more often, simply down Hanover Street, taking in the “cool atmosphere.” This movement is facilitated by the porosity of the Greenway boundary to the site, and blurs the boundaries between Haymarket and its surrounding context. It’s important to note though that not all aesthetic shoppers are outsiders marveling at the uniqueness of Haymarket – an equal number of Boston residents make aesthetic and authenticity claims about Haymarket that pertain to its role as a bastion of the loud, rude, working-class heritage of Boston.
Affordability Shoppers Affordability consistently comes out as the most important value for all shoppers who frequent the Haymarket, and as such, affordability shoppers are not universally low-income. In fact, affordability often intersects with the authenticity claim, as the fact that produce is cheap, prices negotiable, and the veneer of “shopping experience” thin (if present at all), is a part of the authentic experience of the market. Affordability concerned shoppers often voice opinions something like this: "Haymarket is definitely an experience. It is like shopping at an outdoor market in a foreign country, in fact most of the shoppers are foreign and they have honed their skills. ...You definitely have to be prepared to go to Haymarket, but it's a great resource for our city, especially with the rising cost of food.”9 Food access is a large part of the affordability conversation, which I will discuss further in Chapter 3; it is on the minds of affordability shoppers just as their own savings are. One shopper compared Haymarket to Filene’s Basement,10 that iconic free-for-all bargain basement clothing store (now closed) characterized by the joy of the hunt, calling to mind another connection between Haymarket and a broader
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Dedham, MA shopper, 2008. Rated the market 3 out of 5 stars. Montague, MA shopper, 2007. Rated the market 4 out of 5 stars.
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