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I remember hanging out at Urbus Orbis in Bucktown in Chicago in the early 1990s. Great magazine selection for sale, strong coffee and meeting many artists who b

• westoncb 7y ago
  > Urbus Orbis, says Handley, "fits every criterion of a classic third place--it's large and a little dirty, it's supercasual and convenient. Interesting. The “Med” had all those features as well. I think they’re all important, but the criterion for it to be “a little dirty” is especially interesting: Everyone knew this about the Med, and it was in part because so many people practically lived there, including many homeless traveling through Berkeley who might hear from friends that you could charge your phone and wash up there (plus it was on Telegraph which seemed to always be coated in a thin layer of black dust). But I think it was especially important because it acted as a kind of filter: if you were too much on the snobby side you wouldn’t be willing to linger in the slightly grimy atmosphere. (And sure enough, I had the experience many times asking people I met in SF or Berkeley if they ever went to the Med and getting a look of distaste / puzzlement.)