CAMBRIDGE, MA–Harvard Square’s landmark Out of Town News will officially close its doors at the end of October, reported The Harvard Crimson.
The newspaper said that plans to restore the 64-year-old newsstand, which is located in front of the Harvard Square T stop, have been in the works for almost a year. The upcoming construction will renovate the elevator leading to the underground station and make necessary repairs to the kiosk’s historic structure.
“Out of Town News has sold newspapers from around the globe to Cambridge residents, students, and celebrities. Famous patrons included poet Robert Frost, celebrity chef Julia Child, and Microsoft founders Paul Allen and Bill Gates. The Cambridge Historical Commission voted to designate the kiosk a landmark in October 2017,” Crimson said. “The closing comes at a time of extensive commercial turnover in the Square; Urban Outfitters, Crema Cafe, and Chipotle, among others, have all closed their doors in the past year.”
Crimson quoted Executive Director of the Harvard Square Business Association Denise A. Jillson as saying that though the structure will remain intact after construction completes, the kiosk will no longer be in operation due to growing competition for customers in Harvard Square and the declining demand for print papers.
“I believe what they make is one dime on every paper that you sell,” Jillson told Crimson. “The millennial cohort, and many of the… boomer [generation] get their news online. So fewer and fewer newspapers are being sold.”
