Submitted by Brian King, ESB President
In July we found out that our former Cambridge space would no longer be open on Sundays. We scrambled to find another meeting place in Cambridge, Brookline, or Boston, but nothing worked out. We found a very nice space at 395 Concord Avenue in Belmont at the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) and we will begin our new season there on October 14.
The layout is a bit different, but we will adapt to it. We have been in at least six different locations over the years, so we are familiar with the issues of making the space work for us. What is more of a concern for our members, friends, and visitors is the geographic location. We have always met in either Boston or Cambridge and this is the first time we have not been centrally located.
Public transportation will be more difficult. There is a bus from Harvard Square and a commuter train from North Station, but Sunday morning service is infrequent. Parking should be much better with an off street lot behind the building and another next door at the Post Office that is not used on Sundays. Depending on where you live, some people will find it harder to get to, others will find it much easier.
Another factor will be who we attract as first-time visitors. It should be easier to get people from the north and western suburbs to come visit and we may be able to get more notices in the local newspapers. A strong tie to the local community is something we have always lacked in Cambridge and Boston.
Our demographics should also be different. We could hope to get more people in the thirties and forties, but probably will get even fewer people in their twenties. And of course we may find it even harder to get racial and economic diversity.
In short, this new location is an experiment. We don’t really know it will work for us and if we can successfully take advantage of the positives without being effected too much by the negatives. We have for years discussed what moving out of the city would mean for us, but this might be a relatively painless way to see what it would really be like. We will try our best to make it work in our new home, while continuing to look for space closer to the city. This may be a great move for us, but there is no way of really knowing without trying it out first.