Coolidge Square

Discuss Plans to Redesign Mt. Auburn Street in East Watertown at DPW Open House

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Find out about plans to redesign Mt. Auburn Street through the business district of East Watertown and share your thoughts at a meeting hosted by the Watertown Department of Public Works on Jan. 30, 2018. The Watertown DPW sent out the following announcement:

COOLIDGE SQUARE OPEN HOUSE  for a Mount Auburn Street Project Update
Date: Tuesday, January 30, 2018  
Snow Date: Wednesday, February 7, 2018*
Time: 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Location: The Apartments at Coolidge School – Auditorium 319 Arlington Street, Watertown
Visitor parking is available in the front of the building and additional spaces are behind the building along the fence. All other spots are for residents only.

Around Town

Take a Culinary, Historical and Shopping Tour of East Watertown

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Explore the rich history, culture and cuisine of Watertown’s Coolidge Square in a special tour presented by Live Well Watertown and the Watertown Recreation Department.  

The tour of the East End/Coolidge Square Shopping Area will be on Thursday, Aug. 18, from 6-7:30 p.m.

Leading the tours will be an expert on Watertown history and someone who has taught classes in healthy cooking. Audrey Jones Childs is Vice President of the Historical Society of Watertown, a third generation East End resident, and a History of Watertown Lecturer. Ilana Hardesty has taught healthy cooking programs in Greater Boston for many years and is now enrolled as a student in the Gastronomy program at Boston University.

Business

Artemis Yoga Studio Brings New Life to Building in East Watertown

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The storefront on Mt. Auburn Street in Coolidge Square next to Dunkin Donuts sat quietly for a few years, but now it has been refreshed and has a new life as a yoga studio. 

Owner Liz Padula opened Artemis Yoga in mid-December after completely renovating the former oriental rug shop. The studio offers two spaces for yoga, one on the ground floor and one in the basement. Artemis offers a variety of classes for people with a range of experience. “I hear that all the time – I am not flexible, I have no experience,” Padula said.

Around Town

Watertown’s John Airasian’s ‘Love Letter’ to Coolidge Square

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East Watertown native John Airasian was asked to give a history of Coolidge Square during the celebration of the new mural in the area. He provided a wealth of memories along with the history of the square in his speech – or love letter, if you will. Here are his remarks, which he supplemented with some stories during the celebration on Sept. 19, 2015.:

Coolidge Square is the heart of East Watertown and that heart has always beat strong and it keeps getting stronger. Let me take you back to the late ’40s and the ’50s in Coolidge Square.

Around Town

Watertown Art Students Bring Life to Wall in Coolidge Square

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A group of Watertown High School students have transformed a once gray wall in East Watertown now overflows with colorful fruit, vegetables and flowers. The mural went up on the wall next to Uncommon Grounds at the corner of Mt. Auburn Street and Melendy Avenue. This is the third collaboration between students from Watertown High School and artist Gregg Bernstein. The first two – the first along the path between Whites and Waverly avenues and second on Baptist Walk in Watertown Square – were large walls.

Development

Watertown Man Appealing CVS Development Drops Suit

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{Updated May 29 at 11:14 a.m.}

The man who filed an appeal against the Zoning Board of Appeal’s decision to approve the CVS in Coolidge Square has dropped his suit in State Land Court after an agreement deal with the developer. David Peckar lives on Wells Avenue, across the street from the back of the proposed CVS at the corner of Mt. Auburn and Arlington streets. He filed suit against the project saying that that project would negatively impact his home and neighborhood (see details here). He recently told his neighbors that he had dropped the suit.

Development

ZBA Approves East Watertown CVS Despite Pleas of Neighbors

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Residents of Coolidge Square left Wednesday’s Zoning Board of Appeals meeting upset and disappointed after the project they had fought so long against – the CVS – gained unanimous approval from the board. The 13,300-square-foot pharmacy will go at the corner of Mt. Auburn and Arlington streets and replace the gas station at the corner, an office building and the former Elks Club. Residents made their case that the store would adversely impact their neighborhood and homes. They came out and spoke for hours at the December ZBA meeting, held meetings, went door-to-door and stood on the street rallying support against the development.

Around Town

See What a Survey of Coolidge Square Residents Found

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Two East Watertown residents decided to ask their neighbors what they thought about Coolidge Square, and particularly about the proposed CVS/Pharmacy and 65 Grove Street proposal. Here’s what they found. Janet Jameson and Deb Peterson put together an online survey and publicized it. They received 90 respondents on questions such as how often the shop in Coolidge Square, what kind of stores would they like to see come to the area and whether their streets are impacted by traffic from the square. Traffic is a big concern for residents, according to the survey, and more than half wanted improved conditions for pedestrians.