Those tables where people sometimes play chess in Harvard Square only exist as part of an ecosystem that is everything the Select Board, police department, and Planning Board fight so hard to keep Lincoln from turning into. Many thousands of people pass through the square in a day, more than live in all of Lincoln. Less than one in a thousand of them stop to play chess. There are more things to do in Harvard Square than all of Lincoln plus several community centers.
For a while centered on two decades ago I spent Saturday afternoons and evenings there. I would meet up with friends for dinner then we would separate to do our own things before meeting again. Split up, we didn't have a choice of shuffleboard vs. cribbage. We had a hundred shops for those who wanted to shop. For the rest, listen to the street musicians, walk along the river, or go for a smoke or a drink on the Common. If one of us had been into chess that break would have been time to look for a game. Maybe another 15 years of gentrification have changed things, but in the 2000s the area was filled with what Lincoln residents would call "suspicious" people. Around half the people I ate with any given Saturday night would have residents here calling the cop. The white ones too. And I didn't hang out with the really weird people. Friends who could hold a decent job, and friends of friends. That is what happens when you have a dense urban environment with good public transportation. That is why Arlington residents were not excited by the offer to extend the Red Line to their town forty years ago. Urban is not for everybody. We are not going to have lots of shops, activities, and good public transportation around a community center. We are not going to have a lot of people within walking distance of the building. The community center will be an isolated facility visited by people who can get a car ride. If we want to dream we should look at other towns, not cities. What happens at other towns' community centers? Are there crowds watching chess games? Is the site deserted except for a few hours every day? Is the building near anything, or is it in the middle of nowhere like Hartwell? John Carr On Fri, Nov 18, 2022 at 12:18 PM Constance Lewis <[email protected]> wrote: > > On a beautiful days in early November, I had an appointment in Harvard Square > and stopped for coffee at the Smith Campus Center (formerly the Holyoke > Center). The plaza in front that faces Mass Avenue has always been well used > by a great variety of people—from Harvard students to Cambridge residents to > visitors from near and far; and I have always enjoyed spending time there, > sometimes just idly watching the passing parade. But on that Thursday, I > looked at the plaza and the sidewalk in front of it in a different way > because of the LincolnTalk discussion about the building of a community > center. I saw people on their laptops pausing to chat for a minute or two > with someone who stopped by. Other people were talking seriously or > cheerfully with friends and often with strangers at the next table. People of > different generations were playing chess. All around the plaza and even on > the street, there was a subtle, but palpable, sense of community. > > I thought about what a community center would contribute to the well-being of > Lincoln residents of all ages and situations. Those of us who are primarily > connected to the town through the Council on Aging and Human Services will > inevitably become more connected to the schools and the students. Other > adults who are focused on school activities and those whose children have > gone on to high school may fall into conversation with strangers whose ideas > are enlightening or annoying, both part of building and maintaining a strong > community. Parks and Rec will have space to engage Lincolnites of all ages in > old and new activities. > > For me, a building, no matter how well planned, is just bricks and mortar > until it is inhabited. Once people bring it to life, a building becomes > something no one could have entirely anticipated; before long, people start > to wonder how they lived without it. > > Those of us who are familiar with the space constraints in town know how much > we need more space for both administration and activities. Scattering > activities around town is often difficult or impossible to arrange. A > centralized community space makes it possible to manage activities > creatively, and the Community Center Building Committee has made this case > very well. Yes, building the Community Center will raise everyone’s taxes > though probably not as much some people imagine. But this investment in the > future will be well worth it if it makes Lincoln an even better place to live > and thrive. > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to [email protected]. > Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. > -- The LincolnTalk mailing list. To post, send mail to [email protected]. Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/. Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. Change your subscription settings at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln.
