Boston Skyline

From a purely skyline perspective (not taking into account street level suitability), Boston could use a couple more 800 or 900 foot buildings to add accent. But only a couple. Put in too many, and they just make the existing downtown look squat.
 
I think the downtown skyline would look its best if there was one signature tower (i.e. TransNational) breaking the 1,000 ft barrier, and then there were one or two complementary towers (800-900 ft range) in seperate parts of downtown.

TransNational's location would be the perfect spot for the signature tower, and I feel the Gov't Center Garage (or even Gov't Center Plaza) and the Gateway Center development would be the perfect locations for the complimentary towers.
 
tmac9wr said:
I think the downtown skyline would look its best if there was one signature tower (i.e. TransNational) breaking the 1,000 ft barrier, and then there were one or two complementary towers (800-900 ft range) in seperate parts of downtown.
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Exactly. I said this somewhere in (I think) the original Tommy's Tower thread. If you have a signature building, even at say 900 feet, if you add in a 600 footer and a 700 footer, you have a totally different skyline. It doesn't take five 1,000 foot skyscrapers, it just takes different scaled buildings. I wish I had the photo shop skills of Albarc because I'd be interested to see what downtown Boston would look like with say...

1- 1,000 foot tower (give or take some feet)
2- 700-750 foot towers
1- 600 foot tower.

Just for the purpose of scale and to see what the difference in height of these buildings mixed in with the current crop of 400-550 footers looks like.
 
I guess I'm in the minority, but having traveled to virtually every sizable city in the US and many foreign cities as well I think Boston has an impressive skyline already. Certainly it has one of the largest and densest in the US. Major towers at South Station, Government Center Garage, near North Station and on the SBW among other places will solidify it as one of the biggest and most impressive skylines in the country and for that matter worldwide excepting the true world cities. 1000' buildings are not needed. If they and a number of 600 to 900 foot towers were built, Boston would have one of the most impressive skylines in the world.
 
tocoto said:
...one of the biggest and most impressive skylines in the country and for that matter worldwide excepting the true world cities.
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...which Boston was one of when the two biggies were built. Since then, the world has moved on and raised the bar, but Boston...
 
I wonder. I think Boston has simply been the victim of a national trend which has aggregated power in fewer cities. It's managed to hold its own by retaining some very stable industries (like academia) and developing some new ones (biotech), but in many ways it's been hollowed out in the same way as Philadelphia has - and, to a much greater extent, cities from Cleveland to Kansas City.
 
"Hollowed out"

As in regional companies merging creating massive corporations without strong ties to the city in which they are leasing space. Also don't forget the decline of theaters, movie houses, the elimination of our opera house, fewer operating churches, the increase in national chain stores and restaurants vs local establishments, and so on. The local and regional character has been significantly watered down.
 
Lurker said:
...the elimination of our opera house...
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That took place decades ago. There's currently an impostor that calls itself "Opera House", but the real opera house --so far as it exists at all-- is the Emerson Majestic.

All in all, it's a sad, provincial scene --anything but world class.
 
I figure this is the right thread for this photo. Taken from my office in Kendall Sq. Clarendon, W Hotel and Tufts visible.

charlesview.gif
 
As in regional companies merging creating massive corporations without strong ties to the city in which they are leasing space. Also don't forget the decline of theaters, movie houses, the elimination of our opera house, fewer operating churches, the increase in national chain stores and restaurants vs local establishments, and so on.
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Exactly.

Not to mention literal hollowness. Why is Newbury Street empty on Saturday nights after 8? Why are all the stores in Downtown Crossing for lease?
 
Wow! How many threads do we have right now that have developed into "Boston Sucks"? And how many of these arguments hing on serioulsy rediculous points? The skyline's not big enough? My favorite store's are closed? You can't see a porn anymore? Seriously?!?! THESE ARE YOUR ARGUMENTS?

