City Council Considers Building Six Bus Stop Shelters, Approves Algiers Coffee House’s Plans To Serve Alcohol

The Cambridge City Council unanimously agreed to consider building bus stop shelters at six Harvard Square locations at its meeting last night.

The order, proposed by councillor Brian P. Murphy ’86-’87 and Mayor Michael A. Sullivan, would look at the possibility of building covered bus stops at various places in Harvard Square—outside Holyoke and Johnston Gates, on Quincy Street near Lamont Library, on J.F.K. Street near the Kennedy School of Government, in the plaza in front of the Charles Hotel, and on Cambridge Common.

Currently, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) buses on 13 routes have stops in Harvard Square, offering service to Boston, Allston, Watertown, Belmont, Arlington, and beyond. Although eight of these routes stop underground in the T station, none of the above-ground bus stops in Harvard Square has a shelter, which are common throughout Boston.

That condition has led to improvised shelters and the use of nearby buildings. At the No. 1 Mass. Ave. stop across from Holyoke Center, for example, people often take cover under the front stoop of Wadsworth House.

In recommending the proposal, councillor Henrietta Davis also noted that the MBTA—an authority that stretches across 175 Mass. cities and towns—is planning on installing between 30 and 40 such shelters along bus routes throughout Cambridge.

Also last night, the City Council approved without dissent the plan of a Harvard Square coffee shop to offer limited alcoholic service.

The Algiers Coffee House, which has operated out of the Brattle Theatre building since 1973, will now apply for a license to serve wine and beer with food until 1 a.m.

If granted, Algiers will become the third coffee shop in just a 100-yard radius—along with Peet’s Coffee & Tea and Starbucks—to be able to serve alcohol.

Supporting the proposal, councillor Murphy called Algiers—which has been owned by Emile Durzi for more than 30 years—”an institution” for Harvard Square residents and visitors and “the quintessential Cambridge business.”