The February storm was in full effect, snow falling thick and steady in the late afternoon. With camera in hand, I meandered through downtown Cambridge, the streets empty. No cars. No walkers. Just the soft hush of snow and the warm glow of “happy lights” strung across Race Street.

Halfway down the block, I stopped short at the old Tolley Theater. I’ve walked and driven past this building dozens of times without giving it much thought. Empty for years, it usually fades into the background.
But in the snow, it felt newly present. The falling flakes softened its edges and brought out its Art Deco colors. Winter’s paintbrush was giving the marquee and façade a kind of temporary revival, as if the building were remembering itself—and the children gripping popcorn tubs at their first movies, the couples on early dates and the lines of people who once waited to buy tickets for Beatles films and Saturday matinees. CS