Tweeter, Grendel's Deemed Historic

Over the objections of a local developer, the Cambridge Historical Commission has recommended that two 19th-century buildings in the Square, including Grendel's Den Restaurant, be designated city landmarks, protecting them from demolition.

In its meeting last Thursday, the commission voted that Grendel's Den was "historically significant," and should thus be spared from the redevelopment plans of Eliot Square Enterprises.

Also affected by the designation is the Mt. Auburn Street building housing Tweeter etc., an electronics store.

But the commission denied historical status to buildings housing the Shilla Korean and Japanese Restaurant and the Holy Cross Armenian Church, setting the stage for their demolition.

In September, the city will have the final say on the designations.

A decision by the city in favor of landmark status would be well-received by the owners of the 101-year-old Grendel's, but frustrating for the employees of Tweeter etc., who hope to see a new building with underground parking replace their existing home.

For Grendel's owner Sue E. Kuelzer, the rich history of her eatery is what gives the restaurant its unique ambiance.

The now-defunct Pi Eta final club occupied the building before Grendel's opened in 1970, and the brass mailslot at the entrance still bears the name of the club, Kuelzer said.

And indeed, destruction seems unlikely for the antiquated, serene restaurant that has been feeding Harvard students for the past 25 years.

"Grendel's is safe--yeah, I'm pretty sure of that," Historical Commission President Charles Sullivan said.

Kuelzer certainly hopes so.

"We've been here for 25 years, and we hope to be here 25 more," Kuelzer said.

The employees in the Tweeter building, which is even older than Grendel's, do not revel in their building's past in the same way.

"You have no idea how old and decrepit this building is," said Assistant Manager Sheldon E. Cooperman. "It should have been torn down long ago."

Unlike the happily-backdated Grendel's, where even the light fixtures are the originals from 1970, the antiquated nature of the Tweeter etc. space causes problems, to the chagrin of both customers and employees.

The on-street storefront and hectic pace of traffic along Mt. Auburn Street forces customers who are loading merchandise into their cars to pull onto the sidewalk--where they are often ticketed by police.

On several occasions, the store has felt compelled to appease angry customers by deducting the cost of the ticket from the purchase price.

Poor access to the store is such a problem that even Tweeter's stock truck must park on the sidewalk to unload.

It has also been ticketed.

Then there is the store's more awkward problem: rats.

"You're showing off the surround sound system, and there's surround sound when the system is not even on!" one employee quipped.

Steps have been taken to better seal the store, but, Cooperman said, "a brand-new brick building with a new foundation doesn't allow [rats] entry."

Eliot Square's proposal to build a new, four-story, 58,000 square-foot commercial space with underground parking would alleviate many of Tweeter's problems, employees said.

But there are groups who feel strongly that tearing down these old structures, rat-infested or not, would be an immense loss to the community.

Sullivan said the Tweeter building, built in 1869, is historically significant because of its rare wood frame design.

Sullivan pointed to a trend since the 1960s of consolidating smaller lots into single large units. He said this process has stripped the Square of a good deal of architectural diversity and aesthetic appeal.

Escalating rent prices exacerbate the trend, Sullivan said, by crowding out small businesses in favor of wealthy national chains looking for large spaces to develop. He cited the recently-built HMV complex as an example.

The commission has been working closely with Eliot Square Enterprises to forge a compromise allowing for modernization while preserving the integrity of the park and its environs, Sullivan said.

The plans have been revised five times, according to Sullivan, with the exclusion of Grendel's from the development coming early and that of the Tweeter building only after bitter debate.

The owners of Tweeter may also consider moving the building adjacent to Grendel's

The now-defunct Pi Eta final club occupied the building before Grendel's opened in 1970, and the brass mailslot at the entrance still bears the name of the club, Kuelzer said.

And indeed, destruction seems unlikely for the antiquated, serene restaurant that has been feeding Harvard students for the past 25 years.

"Grendel's is safe--yeah, I'm pretty sure of that," Historical Commission President Charles Sullivan said.

Kuelzer certainly hopes so.

"We've been here for 25 years, and we hope to be here 25 more," Kuelzer said.

The employees in the Tweeter building, which is even older than Grendel's, do not revel in their building's past in the same way.

"You have no idea how old and decrepit this building is," said Assistant Manager Sheldon E. Cooperman. "It should have been torn down long ago."

Unlike the happily-backdated Grendel's, where even the light fixtures are the originals from 1970, the antiquated nature of the Tweeter etc. space causes problems, to the chagrin of both customers and employees.

The on-street storefront and hectic pace of traffic along Mt. Auburn Street forces customers who are loading merchandise into their cars to pull onto the sidewalk--where they are often ticketed by police.

On several occasions, the store has felt compelled to appease angry customers by deducting the cost of the ticket from the purchase price.

Poor access to the store is such a problem that even Tweeter's stock truck must park on the sidewalk to unload.

It has also been ticketed.

Then there is the store's more awkward problem: rats.

"You're showing off the surround sound system, and there's surround sound when the system is not even on!" one employee quipped.

Steps have been taken to better seal the store, but, Cooperman said, "a brand-new brick building with a new foundation doesn't allow [rats] entry."

Eliot Square's proposal to build a new, four-story, 58,000 square-foot commercial space with underground parking would alleviate many of Tweeter's problems, employees said.

But there are groups who feel strongly that tearing down these old structures, rat-infested or not, would be an immense loss to the community.

Sullivan said the Tweeter building, built in 1869, is historically significant because of its rare wood frame design.

Sullivan pointed to a trend since the 1960s of consolidating smaller lots into single large units. He said this process has stripped the Square of a good deal of architectural diversity and aesthetic appeal.

Escalating rent prices exacerbate the trend, Sullivan said, by crowding out small businesses in favor of wealthy national chains looking for large spaces to develop. He cited the recently-built HMV complex as an example.

The commission has been working closely with Eliot Square Enterprises to forge a compromise allowing for modernization while preserving the integrity of the park and its environs, Sullivan said.

The plans have been revised five times, according to Sullivan, with the exclusion of Grendel's from the development coming early and that of the Tweeter building only after bitter debate.

The owners of Tweeter may also consider moving the building adjacent to Grendel's