Cambridge Infill and Small Developments

We continue to the most happening place in Alewife...Faces

IMG_8581.jpg


IMG_8582.jpg


I dont even...

IMG_8583.jpg


IMG_8584.jpg


IMG_8585.jpg



And now the walk back to alewife, along the "sidewalk"

Classy motel. T and highway accessible!

IMG_8586.jpg


IMG_8587.jpg



You cant get there from here (well, walking you can).

IMG_8588.jpg



35mph? No one was doing under 45

IMG_8589.jpg



And what is that bridge for anyway, lets take a look.

Quality stuff.

IMG_8590.jpg


Lovely vistas

IMG_8591.jpg


Oh God I can see the road, is this safe? Why do the metal planks move? WTF is this?

IMG_8592.jpg


IMG_8593.jpg


IMG_8594.jpg


Um, theres nothing on the other side. No sidewalk, nothing. What was the bridge built for? Why is there so much trash?

IMG_8595.jpg


IMG_8598.jpg


IMG_8596.jpg


IMG_8597.jpg



Alright, back to the alewife side

IMG_8599.jpg


Worst bike lane ever

IMG_8601.jpg


This is a lie, there is no traffic signal ahead.

IMG_8603.jpg


This makes me think the office park is not cambridge

IMG_8607.jpg



Aaaaand we're done with alewife!
 
Kendall.

Plaza being remade, the floor clearly shows it's much needed.

IMG_8610.jpg


IMG_8611.jpg


IMG_8612.jpg


IMG_8613.jpg
 
Everything in your photos is in Cambridge, not Arlington.

The 'new bridge' construction, next to the T station garage, is for a bike path that will run from Alewife to Brighton Street in Belmont (and perhaps eventually farther, to Belmont Center). The path already exists as a dirt trail, but the state is widening and paving it.

The bridge over Route 2 leads to a bus stop on the north (westbound) side of the highway. I doubt the stop gets used very much.

Cambridge Discovery Park (Acorn Park) is the former home of Arthur D. Little Company. There is a second entrance to Cambridge Discovery Park from Lake Street in Arlington.
 
Ron, where can I check the city boundaries? The tiles I took a picture of suggest otherwise.

You're right, there is another entrance on Lake Street, but it is very inaccessible. It will really only benefit those nearby homes, as anyone coming from further out with be on route 2, and have no access to that entrance.

It makes a convenient exit though.

I cant find the bus stop sign on streetview, but I guess that would make a tiny bit of sense (but not much really)
 
Go to http://209.6.3.218/GISMaps//index1.htm . Select "Town Boundary", "Buildings", and "Aerial Photograph", then zoom in on the Alewife area. You'll see that the Arlington/Cambridge line edges slightly south of Route 2 near the end, but not enough to include any buildings.
 
Oh I see, the town line makes an abrupt right turn.


Anyway, lets continue our tour of Kendall.

I dont visit the area often, so I have no idea what is new, as in, opened within the past month, and sort-of-new, as in what opened 3 years ago.

So youll have to scroll through all of it.

MIT looking stuff can be found in this thread
http://www.archboston.org/community/showthread.php?t=1281&page=5&highlight=cambridge

Ive also added some to this "mega lab" thread
http://www.archboston.org/community/showthread.php?t=2246&highlight=mormon



IMG_8614.jpg


IMG_8615.jpg


IMG_8616.jpg


IMG_8617.jpg


IMG_8618.jpg


IMG_8619.jpg


IMG_8620.jpg


IMG_8622.jpg


IMG_8623.jpg




IMG_8625.jpg


IMG_8627.jpg


IMG_8628.jpg


IMG_8629.jpg





IMG_8631.jpg


IMG_8634.jpg


IMG_8635.jpg


IMG_8636.jpg


IMG_8638.jpg


IMG_8639.jpg
 
Jass, thanks for the photo tours. These are area's I never get over to see.
 
Genzyme no longer exists. And he who will soon be ending his 4.25 years as a temp agent for them shall dance on their grave.

edit: But yea inside that lair it is pretty cool, attrium to the top floor, creates cool accoustics.
 
GW2500 said:
Genzyme no longer exists. And he who will soon be ending his 4.25 years as a temp agent for them shall dance on their grave.

edit: But yea inside that lair it is pretty cool, attrium to the top floor, creates cool accoustics.
Click to expand...
Not just acoustics! The custom-engineered heliostats, the "chandeliers" that reflect light into interior spaces, the reflective materials, the double facade, ah, such a freaking cool building. Beautiful concrete structure to it as well.

One of the people from Behnisch Behnisch that designed the majority of the Genzyme Center taught a studio at Wentworth last semester. He told us that on opening day they had torrential downpours and the roof leaked like crazy all over the stage and speaker's podium, haha.

I've also had the pleasure of touring the Novartis complex (Necco factory) during my time at the RWU SAAHP Summer Academy senior year of high school.
 
They did nice work on the gravel path behind Alewife. That used to be an unmaintained dirt trail...like, dirtbike trail...even though it was on signage at both ends as an official path. Strewn with trash, no fences separating from the nearby Fitchburg Line, isolated, completely overgrown with brush, generally terrifying to travel alone lest some one or thing jump out of and murder or eat you. It does need to be paved...it travels through a literal swamp.

I can't imagine what used to be on the other side of that rusting 2 footbridge. Thorndike Field abutting 2 was built with the Minuteman, so it sure wasn't for access to the old railroad tracks. And it's so far away from the nearest streets in Arlington it couldn't have gone there. That land is S-W-A-M-P.


I can't even figure out where a road connecting to somebody's street grid would go. Arlington side's 100% wetlands and a long haul away. Only wetlands-(mostly)free option on the Belmont side is linking the access road to condo private-drive Hill Rd. (that's gonna be a no). And there is utterly nothing feasible to connect it bi-directionally to the rest of Alewife.

THAT should be the office park. Alewife-proper should be the less-stupidly designed residences.
 
A developer wants to build 300 units of housing on the west side of Acorn Park road in Belmont. Friends of Alewife Reservation has been trying to prevent this, as it would cut down a silver maple forest and increase flooding in the area. Ideally they'd like the state to add this land to the reservation.

There have also been development proposals for some privately-owned land on the north side of Route 2, in Arlington just west of Thorndike Field.
 
Kendall is actually pretty walkable. Alewife, on the other hand, is best visited by bicycles rather than car or foot.
 
Triple decker on steroids plus breezy, "contemporary" rooftop pagoda. Yup, they ran down the checklist with this.
 
I like how they make the highway look like a small local road.

But they "forgot" to include the sidewalk.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top