101 Seaport Blvd (PwC) | Parcel L1@Seaport Sq. | Seaport

DigitalSciGuy said:
Is this the public-private garden that they touted as public amenity?

I think we should be better at advertising/marking spaces like this...
apple-store-plaque.jpg
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I dont understand why that one building by the Intercontinental was required to provide a public observatory but no one else has been
 
jass said:
I dont understand why that one building by the Intercontinental was required to provide a public observatory but no one else has been
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Which building near the Intercon has this?
 
cjbski said:
Which building near the Intercon has this?
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Independence Wharf (though you won't see them market the fact.)

If you go to the front desk in the lobby, ask, and hand over your drivers license, you can go and stay up for as long as you'd like (between 9 and 5 on weekdays)
 
jass said:
I dont understand why that one building by the Intercontinental was required to provide a public observatory but no one else has been
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I may be wrong but my recollection, as crazy a story as it sounds, is that the developers, when putting an addition on maybe 8-10 years ago, added one more floor than they were approved for and, as part of the settlement, they agreed to allow public access to the "observatory."
 
BosDevelop said:
I may be wrong but my recollection, as crazy a story as it sounds, is that the developers, when putting an addition on maybe 8-10 years ago, added one more floor than they were approved for and, as part of the settlement, they agreed to allow public access to the "observatory."
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This is correct. It is one story taller than they were allowed to build, so now we can all go stand on it.
 
They need to build 111 federal 10 stories more than they're allowed "by accident" and give us an observation deck up there too.
 
Actually 100 Pier 4 has a "public observation room." It looks over the water behind Whiskey Priest.
 
falcon42 said:
Actually 100 Pier 4 has a "public observation room." It looks over the water behind Whiskey Priest.
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Downburst said:
Independence Wharf (though you won't see them market the fact.)

If you go to the front desk in the lobby, ask, and hand over your drivers license, you can go and stay up for as long as you'd like (between 9 and 5 on weekdays)
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This is just making me more frustrated...is there really not a city agency that tracks/provides oversight for these publicly accessible private parks/spaces?...even in new developments where we've stipulated public benefits in the approval process?? It blows my mind that we have to crowd source these answers.
 
DigitalSciGuy said:
This is just making me more frustrated...is there really not a city agency that tracks/provides oversight for these publicly accessible private parks/spaces?...even in new developments where we've stipulated public benefits in the approval process?? It blows my mind that we have to crowd source these answers.
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And with lack of awareness of such public spaces and the resulting lack of use, there is a danger that public access will be lost. I heard that Foster's Rotunda, the space designated for public use above the arch at Rowe's Wharf, which very few people knew about, has now been converted to private space. Can anyone confirm whether that is true?
 
dirtywater said:
And with lack of awareness of such public spaces and the resulting lack of use, there is a danger that public access will be lost. I heard that Foster's Rotunda, the space designated for public use above the arch at Rowe's Wharf, which very few people knew about, has now been converted to private space. Can anyone confirm whether that is true?
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We already lost the Hancock.

NYC has the same issue.

They get waivers to build taller by making public spaces.

Ten years later a "security" fence goes up.

Then a lock appears.

And then the developer laughs all the way to the Cayman Islands
 
jass said:
We already lost the Hancock.

NYC has the same issue.

They get waivers to build taller by making public spaces.

Ten years later a "security" fence goes up.

Then a lock appears.

And then the developer laughs all the way to the Cayman Islands
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Jass -- Remember that Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty*1

Even the State tends to take away our parks and recreation sites based on perceived "higher purpose" -- so the much maligned Massachusetts Dept of Health Human Services built a Public Health Lab on the grounds of the Arnold Arboretum

similarly the Shattuck Hospital and Shattuck Shelter were built on the grounds of Franklin Park

and of course I-93 cuts the Middlesex Fells essentially in half





*1
Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty—power is ever stealing from the many to the few…. The hand entrusted with power becomes … the necessary enemy of the people. Only by continual oversight can the democrat in office be prevented from hardening into a despot: only by unintermitted Agitation can a people be kept sufficiently awake to principle not to let liberty be smothered in material prosperity.
ATTRIBUTION: WENDELL PHILLIPS, speech in Boston, Massachusetts, January 28, 1852.—Speeches Before the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, p. 13 (1853)
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jass said:
We already lost the Hancock.

NYC has the same issue.

They get waivers to build taller by making public spaces.

Ten years later a "security" fence goes up.

Then a lock appears.

And then the developer laughs all the way to the Cayman Islands
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Not sure if anecdote but on repeated trips back to NYC, I feel like I've seen more of DoB/DoCP's 'Open To Public' signs with signature tree-on-grid logo popping up with developments from 6th-and-a-half Avenue down to the plaza in front of 51 Astor Place. Whenever I'm there on the weekends, yeah a lot of these places are closed, especially most of 6th-and-a-half Avenue, but I believe DoB negotiates these times with the property management as a means of ensuring public/property safety if there is (in)sufficient security monitoring these areas during off-peak hours.

But otherwise, it seems to help having standard signage that calls these spaces out and to have a dedicated city department to track and manage relationships with property owners for these spaces [PDF].

Speaking to AmericanFolkLegend's experience, wouldn't it have been nice if residents had a way of knowing that's a shared space with some sort of city-wide standard signage denoting it?... Or maybe that's the point, as it seems like it's designed as a public common for the residents and not for outsiders. I blame that one on poor execution if it was indeed intended as a neighbourhood amenity and not for exclusive use by the abutting residents.

Attempting to re-rail the thread on 101 Seaport, I'll see if I can pop in on Friday and test out this public deck claim unless someone else has already beat me to the chase.
 
I hate when stores take multiple units, merge into one, and then leave the extra doors in place rather than fixing the glass. Example: BlueMercury doesn't need 3 extrances. That door on the far left should have been replaced with a window.
 
cjbski said:
I hate when stores take multiple units, merge into one, and then leave the extra doors in place rather than fixing the glass. Example: BlueMercury doesn't need 3 entrances. That door on the far left should have been replaced with a window.
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Unnecessary expense. The door is part of the facade of the base building. It is not BM's problem, which is leasing as a tenant. Leave the door in place, especially since if BM fails & they decide to divide off the retail spaces again.
 
Yes why would you ever change that? If it were originally slated to be two storefronts, you want to leave it in place for future uses. Also, that 3rd door is used for loading/deliveries I believe. You don't want them wheeling in product through the front door.
 
falcon42 said:
Yes why would you ever change that? If it were originally slated to be two storefronts, you want to leave it in place for future uses. Also, that 3rd door is used for loading/deliveries I believe. You don't want them wheeling in product through the front door.
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Eh. It just looks tacky. You don't see Apple doing that when they open a store that combines multiple storefronts.
 
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