I actually live in downtown Boston and after reading these threads I feel like I've accidently found a message board for a different Boston. I'm gonna let you guys all live on my floor for a month so we can have a little "Downtown Boston Emersion Camp," because some of the things being said on the board lately are just beyond imaginable. Your experience on your one trip a month or your experience during the day at work does not form a complete picture.
 
They just want to make Boston better. Think of it as the carrot and stick approach...minus the carrot.
 
Hey, I mean I do as well, but some of the arguments are just beyond idiotic. I think we've got a good amount of "don't let the facts get in the way of a strongly held opinion"-ism going on here. It's reverse Ned-ism for christ's sake!
 
I seem to recall asking you a couple of times to tell us about the pleasures of life in present-day Downtown, and you haven't done so. For enhanced credibility, you could write something positive about that; it would beat flagellating the critics, and allow them to perceive the error of their ways.
 
ablarc said:
I seem to recall asking you a couple of times to tell us about the pleasures of life in present-day Downtown, and you haven't done so. For enhanced credibility, you could write something positive about that; it would beat flagellating the critics, and allow them to perceive the error of their ways.
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Not sure if we are focusing on Central Boston as a whole or just Downtown Crossing. Regarding nightlife options in downtown crossing proper, in my estimation, nightlife options have not declined, but improved in the area in the last 15 years (I'm more of a bar/tavern type person rather than a club type). Options including but not limited to Silvertones, the Marliave, J.J. Foley's, Kingston Station, the Ivy, Locke Ober, are all decent places to get a drink. The only significant blow in my book to dwntn crossing in this department has been the loss of the Littlest Bar, and that ironically was destoyed to accomodate more residential development in the neighborhood. Can anyone point to specific examples of having more nightlife options in downtown crossing proper compared to today. Note, I am not commenting on the decline of the Theater District/Combat Zone entertainment options which may have declined due to changing national trends and/or the fact Mayor Menino's and the City's encouraged demolition of combat zone buildings that had adult uses.

Retail seems depressed now, but some of that may be the result of downturn in the broader economy, rather than the permanent decline of downtown crossing. Also, retail in the neighborhood is likely acutely impacted by the Filenes development fiasco which hopefully will be re-started in the near future.
 
Ablarc, I'm pretty sure I've gone into detail about this in the "Boston in the 70s" thread if that's what you're refering to. Sorry if it wasn't enough, but it's a little hard to answer when someone asks you, "justify the functionality of your day-to-day activity in 100 words or less."

Personally, what I want to know from the critics is, how to you rectify your position against actual, big picture evidence? Sure, cherry picked pictures look bad. Sure, Filene's is a hole in the ground. Sure, there are some closed businesses in Downtown Crossing. However, housing prices continue to be near the highest in the country (a good indicator of an area's popularity) and Forbes just named Boston the 9th best place for business. Maybe those of us reading the board out of state think Forbes is just being delusional and that people paying to live in Beacon Hill are just idiots, but for those of us reading the board who actually live in Beacon Hill, the North End, the Back Bay, and the South End, it makes perfect sense.
 
Sorry, but the statistics telling me that Boston is expensive/desirable - and even a list of nice nightspots - don't make the intangible urban experience much better (in the case of real estate costs, and their effects on DT Crossing, they may be making it worse). I'd love to walk out into the streets at night and see/feel activity, rather than be confronted with a list of scattered places to find it indoors. I had a group of friends visit from Montreal who said they thought the city was completely dead after dark - until I introduced them to Central Square.

I'm consistently amazed at the number of wonderful cafes, restaurants, bars, and music venues in Boston - and the degree to which they rarely work together to produce a lively evening neighborhood or street. I've discovered more of what I've come to like about Boston on yelp.com than walking around, and I think that's a problem for a city that wants to bill itself as exciting, cosmopolitan - or even pedestrian-friendly.
 
underground said:
Ablarc, I'm pretty sure I've gone into detail about this in the "Boston in the 70s" thread if that's what you're refering to.
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Sorry, can't find much detail. Some expostulations, perhaps...

