Square holes

Phil Nini has seen the life pulse in and out of Harvard Square.

From his 44-year perch at Nini's Corner, the merchant watched the hubbub of small independent shops like his emerge in the '60s; witnessed the extension of the MBTA Red Line northward from the square in the early 1980s; and cringed as big brand-name retailers plopped in and dropped anchor in the '90s.

In the last year or so, he's seen something else happen here: the exodus of some of those chain outlets as well as veteran homegrown businesses. WordsWorth Books, Chili's restaurant, Tweeter, HMV records, Abercrombie & Fitch, and family-owned Brine's Sporting Goods have all closed up shop in Harvard Square or moved elsewhere.

''Abercrombie & Fitch was a big strong company, and they couldn't make it there," Nini said, pointing to space across the street from his store formerly occupied by the college-crowd clothier.

The departures have left noticeable holes in the square, renowned for its eclectic mix of restaurants and commercial retail shops and its overall cultural and academic ambience.

The darker storefronts, marked by ''FOR LEASE" signs, have also left some wondering: What's next for Harvard Square?

''The tenor of the square has changed," says Pebble Gifford, a Cambridge realtor and a member of the Harvard Square Defense Fund, an activist group that aims to preserve the character and diversity of the business district.

''It's much duller than it was once," said Gifford, who enjoyed browsing and hanging out at WordsWorth Books, one of her favorite Harvard Square haunts.

Further examples: The Wursthaus served its last German sausage and beer in 1996, and was replaced by the now-departed Abercrombie & Fitch. Citizens Bank has taken over that space with colossal letters that spell out ''Hello." Sage's Market, a 102-year-old staple in the district, is now occupied by a Sprint cellphone store, which opened at 60 Church St. four year ago.

Gifford's hope is that a mix of new independent shops might reinvigorate the square to something approaching its former self.

''If you come in here" now, she said, ''you might as well go to the Burlington Mall. What's the next move, I can't tell. It could either be chains or vacancies, and how many vacancies can the place stand?"

Some merchants and realtors say the square's swiftly revolving door is the result of two things: the soft economy and higher retail rents. Commercial rent in the square can run as high as $150 a square foot; by comparison, the upper limit on Newbury Street is more like $125 a square foot, said Douglas Marr, of Keliher Real Estate, which is based there.

The departed Harvard Square businesses cited varied reasons as they headed off into the sunset. The outpost of Chili's Restaurant, a square favorite since it opened in 1988, closed last spring because it was unprofitable, a spokesman for the company said. The old HMV Music site remains vacant after two years, its display windows still pushing albums by Fleetwood and Tim McGraw. ''Thank you for 12+ years of business," says a sign. The owners of WordsWorth Books, a 30-year institution on Brattle Street, attributed that store's demise to fierce competition from online sites and chains.

But not everyone here is biting the dust. Book lovers still fill each floor of The Harvard Coop and the Harvard Book Store on any given night with folks leaning back in chairs as they leaf through books or tap away on their laptops. Crowds of the tweed-jacket set wait in line at the Border Cafe on weekends. And lines snake outside the Loews Harvard Square theater and onto Church Street for evening flicks. (The narrow Church Street sidewalks are scheduled for a widening under city plans.) Wool-sweatered students cross between Harvard Yard and the square shops for errands or for breaks.

And some of the new arrivals sing the square's praises. ''It's been a great location for us," said Mark Elliott, a spokesman for Sprint. ''Harvard Square has offered us a great opportunity to reach a number of our customers. We are happy to be there."

''The square is like an outdoor mall," said Tom Johnson, a commercial broker who has worked for the past 15 years at Hammond Real Estate in the square. ''It's survival of the fittest. It's a constant battle between the big store owners and the smaller mom-and-pop stores. It's a healthy battle."

Turnover is part of retail life in the square, and for any other business district, for that matter, said Robin Lapidus, executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association.

