to answer them completely. Maybe you'll surprise yourself. If you want to add anything extra that you think would be helpful or relevant, great. If you don't actually live around Davis Square, that's cool too.

Try to define "tourist/tourism" as loosely as possible when answering these questions. It's pretty subjective anyway. Things to consider: picture-taking, places/things you show visitors, anything Davis is "known" for, whatever else you want to add.

1. Do you ever do "tourist-y" things in Davis Square? Have you ever? What are they? Ever surprised at how much of a "visitor" or "tourist" you are, even if you live here?

2. What would you consider the most "tourist-y" places (or aspects) of Davis Square? Why, in your opinion, would a tourist come to Davis, and what would they do?

3. What sort of things do you usually do when you go to Davis? (This question can obviously be answered much longer for some than others.) Is there any difference between what you do in Davis now and what you did when you first moved to the area? Ever go exploring? Learn new things?

4. Do you know anything about the history of Davis Square? If so, how? (Was it from being a "tourist"?) Do you *want* to know more than you do, or could you not care less?


I really appreciate any and all input. Thanks!


edit to add: thanks for your input... i definitely could use more though. i'd appreciate anything anyone has to say... thanks!

Comments

[relysha.livejournal.com]

1. Do you ever do "tourist-y" things in Davis Square? Have you ever? What are they? Ever surprised at how much of a "visitor" or "tourist" you are, even if you live here?
I've been in the Sommerville theater and taken pictures of it. I've also taken pictures and walks on the walkway that runs through Davis Square. I was surprised at how much of a tourist I was because I realized that no matter how long you live in a place you never really know everything about it and there's always something new to discover there.

2. What would you consider the most "tourist-y" places (or aspects) of Davis Square? Why, in your opinion, would a tourist come to Davis, and what would they do?
The theater (one of the top ones in MA) and the walkway, and JP Licks as a Boston staple. The only thing I'd do as a tourist in Davis is visit the theater.

3. What sort of things do you usually do when you go to Davis? (This question can obviously be answered much longer for some than others.) Is there any difference between what you do in Davis now and what you did when you first moved to the area? Ever go exploring? Learn new things?
The only thing I do in Davis is some basic shopping, and the occasional night out to dinner, which is the same as I did when I fist moved to the area.

4. Do you know anything about the history of Davis Square? If so, how? (Was it from being a "tourist"?) Do you *want* to know more than you do, or could you not care less?
Honestly, I know nothing of the history of the square, though I would be interested in a few facts but not do the research myself.

[youngnawkward.livejournal.com]

1. Do you ever do "tourist-y" things in Davis Square? Have you ever? What are they? Ever surprised at how much of a "visitor" or "tourist" you are, even if you live here?

I'm not sure what kind of tourist things there are to do there. I've eaten at Anna's...from what I've heard, that's a pretty signature Davis place to go to. I never feel like a tourist, but I do feel like an outsider because I don't know my way around when people ask me for directions.

2. What would you consider the most "tourist-y" places (or aspects) of Davis Square? Why, in your opinion, would a tourist come to Davis, and what would they do?
Anna's, the statue of the two old people at the Joey Stop. A tourist would come to Davis, take a picture by the statue, maybe see that cheesy Halloween shop, eat an Anna's, and leave.

3. What sort of things do you usually do when you go to Davis? (This question can obviously be answered much longer for some than others.) Is there any difference between what you do in Davis now and what you did when you first moved to the area? Ever go exploring? Learn new things?

I work at Starbucks. I eat at Anna's. Sometimes I go to J.P. Lick's or catch the T. That's about it. I've never gone exploring, but I did learn there was a Brooks pharmacy there! Also there are a lot of sad homeless people. :(

4. Do you know anything about the history of Davis Square? If so, how? (Was it from being a "tourist"?) Do you *want* to know more than you do, or could you not care less?

I know nothing about Davis Square. Hahahaha omg I definitely don't care.

[smuponies09.livejournal.com]

I'm not really sure what would be considered touristy at Davis. I've always thought of Davis (and Porter to a lesser extent) as the more independently run step brother of Harvard Square. To me, tourist things are listed in Fodor's guides, etc. So, I guess certain restaurants are considered tourist attractions. To that end, I guess I feel somewhat like a tourist when I eat at Red Bones, etc. I think the Somerville Theatre is the most touristy thing about Davis Sq. if only because it seems to have been there forever and is more of an institution than a place like JP Licks. That said, I think indepedent places like Someday Cafe, etc are also tourist places since they offer a distinct and one of a kind experience. So if someone were to come to Davis seeking a tourist event, my standard for that would be "I was (eating/watching a show/tourist verb) at this unique place in Somerville..." I don't feel like my experiences in Davis are touristy after I've done them more than once. When I go to the cleaners, get something to eat at O'Naturals, bank at the omnipresent BoA or get coffee at Dunkin' they become part of a poorly kept routine. I won't profess to knowing much about Davis square other than in recent times there has been some controversy over the commercialization of it. I think that argument goes into the greater gentrification of Boston/Cambrdige-Middlesex County.