Sorry if it wasn't enough, but it's a little hard to answer when someone asks you, "justify the functionality of your day-to-day activity in 100 words or less."
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Someone asked you that? It wasn't me, and I can't find that quote; whoever posted it must have deleted it. I did ask you to tell about the pleasures of living Downtown, and I'm still interested in hearing about them.

I don't doubt that they exist, I'd just like to hear what they are. I can tell you about life in my neighborhood, but you'd find it boring. ;)

Sure, Filene's is a hole in the ground. Sure, there are some closed businesses in Downtown Crossing.
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You make it sound so bad. Why don't you relate your neighborhood's high points instead?

It's not Forbes on Boston, the business climate, or paying a lot for a pad:

However, housing prices continue to be near the highest in the country (a good indicator of an area's popularity) and Forbes just named Boston the 9th best place for business.
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We all love Boston; if we didn't, we wouldn't be posting on this board.

Maybe those of us reading the board out of state think Forbes is just being delusional and that people paying to live in Beacon Hill are just idiots,
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I don't think anyone feels that way. I'm sure most folks would love to live on Beacon Hill if they could afford it. If I won the lottery, it would be one place I'd consider retiring to, for sure.

but for those of us reading the board who actually live in Beacon Hill, the North End, the Back Bay, and the South End, it makes perfect sense.
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I'm sure it does, and it makes perfect sense to me, too.

Now tell us what you like about living Downtown.

:)
 
czsz said:
Sorry, but the statistics telling me that Boston is expensive/desirable - and even a list of nice nightspots - don't make the intangible urban experience much better (in the case of real estate costs, and their effects on DT Crossing, they may be making it worse). I'd love to walk out into the streets at night and see/feel activity, rather than be confronted with a list of scattered places to find it indoors. I had a group of friends visit from Montreal who said they thought the city was completely dead after dark - until I introduced them to Central Square.
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So are the statistics telling you that thousands of people on the upper extremes with regards to choice of residency are all deluding themselves into thinking that Boston is a functional, livable city? Seems to me that if Boston wasn't, those among us who have every means imaginable to move to any location in the world would probably do it. Instead, they remain in Beacon Hill. And what about the rest of us? There are tens of thousands of middle class residents in the downtown neighborhoods who for sure at least have the option of moving to another nearby location. Why aren't they? Are they deluding themselves that downtown Boston is a workable choice or have they chosen downtown because, out of all of their options, it was the best?

As for your friends from Montreal, I recently took a friend of mine's mom from Paris around and she had the time of her life. So which one of our anecdotal stories paints the full picture? Personally, although anecdotal evidence in popular on this board when it comes to bashing the city, I'd like to see some actual hard evidence to back it up, so I'm going to go out on a limb and say that neither of our stories is painting the full-on big picture. What I would look at instead is the hard evidence of the continuing high number of tourists, the continuing high rate of hotel room occupancy, the expanding number of tour operators, and the high number of actual residence who choose to make their homes in downtown Boston that all points to the fact that downtown Boston is a great area.

Sorry CZ, I'm not trying to call you out or anything. In general, I think your opinions are right on and your analysis of things around town is good. That's why I'm bothering to point out that there's a major discrepency between the negative anecdotal evidence being discussed on this board and the actual hard facts and figures. I yell because I love!

Ablarc, you're in the same boat, but I gotta call you out for one thing; you realize the inherent imbalance in this argument, right? In order for you to make the negative argument, you get to pull out a few bad things here and there and QED! In order for me to make the positive argument, I've got to more or less count all the atoms in the universe! I mean, come on; you of all people know that the things that make a city functional and enjoyable are the things that come from the Convenience of Diversity (see the Jacobs quoting there?). Even naming the things I like about my street would fill up more space than I can fairly take. Other people get to write on the board too. Maybe you can keep an eye out for my disertation in a few years, but until then I think I'll hold off.
 
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