But the spotlight, good or bad, tends to be cast on Harvard Square because of its international name and its crimson collegiate anchor. When WordsWorth Books closed last October, said Lapidus, the news flashed across CNN's tickertape as a this-just-in development.

''Whenever anything closes in a place like this, it's painful because it has such a bigger audience," Lapidus said. ''There is a huge layer of sentimentality about any changes in Harvard Square." Last year, her group conducted a survey of the square's business district (which it roughly defines as bounded by Hilliard Street to the west, Remington Street to the east, Garden Street to the north, and the Charles Hotel to the south), and found that of 375 businesses, there were only about seven vacancies. She believes the number of vacancies today is no more than a dozen.

''Compared to other areas, our vacancy rate is on the lower end," she said. Of the square's street pattern, laid out in 1631, she said: ''It's very dense. It's very nonlinear. There's always an ebb and flow. Harvard Square has been through changes historically."

And more are on the way.

This month, city officials embark on a six-part renovation that will improve road conditions and sidewalks in this urban commercial village. Workers will widen sidewalks by as much as five feet and add additional curb ramps along Massachusetts Avenue in front of The Coop and Out of Town News (address: Zero Harvard Square) to create a ''super crosswalk." Crews will narrow the two northbound lanes there into one shared lane. Renovations also include building a new pedestrian island at Lampoon Plaza (Bow and Mt. Auburn streets) to make it easier for foot traffic.

''No major reconstruction has been done in the square since the Red Line extension in the mid-1980s," said Katherine Watkins, a transportation project manager for the city of Cambridge. Since 1998, city planners have been studying the square with help from the Harvard Square Design Committee, composed of residents, business owners, and a Harvard rep, to explore what could make the area more user-friendly. ''A lot of the things in the square work well. We are looking at ways to tweak things in the square," she added.

The biggest makeover would be on Palmer Street, the one-way thoroughfare between the halves of The Coop, where new concrete pavers would replace the unleveled, bumpy cobblestones that have tripped pedestrians for years. Colorful banners would sail above the street, and a projection screen would be incorporated into the skybridge linking the Coop buildings for a possible outdoor film series. The goal: to jumpstart pedestrian life in this sliver of the square.

''The idea is to transform Palmer Street into an exciting and active area for street life," Watkins said. The whole renovation project is estimated to cost $3.5 million.

''We want to create excitement for the square," added Susan Glazer, of the city's economic development department. ''It will help enhance the pedestrian character of Harvard Square and draw more people to it."

While acknowledging some recent retail outlet departures, Lapidus remains upbeat about the square and how it continues to be a magnet for visitors -- about 8 million annually, according to the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau -- as well as new businesses.

She points to Pyara Spa and Salon, a skin-care center that recently replaced the Tweeter store, which closed last year. Around the corner, another skin-care boutique called Beauty and Main opened above the old WordsWorth space.

Property manager Richard Getz said there has been interest in the WordsWorth site, which remains eerily quiet, but he declined to offer specifics.

Despite the district's cyclical history, Getz says the square retains a ''very diverse and international culture here, something that many of the areas in the towns that surround Boston don't have. This is kind of a living commercial environment, where retail has its own lifespan and evolution."

Nini, 67, has had a front-row seat to that commercial evolution.

The Concord resident said he works seven days a week in Harvard Square, starting as early as 5:30 a.m., to sell cigarettes, lighters, newspapers, and magazines in his dimly lit store. He says he notices fewer customers coming in these days. Sales are off 15 percent from February of last year, he said, and about 20 percent since 9/11.

''From talking to different people, the economy is not that good," he said, in between cha-chings of his register as shoppers bought batteries, Marlboro Lights, and Paul Revere postcards. Out front, another employee peddles the latest magazines and papers to passersby.

Which direction they -- and the square -- will take next remains a big question to Nini.

''I just wish I knew which way the square was going," he said. ''It's changed a lot."

Johnny Diaz can be reached at jodiaz@globe.com