Anyway, hope that is coherent and helps!

[i-split-islands.livejournal.com]

1. Do you ever do "tourist-y" things in Davis Square? Have you ever? What are they? Ever surprised at how much of a "visitor" or "tourist" you are, even if you live here?

When I first got to Tufts Davis was a kind of tourist destination, but now that I have lived her for awhile I feel like everything I do there is normal and I can scout out people that look like tourists. While I do not consider myself a native of the area, I am stuck in this kind of limbo where I have no real title. I am surprised at how easy it was for me to slip out of the tourist role and into my current position.

2. What would you consider the most "tourist-y" places (or aspects) of Davis Square? Why, in your opinion, would a tourist come to Davis, and what would they do?

The artwork on pedestals by the T stop, not exactly sure what it is called (my father knew about, art aficianados care), the theatre, anna's and probably JP licks

3. What sort of things do you usually do when you go to Davis? (This question can obviously be answered much longer for some than others.) Is there any difference between what you do in Davis now and what you did when you first moved to the area? Ever go exploring? Learn new things?

There is a big difference from when I first moved here, Davis used to be a big novelty and I would take pics to show my parents. I study in Diesel and Someday, I use the T stop, I rent videos, I go to anna's and the used bookstore, and I have gone to a couple of movies. I have also shot photo projects in Davis and people watched.

4. Do you know anything about the history of Davis Square? If so, how? (Was it from being a "tourist"?) Do you *want* to know more than you do, or could you not care less?

I know NOTHING about the history, except that it used to be kind of shitty and has gotten a lot better in recent years

[curiositykt.livejournal.com]

1. Do you ever do "tourist-y" things in Davis Square? Have you ever? What are they? Ever surprised at how much of a "visitor" or "tourist" you are, even if you live here?

I don't really see Davis as having much touristy things. Nearly everything fills a need of the community, nothing is really a draw for tourists, not like harvard or boston is at least.

2. What would you consider the most "tourist-y" places (or aspects) of Davis Square? Why, in your opinion, would a tourist come to Davis, and what would they do?

I guess Someday Cafe, cause it was in a song..

3. What sort of things do you usually do when you go to Davis? (This question can obviously be answered much longer for some than others.) Is there any difference between what you do in Davis now and what you did when you first moved to the area? Ever go exploring? Learn new things?

I explore a lot cause that's just what I do. I'm naturally curious and an Anthro student so I just tend to wander and experience and explore and try to understand. I generally go get ice cream, go for coffee, eat out, rent movies and buy books.

4. Do you know anything about the history of Davis Square? If so, how? (Was it from being a "tourist"?) Do you *want* to know more than you do, or could you not care less?

Yes. I like to know the history of anywhere I go. I read all placards and find out the history and the past and find old pictures and see how things have changed. i was greatly interested in the old movie theaters of somerville website that was up here a few weeks ago. it was very interesting. I love thinking about the fact that people have been walking these same paths for hundreds of years and going about their days not so differently than I do.

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

We can all be tourists in our own backyard...
To this I agree whole-heartedly. I have lived in San Francisco and Montreal and have sought out "tourist" things to do in both places. And, so too in Boston, Cambridge and Somerville.

1. Do you ever do "tourist-y" things in Davis Square? Have you ever? What are they? Ever surprised at how much of a "visitor" or "tourist" you are, even if you live here?

To me, the top "tourist attractions" in Davis are the Somerville Theatre, Redbones and the Rosebud, the Someday Cafe, and the bowling alley on Day St. By this I mean, if I had out-of-town guests, these are the things I'd be sure to show them. I've done all of the above except the bowling.

2. What would you consider the most "tourist-y" places (or aspects) of Davis Square? Why, in your opinion, would a tourist come to Davis, and what would they do?

As I said above, the Somerville Theatre, Redbones and the Rosebud, the Someday Cafe, and the bowling alley on Day St.

The most touristy aspect would be Art Beat.

Why would a tourist come here? Honestly? Because they wanted to come to Boston and they knew someone who lived here. I can't see someone randomly going, "Oooh Somerville, MA! I have always wanted to go there!!!"

3. What sort of things do you usually do when you go to Davis? (This question can obviously be answered much longer for some than others.) Is there any difference between what you do in Davis now and what you did when you first moved to the area? Ever go exploring? Learn new things?

