Davis Square 1997 vs. Davis Square 2007

[cvs-is-king.livejournal.com]

which do you prefer?

Comments

[mizufae.livejournal.com]

the question is, how many of us have actually been here for ten years??

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was going to say that in 1997 I was living in San Francisco, so I gotta go with 2007. But ask me again in three years :-)

[ron_newman]

I've been here since 1992 (and elsewhere in Somerville since 1984), but I no longer remember what has opened since 1997 and what was already here then.

[jadasc.livejournal.com]

Ask me next year and I'll tell you.

[cvs-is-king.livejournal.com]

I am not only talking about business changes.(although they certainly influence things) I'm talking general feel, vibe, direction, diversity, and so on.

[heliograph.livejournal.com]

I was here. Can I vote for 2006? The La Contessa thing bugs me. The good things that were here in 1997 are still here:

Sessa's
McKinnon's
Rosebud
The Singer store
The Somerville Theater
Johnny D's
Redbones
Sacco's
Dente's
Mike's
Yoshi's (really Powderhouse, and it was Chieko's back then)

And some new good things:
Out of the Blue
The UPS Store
Mr. Crepe
Macintyre & Moore
Tingle's (newish)
Comicazi
Anna's

There are some missing things. I miss Steve's and the original Bertucci's (though Steve's might have gone before '97). I miss that all night eatery that was where Out of the Blue was before OotB moved. I miss Radio Shack, as sad as that is. I really liked the used bookstore that was out towards the parking office, so I miss that.

So what do people miss? Yee's? That fish taco place? The comic and card place where Magpie is now (more or less)?

[alphacygni]

1997 is when I first moved to the Boston area, and I first lived on Highland Ave just down from Davis, so it was my local landing pad and I got quite attached. To place that time period in the business churn, it was right about when Blue Shirt Cafe first opened.

Food options have multiplied. Non-food options feel about the same, to me. The aesthetics of the storefronts have been kicked up a notch, most notably on Elm. I'd like to think that's because the businesses are all doing well and can afford to reinvest into improvements, but I'm not sure of that. The atmosphere feels very similar. I spent some intervening years living in exotic faraway places like Central Square and western Massachusetts, and moving back to Davis this past fall felt very familiar.

Certainly some notable establishments have gone, and I've noticed that. I didn't happen to be a major customer of any of them. The Someday closing was probably to some people like Redbones closing (heaven forbid) or other things would be to me.

I'm fond of both Davis 1997 and 2007. I might break the tie, if forced, by noting the current presence of burritos from Anna's. But really, it's still the Davis I love.

[heliograph.livejournal.com]

Well, I prefer the mayor we had then. To be perfectly honest I don't think the general feel or vibe has changed that much. Trendy coffee place spawned other trendy coffee places. Various chains have come and gone... Brooks was here in '97, though I'm not sure it was a Brooks then.

Is this a fear of Big Box, re: CVS and the Bally's?

Since '87 Davis Square has changed dramatically, but no so much since '97.

I don't remember the year, but before '97 some national magazine listed Davis Square as a hip, happenin' place to live, and either through coincidence or because of it, Davis really began to feel the change of the T-stop and felt more development. I remember they specifically mentioned Someday as a sign Davis was cool.

[hauntmeister.livejournal.com]

I remember when the discount liquor store turned into a discount book store. That was certainly a sign of the neighborhood going upscale!

If I remember the development of that corner correctly, it was discount liquors --> Buck-a-Book --> Expansion of Someday Cafe --> Mr. Crepe.

And the Somerville Theatre renovation and conversion to a multiplex -- while keeping the main theatre intact -- is one of the best things to happen to the square! The McDonald's and Family Dollar, both of which have opened since I've lived here ... not so much. Though it's nice to have that sort of low-end anchor around to keep up remembering our square's humble beginnings!

[ron_newman]

The Burren opened in 1996, according to its web page. I think of that as the triggering event that turned Elm Street into what it is today. Before then, there wasn't much reason to walk east of Dover Street in the evening, except to go to Redbones.

[cos]

I don't think Davis Square has changed all that much since 1997, except for one big thing: Dolly's Diner. Davis Square was definitely a better place with Dolly's than without. Other than that, overall, it's a pretty similar place IMO.

[ron_newman]

If you mean the Hobbs Building (Somerville Theatre building) corner, that went from American Discount Pharmacy to Buck-a-Book (first location) to Someday Cafe to Mr. Crepe.

I think the second Buck-a-Book location, soon to become Chipotle, was formerly a liquor store.

Family Dollar replaced Friendly Family Center (FFC) , a small local chain that carried similar goods. McDonalds was here before, closed, then opened again a few years later at its current site.

[ron_newman]

the magazine was Utne Reader.

Brooks Pharmacy was Osco Drug then, and will soon be Rite-Aid.

good topic

[gildersleeve.livejournal.com]

I miss Disc Diggers, but stopped going there when they stopped selling LP's back in the early 90's. I miss the original Someday Cafe when it was just one little storefront right next to the cinema entrance (and I remember paying $2.50 for a movie back before the theater had 5 screens and was not renovated, and even less than that as a kid).

