Copley Square Revamp | Back Bay

I guess this is just a general gripe of all the beer gardens popping up as a means of not banality. Maybe it’s because I don’t drink anymore but my gut instinct is that regarding beer gardens, eventually the supply will outstrip the demand.

I'm tempted to agree with you -- because beer gardens are bordering on cliche now -- but the reason why there are so many beer gardens is because there are so few places to drink in Boston, particularly outside. Until the shit liquor license situation gets fixed, things like this will always be an attraction.
 
The city is getting activity in the park and supporting local business, sounds good to me. The brewery on the common/ Boylston stop was a nice activation of the Tremont Corner. I think the City and parks department have the right idea about activities in the city. People on streets make for safe streets. By the way, the Red Bull snow boarding on City Hall Plaza a couple weeks ago; WoW, it was great to see how many people were downtown on a cold weekend!
 
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I guess this is just a general gripe of all the beer gardens popping up as a means of not banality. Maybe it’s because I don’t drink anymore but my gut instinct is that regarding beer gardens, eventually the supply will outstrip the demand.
While you are right about market saturation on the horizon, this is only for three weeks, and Roundhead is one of the more innovative small breweries in the Boston area. Further, I think this is a much better spot than the Tremont and Boylston beer garden.
 
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What are these, swimming pool steps? Why can't they go with something that matches the wood railings elsewhere in the plaza? It may seem like a small thing, but this looks really out of place.

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I dunno if it's just me, but it literally looks the same as before besides some newer looking hardscapes...
 
So when are we gonna get rid of the street in front of BPL already and connect the urban realm/plaza to Copley,
like they did in front of the National Gallery/Trafalgar Square in London? Sad how long it takes to do the obvious
around here, if ever...
 
I dunno if it's just me, but it literally looks the same as before besides some newer looking hardscapes...
The hardscape areas have been shifted over more toward Dartmouth Street (to connect better with temporary closures of Dartmouth and the Public Library plaza area). Lawn area is now in front of Trinity Church.

The basic design concept is very similar to before.
 
So when are we gonna get rid of the street in front of BPL already and connect the urban realm/plaza to Copley,
like they did in front of the National Gallery/Trafalgar Square in London? Sad how long it takes to do the obvious
around here, if ever...
We need to procure a planner for a study, which will include 3 years of community engagement, and another year to develop the report. Then we need to scope out the project and include it in the new masterplan, and then once funded, we can procure a designer, and include a 3-year community feedback period and multiple committee reviews at each phase of design. We can maybe save some time if we put out an early package for utility relocations for 3 years because they found conflicts during design trying to place bollards on top of an electrical transformer. Then we can finally bid it out as a 4-year construction project.

So, maybe 2050?
 
So when are we gonna get rid of the street in front of BPL already and connect the urban realm/plaza to Copley,
like they did in front of the National Gallery/Trafalgar Square in London? Sad how long it takes to do the obvious
around here, if ever...

Was gonna say, would have been perfect to do it in conjunction with revamping Copley Square. Huge missed opportunity.
 
Speaking of copley tower, check out this tower in chicago called 465 north park in streeterville. Looks soooo strikingly similar to copley place tower. It looks stunning too, which again just goes to show how good of a design copley was and how good it would have looked. Sucks. We got robbed…

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And yet another redo for Copley Square and I'm not liking it. Where is the green area (artificial works just fine) that is so prominent today for kids to run around on? Any water spouts? They like that feature too. That's fun to watch. Oh, so this is a redo for adults and not kids, just for sitting and gazing. Energy-less, then. It can be saved with the idea of the Italian piazza--with tables. But then you need the better of food and drink stands for that. I don't see dynamic community going on here other than a few people walking into it, then leaving relatively quickly for somewhere else. Okay, it's a nice gaze of the surrounding buildings; the library, Copley Hotel (Fairmont), The Hancock with the sky and clouds reflecting, and Trinity Church, but that's about it. In architecture, above all else, is the user experience, how it improves it. C-
 
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