I live at Hancock and Summer, between Davis and Porter Squares. I only live a block inside Somerville, and to be honest, I orient more to Cambridge than Somerville. If you say "Anna's" I think the one in Porter Square (which was here before I moved here in 2000) and not the one in Davis (which moved in a couple of years after I did). I tend to think in the direct of Mass Ave, not Highland.

What I come to Davis for are: Movies at the Somerville Theatre. Taking the cats to the vet (at Porter Square Vet). Getting pedicures (at Julie's Nails). Going to the Goodwill. Buying meat at McKinnon's...and once in a while, eating at Redbone's or the Rosebud.

4. Do you know anything about the history of Davis Square? If so, how? (Was it from being a "tourist"?) Do you *want* to know more than you do, or could you not care less?

I read the various signs and placards. I love old photos of the Square (I love old photos of all the Squares). I'm not curious enough to go to the museum or the library and do much research, though.

What is a tourist?

[cos]

My conception of "touristy" is what you do when you're visiting a place you're not connected to, and are trying to discover it or enjoy it from a position of not knowing. You can read about it, look up things in guide books, get suggestions, but you don't have habits, familiar places, etc. You're not going to someone's party, or getting together with a group of locals, or buying your everyday groceries... except here, you see where the overlap begins.

I think you can go to new unfamiliar places and not be touristy. For example, if I go somewhere where a friend of mine lives, stay with them, meet their friends, and then go out with them to the things they do, that doesn't feel touristy.

If I go to a concert because I looked up concert listings in the local arts paper, saw something unfamiliar that looked potentially interesting, and went to see, that feels touristy to me - even if I do it at home. If I go to a concert because my friend is in the band, or my friend likes the band or likes the venue and suggests I come along with them, that doesn't feel touristy - even if I do it in a foreign country I just got to and had never been to before.

[shinxy.livejournal.com]

1. I take photos of the Davis area a lot- mostly of graffiti and other art-photo-type material, since I take photography classes. I've also taken people on tours of Davis, especially during the first few weeks of school when I can flaunt being a local.

2. Anna's (which isn't specifically Davis, but it's a local institution anyway.) Someday and Diesel, which gave Davis its reputation as one of the coolest neighborhoods in America (I forgot what magazine declared that.) The different pieces of art, like the statues and the pedestals behind the T station. The theater. I think most tourists would check out Davis as a cooler and more authentic version of Harvard Square.

3. I used to go the goodwill and the book store a lot, just to browse. Now I usually just come for food and people-watching, and to lie around in the grass behind the T. These days I've started eating at Mike's, which despite its central location remains kind of a townie joint not heavily patronized by college kids or yuppies.

4. I don't know much "official" history offhand, but I remember the early 90s when it always smelled like liquor and was considerably less nice as a neighborhood. I wonder what it was like before then.

[bridgesyoucross.livejournal.com]

one of the coolest neighborhoods in America (I forgot what magazine declared that.)

That would be the Utne reader in 1997, according to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davis_Square).

[ah42.livejournal.com]

JP Licks... JP Licks... Don't any of you remember Denise's?! Tourists indeed.

[ron_newman]

Denise's has reopened -- in Columbus, Ohio!. I stopped there on my last family visit.

[spacecadetkelz.livejournal.com]

1. Do you ever do "tourist-y" things in Davis Square? Have you ever? What are they? Ever surprised at how much of a "visitor" or "tourist" you are, even if you live here?
I think the most tourist-y thing I've done in my short time in the area so far is take pictures of a fight in front of Someday with my cellphone. I've personally always had a "When in Rome" atittude when it comes to these things.

2. What would you consider the most "tourist-y" places (or aspects) of Davis Square? Why, in your opinion, would a tourist come to Davis, and what would they do?
I'd say Somerville Theater. The building itself has an interesting history and the shows that come through are pretty awesome.

3. What sort of things do you usually do when you go to Davis? (This question can obviously be answered much longer for some than others.) Is there any difference between what you do in Davis now and what you did when you first moved to the area? Ever go exploring? Learn new things?
I go to Davis almost exclusively for resturants since coming to the area. I've done a little shopping and walking around here and gone to a few shows at Somerville, but yeah. Food.

4. Do you know anything about the history of Davis Square? If so, how? (Was it from being a "tourist"?) Do you *want* to know more than you do, or could you not care less?
When I stayed at BC a few summers ago, I did hear that Davis Square was a sort of hipster area, so i guess that counts as being a tourist. I know very little about the history of Davis Square itself, but much more about Somerville in general. I wouldn't mind knowing more, who wouldn't?

sorry for all the spelling mistakes. fake nails are a bitch and i can hardly type.

