Inman Square

      When I moved to Inman Square with my wife and three children a little over a year ago, we found ourselves in a compact, vibrant cultural center, a pleasant change from the lazy doldrums of West Cambridge, and what would be a breath of fresh air if not for the smoking stream of traffic flowing through Prospect Street to the highway. My wife being born a 3rd generation Cantabrigian, and myself being here since I was 6, we have collectively inhabited seven homes in this city, but in many ways this is the coolest neighborhood we've lived in.
      With Harvard and Central losing a lot of what had made them so culturally relevant, and interesting, in the name of commerce and decency, being streamlined, gentrified and marginalized until unrecognizable as living communities of free-thinking individuals, what hope remains for this greatest of cities in which the most powerful army on Earth was first gathered to deflect the advances of Empire and Tyranny from the British Crown? This modern Alexandria, home of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology?
      Although a hot-spot for yuppies, surely, Inman has not yet been crowded out by students and hipsters, and still retains that stamp of individuality that only an organic community displays, while also showing signs of a new embryonic intellectualism and art. It would bring great joy to see a new birth of creativity on American soil, in this stale age of rigid and nervous boredom.
      Inman has all the makings for an artistic/literary Mecca. First, there are the bars. Beer has long fueled American thought and creativity, and there are several interesting places to drink--- what we need are more interesting people to drink there. Bukowski's serves good beer and tasty, Cantabrigian bar-food. The staff there are very friendly, particularly the waitress who put up with the obnoxious comments of my friend, who was mooching beers off us; I made him at least leave her a tip. Being named after an iconic poet, I think it would make sense to start hosting poetry readings there. It would bring a higher sense of culture. There's also a cute little bookstore next door, Lorem Ipsum---why not get drunk and go read literature late in the evening? As you stumble tipsily down the sidewalk, bubbles float through the air. You could also drink at The Druid, or cram into the Lilly Pad to hear music. What Cambridge really needs is a revival of the local music scene.
      We could play in the open air of Alfred Vellucci Park, right across the street from Rosie's Bakery. Children playing with sidewalk chalk, hippies singing folk-songs, the old-timers and semi-bums of the neighborhood sitting, smoking, watching and talking. Host some real Happenings, make this the new Harvard Square, Vellucci the new Pit, sans the less genuine elements, the excessive filth and drugs and all that. Maybe just some teenagers with a can of beer in their pocket, smoking a joint. It's a short walk up Cambridge Street to the High School and the Library, which has become far more popular than when I was at the High School. Inman is perhaps not as superficially attractive to young people as Harvard Square --- when we were teenagers we were pulled in by the scene of quirky people in Harvard --- but there is the potential here for a depth of culture absent elsewhere.
      Further up Prospect Street, toward Central Square, you've got The Field, a nice, cozy Irish bar. You can even get a good meal there. Before that even, on Prospect is Out of the Blue Gallery. Lots of cool, funky local art in there; we got a housewarming gift from there. They also do lots of cool stuff, poetry readings, I've played music there a couple times, sidewalk chalk and yard sales; an eclectic place for reviving the local art scene, if only heads would get involved; we need more patrons of the arts, of real art, in Cambridge. Anyway, I've met some pretty interesting people there. And of course XO, beloved dog that you're bound to see lying down outside. Whole Foods right across the street, they should link up do something art/healthy food oriented.
      In the other direction you've got the highway and Union Square. Somerville and East Cambridge are right there; Area 4. I love the neighborhood feeling of Area 4 and the smell in the Summer (except on trash day.)
      Not long after we moved in we answered the door one day and met Jefferson R. Smith, candidate at the time for City Council. He was a very nice guy, and Inmanian himself, and affordable housing was at the top of his agenda. Unfortunately, he lost. More and more families and businesses are being forced out of Cambridge. Inman and Area 4 still have more working-class families than a lot of Cambridge, though.
      So, in short we should initiate a cultural exchange, at Vellucci Park and local businesses. Then we can establish an independent philosophical development and entertain other possibilities for the city's atmosphere than pure liberal prudence and homogeny.

@dGabeEvau

Note: Since I wrote this last Spring, already the area has changed; at least temporarily, for the worse. We have lost our close neighbor Out of the Blue to Central Square, although I was happy to help spread the word to save the gallery and raise awareness for their fundraising efforts to relocate. Also, in a trend consistent with the literary atrophy of America, Lorem Ipsum bookstore has closed. Bukowski's has been closed for months due to renovations; according to the Boston Globe they will be open again soon...just in time to come in from the cold to warm up and celebrate New England's heritage of booze, poetry and greasy food....on an apparent up-note, Christina's Spices has moved a few doors down from its previous location, which was connected to Christina's Ice Cream; the new spot looks really nice; I haven't been in yet, but just looking at the sheer assortment of hot sauces on the wall makes my mouth water (and my nose run.) Haveli, Inman's perennial Indian restaurant, closed about a year ago...that was a shame; it was a great place to grab buffet, my wife and I had eaten their for our anniversary years ago, and, most fondly to me, last winter I shoveled out a path in their parking lot and in front of the store in exchange for a free lunch! It is now January 5th, 2015; hopefully we can look forward to great things to come for Inman Square this year.