45 Province St | Downtown Crossing

[Equilibria]

Re: 45 Province

"There's something about this that's so black, it's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is: none." -Spinal Tap

"... none more black."

 

[Joe_Schmoe]

Re: 45 Province

That should have been the slogan on the giant banner:
45 Province: Smell The Glove.

 

[whighlander]

Re: 45 Province

This would be pretty bad, this isn't Times Square or Shibuya, Tokyo but a building rising over historic Beacon Hill. The blank wall might be overdoing it but it should be understated to keep the eye focused on the dome/hill. The last ad was an eyesore and I can't believe zoning allowed it. An LED screen would be so tacky and out of character with the rest of the skyline in that part of the city. I'm all for urban glitz but it in the right places - ie theater district, possibly back bay etc - not in between the otherwise quiet Beacon Hill and FiDi.

Pixels -- you install an array of cameras looking toward the rest of downtown with overlapping fields of view

A bit of image processing magic

A large OLED screen

Voila -- you can see through the tower to what is behind -- nobody can possibly complain about a transparent -- or really Cloaked building -- could start a trend

 

[briv]

Re: 45 Province | 45 Province Street | Downtown

yeah, I'm sure the current residents of 45 providence would be happy to increase their condo fees to pay for aesthetic improvements to their shitty blank wall for the benefit of the city as a whole--because this sort of thing happens so often in Boston.

This blank wall should have been caught while this project was under review. It's really failure of those agencies charged with reviewing new projects in Boston. And under this administration, there have been many. But as far 45 Province goes, we're stuck with it until someone builds in front of it. Hopefully this shitty black wall makes it easier to do that in the future.

 

[JeffDowntown]

Re: 45 Province

I never got why they made almost an entire side of the building blank.

The blank wall is directly on their property line. The wall has to be fire proof construction to code. Someone with the property next door can build directly against that wall.

 

[DBM]

Re: 45 Province

The blank wall is directly on their property line. The wall has to be fire proof construction to code. Someone with the property next door can build directly against that wall.

But in this case, "next door" is Chapman Place, the cobblestone alley that cuts from Bosworth St. through to School St., separating the back wall of Parker House hotel from 45 Province for the entire length. To build "directly against that wall" would mean seizing/privatizing Chapman Pl. for development, no? Or what am I missing here...

 

[Czervik.Construction]

Re: 45 Province | 45 Province Street | Downtown

The blank wall could be because they do not have air rights over the neighboring site.

 

[coleslaw]

Re: 45 Province

But in this case, "next door" is Chapman Place, the cobblestone alley that cuts from Bosworth St. through to School St., separating the back wall of Parker House hotel from 45 Province for the entire length. To build "directly against that wall" would mean seizing/privatizing Chapman Pl. for development, no? Or what am I missing here...

you are correct, it is weird look at a street view of the alley it is ominous.

 

[JeffDowntown]

Re: 45 Province

But in this case, "next door" is Chapman Place, the cobblestone alley that cuts from Bosworth St. through to School St., separating the back wall of Parker House hotel from 45 Province for the entire length. To build "directly against that wall" would mean seizing/privatizing Chapman Pl. for development, no? Or what am I missing here...

OK, now I am confused. The blank wall against Chapman Place does not make a lot of sense. Did they just do a really boring number with the elevator shafts on that side wall?

 

[JohnAKeith]

Re: 45 Province | 45 Province Street | Downtown

Doesn't the Parker House abut Chapman Place? Therefore, you couldn't privatize that street b/c you'd be blocking any sort of natural light for many of the hotel guests.

 

[JohnAKeith]

Re: 45 Province | 45 Province Street | Downtown

A slideshow of images from the "original" 45 Province, the 14-story office building proposed in 1989.

A short 20+ years later, it's completed.

http://s369.photobucket.com/user/JohnAKeith/slideshow/Old 45 Province

 

[palindrome]

Re: 45 Province | 45 Province Street | Downtown

I find it odd that one of the retail spaces is occupied by a back end bakery for a storefront on Washington st.

 

[JeffDowntown]

Re: 45 Province | 45 Province Street | Downtown

I find it odd that one of the retail spaces is occupied by a back end bakery for a storefront on Washington st.

That storefront (for Cakeology) started as their primary storefront. Then they realized that Province Street does not have enough foot traffic to support the business.

 

[BosDevelop]

Re: 45 Province | 45 Province Street | Downtown

That storefront (for Cakeology) started as their primary storefront. Then they realized that Province Street does not have enough foot traffic to support the business.

Wait, you mean you can't sustain a downtown business selling 10-15 $4 cupcakes a day? over/under on the demise of the cupcake fad = 18 months. Already Treat closed it's second downtown location (Winthrop Square) after only being open a few months.

 

[JohnAKeith]

Re: 45 Province | 45 Province Street | Downtown

How soon before it starts offering breakfast treats and patries?

 

[tmac9wr]

Re: 45 Province | 45 Province Street | Downtown

I think that's what it's all about John. Doing the cutesy cupcake thing can work short-term but it's all about using the short-term inflows from that fad to offer different things, like breakfast foods.

To quote a wise man:

 

[kz1000ps]

Re: 45 Province | 45 Province Street | Downtown

 

[pixelsand8]

Re: 45 Province | 45 Province Street | Downtown

 

[kz1000ps]

Re: 45 Province | 45 Province Street | Downtown