[dmaze]

1-2. I don't think of Davis as a very touristy place, the way I might Harvard^2. I have gone around and taken pictures of things, but then I was doing that all the way down the bike path to Alewife that day.

3. 90% of the time I am going to Davis to get on the T. 20% of the time I will get coffee, always from the Diesel. I used to be a big Anna's fan, then switched my loyalty to Picante, then they moved. My favorite restaurant proper is Namaskar; my SO is a fan of Martsa and anti-Red Bones.

4. I am kind of interested in the history of Davis. One axis is the local train geeking front (did B&M commuter trains ever stop here?). The other is hearing that all of Somerville was a pretty rough place before the Alewife T extension, but from the 90's on West Somerville has actually gotten pretty nice.

[ron_newman]

What's now the bike path and busway used to be railroad tracks. B&M commuter trains did indeed stop here on the way to or from Lexington or Belmont. That ended in the 1920s. The railroad tracks remained, and freight trains used them, up until the late 1970s or early 80s when Red Line construction began.

I've heard stories of Fitchburg Line trains being detoured through Davis due to construction in the late 1970s, and therefore stopping at Davis instead of Porter, but I never saw this myself.

[ron_newman]

Davis Square is off the tourist maps. I mean that quite literally -- go downtown and pick up a tourist map, and you'll see that it probably cuts off somewhere between Harvard and Porter squares. In the other direction, tourist maps tend to end somewhere around the MFA or the Longwood medical area, omitting Jamaica Plain despite its many attractions.

For this and other reasons, most out-of-town tourists to Boston probably never get up to West Somerville, unless they're the kind who like to ride to random subway stops and just look around. (I've done that in other cities.)

Regionally, I think Davis Square is fairly well-known. People come here from other parts of Greater Boston to attend concerts at the Somerville Theatre and at Johnny D's. The Independent Film Festival of Boston brings huge crowds here each year. The Burren and Redbones are also one-of-a-kind places that draw from a wide area. Sacco's Bowl-Haven probably counts, too, since there are so few urban bowling alleys left in Boston.

Things I visit in Davis Square from day to day? The T station (of course); the post office; Wainwright Bank's ATM; Farmer's Bounty for fruits and vegetables; Diesel and Someday for coffee and conversation (and sometimes sandwiches at Diesel); Store 24 for milk and bread and T passes; Anna's for cheap fast food; an occasional movie or concert at the Somerville Theatre; Sunday brunch at Johnny D's; a very occasional visit to the shoe repair guy; some author's readings at McIntyre and Moore. My doctor is at Harvard Vanguard. A few times a year, I'll rent a car from Enterprise.

I'm quite interested in the history of Davis Square, and of Somerville in general. I've lived in Davis since 1992 and in Somerville since 1984 and have seen great changes during my time here, mostly for the better.

[ron_newman]

somehow I left Mike's off my list. I eat there fairly often, and occasionally hang out there to watch a Red Sox game.

I also occasionally hit Brooks Pharmacy and Family Dollar, though I seem to do more of that kind of shopping at Porter Square or other CVS locations.

[jirikido.livejournal.com]

1. Do you ever do "tourist-y" things in Davis Square? Have you ever? What are they? Ever surprised at how much of a "visitor" or "tourist" you are, even if you live here?

Well, I do *live* here, but it's only been two years, so I'm as much a tourist as anyone who is not a New Englander, born and bred. The Somerville Open Studios comes to mind, but otherwise, I take people there as part of the Whacky Camberville tour, since it's the center of lots of communities.

2. What would you consider the most "tourist-y" places (or aspects) of Davis Square? Why, in your opinion, would a tourist come to Davis, and what would they do?

Couple good restaurants (Diva, Red Bones), couple good dives (Burren, Johnny D's) and some quiet wildlife (Some Day Cafe, Diesel)

3. What sort of things do you usually do when you go to Davis? (This question can obviously be answered much longer for some than others.) Is there any difference between what you do in Davis now and what you did when you first moved to the area? Ever go exploring? Learn new things?

Usually dinner somewhere and a drop-in to the Diesel. I used to try a lot more places, now I've settled down to perhaps half a dozen places that I visit (Mike's, Red Bones, Johnny D's, Diva, Diesel, Someday Cafe) and that's about it. Maybe a play at one of the local spots, or something special, a party in the area if it comes up.

4. Do you know anything about the history of Davis Square? If so, how? (Was it from being a "tourist"?) Do you *want* to know more than you do, or could you not care less?

Don't know much about it, not particularly interested in the history of this area so far.