The theater has been vacant on Church Street since 2012. The Cambridge City Council wants to question the owner about its reopening.
By Molly Farrar
Harvard Square is marred by at least a dozen of vacant storefronts, including, notably, the nearly century-old Harvard Square Theatre on Church Street.
It’s been closed since 2012, and, after a failed proposal to reopen the theatre in 2022, it’s still boarded up. The historic theater is one of the many properties owned by billionaire investor Gerald Chan, known for his $350 million gift renaming Harvard University’s School of Public Health to honor his father.
Harvard Square Business Association President Denise Jillson is asking Chan to reopen the theater. The Cambridge City Council voted Monday evening to call Chan to testify to a committee about his plans for the theater and his other vacant properties in Cambridge.
“I am truly concerned that you may not be fully aware of the negative impact of your building on Church Street,” Jillson wrote in a letter to Chan last month. “It is not an overstatement to share that nearly every day, I am asked about its status.”
Harvard Square Theatre, which opened in 1926, could seat more than 1,600 people and held live performances. Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Hall and Oates, the Clash, and Bruce Springsteen all performed at the venue when it was called the University Theatre, according to the Cambridge Historical Society.
Jillson spoke at the City Council meeting, where several neighbors spoke about the neighborhood’s decline. Jason Doo, owner of Wusong Road in Harvard Square, said the business neighborhood has too many bowl restaurants, banks, and blights.
“I would love to see as a small business owner,.. to see Harvard Square go back to those bohemian fun roots that used to be instead of now we’re on our back foot,” Doo said. “We used to have a headstart, and now we’re just trying to get out of from underwater.”
Councilor Paul Toner, who is facing calls to resign following allegations of paying for sex at a local brothel ring, voiced concerns that the policy order “targets Mr. Chan.” He proposed an amendment to call the other owners of 23 storefronts that have been vacant for more than five years to also answer questions. The amendment passed unanimously.
“I’d like to hear from all of them about what their plans are. Again, I don’t know the reason why Mr. Chan hasn’t moved forward with his plans,” Toner said. “I know some people accuse him of land banking and, you know, this is some sort of tax write off.”
Vice Mayor Marc McGovern said that “this is not about calling out Mr. Chan.” The policy order that passed calls Chan to answer questions in front of the Economic Development and University Relations Committee about plans for the theater.
“When people talk about vacant buildings. It’s the Harvard Square theater that they talk about,” McGovern said. “He is the property owner. It has been vacant for a while … Now the question is, now what? And I think it’s appropriate to have a conversation and a public conversation.”
Mayor Denise Simmons also called attention to the mural on the historic theater’s facade. She said she’d bring forward a separate policy order to address it.
The amended order also passed unanimously. When Chan was contacted for comment, a spokesperson for Kirche LLC, the group developing the site, said “we remain fully committed to bringing forward a new plan to develop the site in an innovative way that will energize both Church Street and Harvard Square.”
“Ultimately, our goal is to create a vibrant space on Church Street by developing a venue that will create jobs, help drive visitors to Harvard Square and, most importantly, bring the site back to life and carry it into a new era,” Kirche LLC Manager Dan White said.