đź”· Open Thread

What are peoples thought on the recent developments, do i say turnaround, at the ashmont T stop/peabody square. Seems to be a fair amount of new development going on. Is it an up and comer or still really iffy? I ask because I am contemplating moving tothe area.
 
Beton Brut said:
That hotel is one of the great architectural mysteries in Greater Boston. Who the hell designed it?

I agree that its Beacon Street facade is absolutely deadening, but I still find it...interesting? There are architectural gestures that call to mind three disparate Frank Lloyd Wright buildings:


(Perhaps you'll see what I see, perhaps you'll think I've been huffing paint.)

I'll confess to having the same complicated relationship with the often-reviled Midtown Hotel. From an urbanistic standpoint, I hate it with the heat of a thousand suns. Architecturally, removed from its context, it's an interesting example of Midcentury Modernism. The white masonry and flat roofs remind me of Edward Durell Stone masterful Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, recently restored and expanded by HOK (2008 ArchRecord story here).
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I confess some love, with reservations, for this building as well. Actually, I think the low-rise landscraping backside is far more interesting than the high(ish)-rise cruditecture St Paul street front. The Beacon Street wall is repetitive and certainly lacks for street-engaging activity. However, this isn't your typical blank wall. Large curtains of glass facing the street allow passersby to see right into a hallway onto which guestroom doors face. Walking past it there's often activity to see - doors opening and closing, families trudging through the hallway. It's an engaging interplay between intimate and public space.
 
I didn't expect anyone to reply to this one, Shep -- thanks!

Am I out of my tits about the design elements lifted from Wright?
 
Beton Brut said:
I didn't expect anyone to reply to this one, Shep -- thanks!

Am I out of my tits about the design elements lifted from Wright?
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No, not at all. I have felt the very same way in regards to the Wright-inspired elements. The emphasis of the horizontal is extremely prominent and the Japanese detailing blends directly with Wright.
 
Back Bay Polka - George and Ira Gershwin

Therefore, when all is said

Life is so limited.

You find, unless you're dead,

You never get ahead in Boston.
 
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Honestly it's safe to say that there are probably as many Dunkin Donuts in Berlin as there are in Boston, take a few (but not many).

Also, living in East Berlin is legit just like living in Soviet Germany/Russia. This is awesome. It was snowing like mad last night and like -6C and I felt like I was in a vintage 60s movie set in Soviet Russia. The urban fabric and condition is just fascinating, especially around here. You walk down the street and there are still bombed buildings and piles of rubble just... there.
 
That and I suspect many of the people who would be reading this site (i.e. architects) are so dirt poor they had to cancel their internet and are left to bum wifi at Starbucks.
 
I've cut back on my aB visiting to about twice a week instead of once a day. There just isn't that much architectural going on here, and I don't give a shit about the political "discussions" that have been popping up like weeds everywhere.
 
Funny you should mention that (not that it is funny) but I also noticed that the pictorial seemed a bit light on history. I didn't know about that fire - wait, that was part of the Vendome? Didn't know. But, yeah, you can't mention that parking lot without mentioning the mural on that wall, either.

And to say that "339 Newbury was an independent bookstore" without mentioning it was Avenue Victor Hugo is just cruel.

(Also, what was the address on Newbury where Gund Associates was located - isn't that where it was?)
 
Great post. Thanks!

But the caption writer is a chump... corner of Dartmouth and Newbury and reference to a "little bit of remodeling" on the building on the background. Yeah. A little bit of remodelling. Tell it to the firefighters' families.
 
blade_bltz said:
I suspect most folks have finally had it with...certain elements on this board.
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Oh I'm not that bad.....am I?

The lack of construction updates, new proposals, and photographs has likely led to the board's decline over the past two years. The recent rash of new proposals and construction starts will probably reverse that trend over the course of the next few months.
 
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