Some real old school stuff: Pine Tree Diner, Somerville Books & Records, Kay & Chips, Zembla Books (when it was where JP Licks is, then moved up Holland), the little Antique store where Antonia's is, Apple-A-Day (where Dunkin Donuts is today), Friscati's restaurant (the whole block where Anna's Taqueria is), the Venice restaurant (where Orleans is). Gorin's Department Store, the Blarney bar. Or how about when the train tracks went through the center of the square. Man, now we are talking 1977 or 87.

I think that the vibe in Davis changed permanently in the mid-90's and hasn't changed much since then. Places come and go, some loved, some not, but overall it seems fairly consistent. My Davis is not your Davis is not my kids Davis is not my father's Davis. But it is all of ours, too.

[danger-chick.livejournal.com]

I miss that all night eatery that was where Out of the Blue was before OotB moved.
Mmmm...Dolly's.

I really liked the used bookstore that was out towards the parking office, so I miss that.
I was just thinking of Zembla's the other day. It was one of the best used bookstores for poetry ever. I think I spent most of time by Deborah Digges', I think, used poetry books. I think I went there every Sat and bought about ten dollars worth of books.

I lived on Dover St from 1994-2001. From 1992-1994 and 2001-2004, I lived not far away in Porter. Since then I moved to NM, and life has never been the same. I think the best years in Davis (for me) were 1993-1996. I preferred the Somerville Theater as one large hall -- people danced up and down the aisle during "Muriel's Wedding." You'd see people wander around the square drinking coffee from Someday's glasses, because there wasn't enough place to sit. Steve's was still open in 1993, I believe. The armenian pizza place was still open on Mass Ave and Dover.

[spatch]

I think I'll have me a coffee at the Someday, then head over to Yee's Home for Wayward Dogs Village to get lit on some truly cheap-ass rum drinks with umbrellas in, and then have a nice late-night dinner at Dolly's.





...oh. Shit.

Re: good topic

[ron_newman]

What and where was Pine Tree Diner?

I do remember Somerville Books & Records, on Highland Avenue. Real funky, bohemian place. Occasionally they had acoustic performers. I saw an unknown singer named Tracy Chapman play there.

Unfortunately, when the Fraimans renovated that building in the late 1980s, they seriously damaged the store's stock, and it never reopened.

[cvs-is-king.livejournal.com]

The Joshua Tree wasn't here in '97.
Score a point for 97.

Rent was more reasonable in 97.
Score a point for 97.

More artists lived in Davis in 97
Score a point for 97

Less "yuppies" in 97
Score a point for 97

More and uglier statues in 97.
Score a point for 2007!

Slackers (not hipsters)were a larger part of the community.
Score a point for 97.

Your backpack wasn't stolen at the Someday in 97.
Your backpack was stolen at the Someday in 2006.
Score a point for 97.

The Someday served the best coffee in the city in 97.
Now you have to go to Union to get that same good cup of coffee.
The Diesel's coffee is just plain nasty in 2007
Score a point for 97.

There was a barter system between businesses in 97.
Pretty sure nothing of that sort in 2007.
Score a point for 97.

There was more conversation and less cellphone blathering fools in 97.
Score a point for 97.

Dolly's late night in 97.
Now...nothing.
Point for 97.

on and on and on and...

[cos]

Yeah, and Disc Diggers is gone, and the Somerville Theatre remodeled, and Osco turned into Brooks, and Starbucks moved in, and JP Licks bought the ice cream place, and ... my point is that I don't think Davis Square is very different. Not that I think all the businesses are identical.

[ron_newman]

I'd hate to see any more "old-line" businesses close up, though. I'll really miss La Contessa. I don't shop at McKinnon's, but it needs to stay, as does the shoe repair guy on the plaza next to Starbucks.

[pushupstairs.livejournal.com]

I honestly don't think I even knew Davis Square existed until about 2003. Before then, it was just some T stop I had passed through 3 or 4 times.

but, like most places I've been, I'd wager that it was better 10 years ago (or more).

[rmd.livejournal.com]

back in the mid-1980's, there was briefly a lesbian bar (with occasional singing/band performances) in what is now the downstairs of redbones, back when the upstairs was a townie bar whose name i've forgotten.

[ron_newman]

the upstairs bar was called Barnaby's; the name is painted over but still barely visible on Redbones' sign. I didn't know about the lesbian bar; it's before my time here.

[cos]

Sure. I miss some of them too. I just don't think the square feels all that different due to the churn. Someday's closing would've had a bigger impact if we hadn't gotten Diesel along the way. If Johnny D's or the Somerville Theatre go, that could change the neighborhood as drastically as Dolly's going away did. Other than that, it feels about the same.

I'm sorry, but...

[aki.livejournal.com]

Wow, did you really go and create a LJ account just to troll here? Are you disappointed that this thread has remained reasonable? Am I a hypocrit for taking the bait?

Yes.