City Hall Plaza

[tangent]

Like 5 of these along Cambridge St and the perimeter of the plaza:

 

[underground]

Seriously, Underground, when does Lawrence Welk and his Orchestra play the next Boston Calling?

These people are lucky to have you around to tell them how lame they are...

 

[whighlander]

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Quote:
Originally Posted by underground:

Yeah, looks at those assholes enjoying themselves. WHO DO THEY THING THEY"RE KIDDING!!!!!111!!!11!11

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Huh? "Enjoying themselves"??????

Did you even LOOK at that picture?

I've seen livelier atmospheres in front of elevators in nursing homes.

Seriously, Underground, when does Lawrence Welk and his Orchestra play the next Boston Calling?

That picture does not say "Good urban planning to enliven a large central space".

No, that picture says "More people need long-term care insurance".

Shmess -- However, These pictures do say "Good urban planning to enliven a large central space". *1,2

*1 Note very good beer [

] is served where ever you see a white/yellow tent/big umbrella or a sign that says Piwo

*2 courtesy the Lonely Planet review of Rynek Glowny in Krakow Poland and very pleasant personal experiences sipping a fine Polish Brewski [aka świetne piwo]

 

[whighlander]

So how do you fix City Hall Plaza based on the model of the główny rynek Starego Miasta w Krakowie -- or the main market square in the old town of Krakow

Well first you need something to attract people who are not paying parking tickets

I suggest a 2 story glass superstructure on top of the "New City Hall" -- 1 story would be the City of Boston Museum with a restaurant perched on top featuring an open roof deck for the potentially 9 months a year with heat supplied as needed

The roof structures would be accessed through an external escalator a la Centre Pompidou Paris

at the base of the escalators would be a group of cafes with seating under umbrellas spilling out onto the plaza

Add more seating near the Sears Crescent

Build a two story curved glass structure to enclose the JFK end of the Plaza with more cafes and taverns all with lots of seats spilling out onto the plaza

add some trees

leave the rest alone*1

*1 later get the Feds as part of the shrinking of the Federal presentence as a result of re-Federalism -- to demolish the low rise part of the JFK and let a developer build boutique hotel [number of rooms similar to Ames]

 

[shmessy]

These people are lucky to have you around to tell them how lame they are...

Not the people, the "urban planning".

Sorry, Underground, anyone who sees a lively atmosphere or "people enjoying themselves" in that picture needs to double the Metamucil in their diet.

 

[datadyne007]

Did anyone else watch the game on the Plaza last night? Events like this are when CHP truly shines as a public space. It was packed solid.

I took these when the game was starting. The Plaza kept filling in more and more.

Not my pic, but taken after I took my earlier ones. You can see how much the plaza filled in.

https://twitter.com/OnlyInBOS/status/617842448035741696

 

[393b40]

People went to watch soccer on that tiny screen?

 

[datadyne007]

People went to watch soccer on that tiny screen?

Wasn't too bad. I was pretty far back in the standing area and the only thing we couldn't see was the time. People kept asking each other for how far in it was.

 

[mcus29]

If all they did was get rid of the sea of red bricks this place would be greatly improved. Just don't replace it with more concrete!

 

[Matthew]

The red bricks aren't the problem. If it was grass then it would just be another American-style empty greenspace.

The problem is a lack of reason to be there. When people have a reason to be there, it gets crowded. But most of the time, there's no reason to be there unless you're going to City Hall. The only side that gets any traffic is from people going between Tremont Street / Faneuil Hall / Gov't Center Station (when open).

 

[mcus29]

^^ I agree 100%. Grass would at least be pleasant compared to what's there. I was just making more a comment about how awful the brick is there. It's just depressing walking thu there. I avoid it at all costs. Wonder if it effects decision making in City Hall on developments. The bar is so low out the window.

 

[Matthew]

There's nothing wrong with brick plazas.

The problem is the soul-deadening government buildings around it. Even more so than City Hall, which looks like an abomination, but at least attracts usage -- the other government buildings actively repel all life. Such as the JFK building. Security, and all that, you know.

Plus, Cambridge Street is wide, nasty, and filled with high-speed traffic that cuts off all potential life that might be attracted to and from the Center Plaza, funneling all foot traffic into one (crummy) intersection adjacent to the station.

Doesn't help that the plaza spends half of the time being a parking lot (and that's besides the current construction impacts that can't be avoided).

 

[TallIsGood]

That is one of the least active piazzas in the area. Most others have more shopping and tourists. There is usually no reason to go to City Hall Plaza.

 

[scorpio02150]

well, looks like next year they'll be adding turf and more lawn chairs.
Genius plan!

 

[Equilibria]

Did anyone else watch the game on the Plaza last night? Events like this are when CHP truly shines as a public space. It was packed solid.

It looks fun, but I have to say, CHP isn't "shining as an urban space" here. It's shining as a big, empty space with a power hookup.

 

[datadyne007]

It looks fun, but I have to say, CHP isn't "shining as an urban space" here. It's shining as a big, empty space with a power hookup.

I didn't say urban, I said public.

 

[lapradetom]

Whomever named the style of building which is Boston City Hall, "Brutalist" architecture, got it exactly right. It looks like a big brute, alright. I vote we tear it down, then it will be known as "minimalist" architecture. (as in:GONE)

 

[statler]

Whomever named the style of building which is Boston City Hall, "Brutalist" architecture, got it exactly right. It looks like a big brute, alright. I vote we tear it down, then it will be known as "minimalist" architecture. (as in:GONE)

'Brutalist' comes from 'beton brut' French for 'rough concrete'.

 

[lapradetom]

....But then again, City Hall, if demolished, just may be missed if it weren't there any more. Could this someday ring true for us?: "you don't know what you got, till it's gone".

 

[statler]

See also: Penn Station 1963