CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (WHDH) - An iconic newsstand in Harvard Square that many flocked to for more than 60 years has closed for good.
Out of Town News — a fixture of the Cambridge community for 64 years — shut its doors for the last time on Thursday.
Mohammed Rahman started working at the kiosk 22 years ago. It marked his first job and he says it will be his last.
“A very sad day for me, a very sad day,” he told 7NEWS. “This is my first and last job for me.”
The tiny shop started as the Harvard Square subway station in 1912 before evolving into the newsstand that so many had come to know and love over the years.
“They’ve been around for a long time and we’re sad to see them go,” one customer said. “I think it was a microcosm that reflected the international and diverse representation of the square and of the city.”
For decades, the shelves of Out of Town News were packed with newspapers, magazines, and other publications from around the globe.
In a day and age where the world’s information is in the palm of our hands, Out of Town News was simply out of date.
“Old people, they got to come over here for the newspaper,” Rahman said. “The young generation, they don’t come over here.”
Since the building is on the National Register of Historic Places, it will remain in Harvard Square but some changes will be made to make the area compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
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