Before high-rises and Citgo signs peppered Boston's skyline, Prospect Hill offered an unparalleled view of the city. Though Prospect Hill's importance has dimmed in recent years, it now overlooks another bustling urban area: Union Square.
Located in Somerville at the intersection of Somerville Avenue, Washington Street and Prospect Street, Union Square offers an exciting alternative to Davis Square. The main attractions of the Square — vibrant diversity, independent shops and an active arts and music scene — are evident simply by walking through it. A mural covers the wall next to Oath, an independent bike store. A Shepard Fairey mural is pasted on the side of a building. Statues by local artists decorate the bench area of the Square.
Union Square is bohemian Somerville in that it represents the rainbow of ethnicities active in the community. There is a Brazilian bakery, a Greek-American club, an Indian grocery store, an organic market, a classic New England bar and a Caribbean store, just to name a few.
Junior Matthew Erle said he came to Union for the "good ethnic food."
"I love Machu Picchu, the Peruvian restaurant," Erle said.
Dipoti Mistri, proprietor of the Little India, the Indian grocery store, said that because Indian food is popular among many groups, her clientele includes Indians who know what they want as well as Tufts students and the 20-something crowd, who are looking to experiment.
"Different people want to come, Brazil, India … all kinds of international [people]," Mistri said. "Indian food is good for all. Indians know it, [and the] U.S. will learn it."
Joshua Kampa, owner of the independent bike store Oath, said that Union Square has a unique, artsy atmosphere.
"It's the Brooklyn of Boston," Kampa said. "It's open to possibilities, parties, art … You can get away with murder."
Kampa is a producer of the Bicycle Film Festival, and Oath is one of the many new stores to grace Union. Besides being a full-service bike shop, it also has a gallery that showcases local art every month. The next exhibition opens to the public on Nov. 14 with local artist Clark Filio.
Adam Lantheaume, who owns the bartending store The Boston Shaker, described Union Square as "less polished. Hip, upcoming, quirky, funny, raw." Though Lantheaume is moving his store to Davis Square, Lantheaume said that he was going to miss the Union Square neighborhood.
"[There are] lots of great bars, lots of live music, lot of new music, new businesses," Lantheaume said. "At this point, early on in gentrification, it's not all immigrants, not all yuppies — a wonderful mix."
Part of the reason that the atmosphere of Union Square is so alluring, according to artist Filio, is that it is "off the main grid of mass transit. It keeps it cool."
Jess Willis, a manager at the Independent, a Union Square bar, said that he believes Tufts students don't come to the neighborhood because it is less accessible.
"It's off the beaten path, i.e. hard to find," Willis said.
According to Jodi Malone, manager at the organic foods market Sherman Market, Union Square flies even more under the radar than it did before.
"This used to be a huge Somerville hub," Malone said. "It isn't anymore. [It's a] little pocket of unknown Somerville. If you live around here, you know how great of a place this is."
With no T stop in the square, buses, cars and bikes are the only means to get there. In some ways, this has served to preserve its identity. Gravitating toward the low rent, immigrants and young professionals move to the area. According to Jordan Voelker, a musician who lives in the Union Square neighborhood with her young family, 20-somethings come to the neighborhood but leave the community when they have families due to the bad reputations of the schools.
Meg Luthin (LA '07) is one such 20-something. Luthin said that she likes living in the neighborhood.
"There's a nice sense of community," Luthin said.
But according to Sandra Fails, as people are increasingly discovering the neighborhood, rent is rising. Fails' store Hope & Glory Vintage is about to close its doors due to the high cost of rent.
Ricky DiGiovanni has been at Union Square for 20 years as owner of Ricky's Flower Market. Unlike Fails, DiGiovanni doesn't think that Union Square has noticeably changed, though his clientele is perhaps more diverse. He says that, as opposed to Davis, Union Square is much the same as it was when he first set up shop.
"[Union Square] hasn't changed that much; [there's been] a little expansion," he said, adding that his clientele ranges from a "guy just getting on the soil to third or fourth generation in the U.S."
Lantheaume said that one great aspect of Union Square is the community-based events, like the Fluff Festival and the weekly Saturday farmer's market.
Willis said that she enjoys the local music at P.A.'s Lounge. P.A., standing for Portuguese-American, is another combination of the old with the new.
"It's an old-school bar" with the music drawing in "hipsters, musicians, young kids [and] college students," Willis said.
With these varied crowds, Union Square's less accessible location shouldn't deter Tufts students from visiting.
