Cambridge Crossing (NorthPoint) | East Cambridge/Charlestown | Cambridge/Boston

I have a recent photo set of Omaha’s Gene Leahy Mall if you’d like to see them. It would take me a few days to insert them on a photo hosting website, retrieve their addresses, build a script and then post on archboston.
I'm sure your photos are great, but Streetview has actually been updated pretty recently there and gives the impression...
 
Some great indoor and outdoor public space.

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What do those steps spell out? I can see "Many Hearts" but I can't read the upper steps in the purple, blue, and green colors.
 
Purple spells "One Dream" and I think the top blue line also spells "One", but I can't make out the rest.
From top to bottom the steps read as follows; One love, one planet, one people, one dream, many hearts. They are also painting the other set of steps. It is blocked off so all I could see was two hands in the shape of a heart at the bottom set of steps. The painted steps add a much-needed pop of color to that area of CX.
 
Does anyone know if these are native plants? It looks like it and the recent trends have been shifting this way. If so this is a very nice addition.
The outdoor ones I'm pretty sure. The indoor ones I'm pretty sure they ended up fake or the typical foam wall VE approach. They were originally real with a watering system.

Outdoor plants on LEED projects, especially Gold and Platinum levels projects are going to have native plantings. They are more likely to survive the local climate. Lowers the irrigation requirements.

The irrigation at site H does come from a reclaim system in the garage to get the irrigation totals from potable water down to 0%
 
I saw that the new First St extension through the former Lechmere station was open today. Lots of temporary fencing to delineate the new traffic patterns through the sea of asphalt at the old split.
 
I saw that the new First St extension through the former Lechmere station was open today. Lots of temporary fencing to delineate the new traffic patterns through the sea of asphalt at the old split.
AND the new community path parallelling the GLX opened this past weekend too! (FINALLY!!) Bikes everywhere!
 
I saw that the new First St extension through the former Lechmere station was open today. Lots of temporary fencing to delineate the new traffic patterns through the sea of asphalt at the old split.

It is half open. The lanes heading away from CX are operational. I walked this today. Though, obviously, crossing the O'Brien is always going to suck, I can confirm that this is a VASTLY better pedestrian experience heading between East Cambridge and CX than the prior crossing at East St., where pedestrians had to traverse two separate micro-sized islands in the middle of 7 lanes (4 vehicular ROWs). Now you just have the Cambridge St. crossing, and then one O'Brien crossing and you're done (I say one O'Brien crossing even though there's one median in O'Brien because they have timed the walk signal generously enough that you don't get stuck at that median- Yay!).

The old (this thing can die ASAP, please):
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New Fist Street extension:
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It is half open. The lanes heading away from CX are operational. I walked this today. Though, obviously, crossing the O'Brien is always going to suck, I can confirm that this is a VASTLY better pedestrian experience heading between East Cambridge and CX than the prior crossing at East St., where pedestrians had to traverse two separate micro-sized islands in the middle of 7 lanes (4 vehicular ROWs). Now you just have the Cambridge St. crossing, and then one O'Brien crossing and you're done (I say one O'Brien crossing even though there's one median in O'Brien because they have timed the walk signal generously enough that you don't get stuck at that median- Yay!).

The old (this thing can die ASAP, please):
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New Fist Street extension:
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The side you're on there will also ultimately have a building and retail entrances, so it will feel less like an island and more like a block.
 
The new park at Morgan Ave and Water St has been open for a bit over a week now. The SCP has now been shifted to the N Side of Morgan Ave. Anyone know what's going in the low-rise retail along this stretch? (forgot to snap the new retail spaces)
7/6:
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A "sandbox!"
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About a 12' rise + some granite blocks:
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SCP connection:
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Man I wish we would build more elevated metro lines in the city. Hopefully now that people can see a modern one in the city they wont be so scary. They look awesome and you get amazing views while your on it. Theyre no longer creaky rusty loud shadowy structures like the chicago loop or the washington st elevated. Id love to see some type 10 green line trains buzzing by on a modern concrete viaduct! Maybe some day.
 
Man I wish we would build more elevated metro lines in the city. Hopefully now that people can see a modern one in the city they wont be so scary. They look awesome and you get amazing views while your on it. Theyre no longer creaky rusty loud shadowy structures like the chicago loop or the washington st elevated. Id love to see some type 10 green line trains buzzing by on a modern concrete viaduct! Maybe some day.
The Lechmere elevated segment looks pretty good. The one east of Science Park is a bit slimmer and sleeker, IMO.
 
Man I wish we would build more elevated metro lines in the city. Hopefully now that people can see a modern one in the city they wont be so scary. They look awesome and you get amazing views while your on it. Theyre no longer creaky rusty loud shadowy structures like the chicago loop or the washington st elevated. Id love to see some type 10 green line trains buzzing by on a modern concrete viaduct! Maybe some day.

Not that I disagree with the benefits, but this looks like a freeway overpass. In 20 years, with MBTA-level maintenance, it will be an eyesore.
 
Man I wish we would build more elevated metro lines in the city. Hopefully now that people can see a modern one in the city they wont be so scary. They look awesome and you get amazing views while your on it. Theyre no longer creaky rusty loud shadowy structures like the chicago loop or the washington st elevated. Id love to see some type 10 green line trains buzzing by on a modern concrete viaduct! Maybe some day.
Agreed, it's so much nicer than the chicago L.
But there's another level of improvement, like this viaduct in Berlin. Make the trains so quiet that shops and restaurants can comfortably move in underneath.

BTW, what is going in under the GL around CX? Last I was was around, most was fenced off gravel.
 
Agreed, it's so much nicer than the chicago L.
But there's another level of improvement, like this viaduct in Berlin. Make the trains so quiet that shops and restaurants can comfortably move in underneath.

This is what I long to see under the Expressway, along Albany Street. It could be so much better than the mix of parking lots and drug dealers.
 

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