CambridgeSide Galleria Reno/Redev | First Street | East Cambridge

dhawkins · Jan 27, 2023

Brick complete, space left above for precast headers

Granite or precast sill?

Looks like there is more brick work than originally designed.

dhawkins · Jan 27, 2023

Looks like masonry clean up. That over hang to the left is interesting. I guess they want to squeeze every bit of square footage out of this project.

Neat effect at the extruded window frames.

Non-descript black box set back from masonry façade. Great way to hide the overall mass of the building. JMA got to leave there mark. Sign of a proud installer.

goldenretrievers · Jan 27, 2023

dhawkins said:
View attachment 33553

looks like a tank tread

bigpicture7 · Feb 15, 2023

A shot from this weekend (2/12) I'd meant to post. Former Sears side:

Dr. Rosen Rosen · Feb 16, 2023

This thing is crazy big.

BronsonShore · Feb 16, 2023

Is the Cambridge bank of the Charles the most wasted space in metro Boston? I once had a friend ask me where he and his group could eat in Cambridge with a view of Boston. I was shocked by the fact that I didn't have any suggestions for him.

Equilibria · Feb 16, 2023

BronsonShore said:
Is the Cambridge bank of the Charles the most wasted space in metro Boston? I once had a friend ask me where he and his group could eat in Cambridge with a view of Boston. I was shocked by the fact that I didn't have any suggestions for him.

Is that your only criterion? The Cambridge shoreline includes hotels, office buildings, parks, and academic buildings. All have lovely views.

BronsonShore · Feb 16, 2023

Equilibria said:
Is that your only criterion? The Cambridge shoreline includes hotels, office buildings, parks, and academic buildings. All have lovely views.

The "park" is a median strip, the office buildings and academic buildings are hostile to the public, and even if any of the buildings were welcoming, they're separated from the water by 150 feet of traffic.

itchy · Feb 16, 2023

Haven't seen in person, but based on the photos this has got to be some of the best 'post-WWII' brick I've ever seen. It's all new, right?

bigpicture7 said:
A shot from this weekend (2/12) I'd meant to post. Former Sears side:

View attachment 34400

Arenacale · Feb 17, 2023

Man I hope they never get rid of the main entrance to the Galleria from the Canal.

bigpicture7 · Feb 17, 2023

itchy said:
Haven't seen in person, but based on the photos this has got to be some of the best 'post-WWII' brick I've ever seen. It's all new, right?

Yea, it's new hand-laid brick. Not panelized on this building.

Java King · Feb 17, 2023

BronsonShore said:
Is the Cambridge bank of the Charles the most wasted space in metro Boston? I once had a friend ask me where he and his group could eat in Cambridge with a view of Boston. I was shocked by the fact that I didn't have any suggestions for him.

There used to be a Davio's at the Royal Sonesta Hotel that had a patio with nice Boston views. I'm pretty sure that Davio's location closed, but the restaurant is probably still there as part of the hotel. You are correct for restaurants with views across the river to Boston. The one in the Royal Sonesta Hotel is the ONLY one that I can think of. The Hyatt Regency Cambridge probably has a nice view too. They used to have a rotating restaurant on the top floor, but again...........not sure if that is still there.

bigpicture7 · Feb 17, 2023

Java King said:
...The Hyatt Regency Cambridge probably has a nice view too. They used to have a rotating restaurant on the top floor, but again...........not sure if that is still there.

Atop the Hyatt was 'The Spinnaker'! (RIP, 2004). Here's what the view was.

itchy · Feb 17, 2023

bigpicture7 said:
Atop the Hyatt was 'The Spinnaker'! (RIP, 2004). Here's what the view was.

Oh wow - what a shame that it's no more. Any idea why the Hyatt didn't replace The Spinnaker with another restaurant? What's there now? (Does the room still rotate?!)

Java King · Feb 17, 2023

itchy said:
Oh wow - what a shame that it's no more. Any idea why the Hyatt didn't replace The Spinnaker with another restaurant? What's there now? (Does the room still rotate?!)

From the link that @bigpicture7 included, they removed the rotating floor and it's now a function room for the hotel. I only went there a few times as Spinnaker, and it was the Boston area's only rotating restaurant.

bigpicture7 · Feb 17, 2023

itchy said:
Oh wow - what a shame that it's no more. Any idea why the Hyatt didn't replace The Spinnaker with another restaurant? What's there now? (Does the room still rotate?!)

we are veering way off thread topic here (though I didn't start it, I promise...ahhehmm, bronsonshore)...
However, apparently the Hyatt went through a major renovation in 2021-2022 and it appears a new main restaurant and bar is on the lower level. Called Paperback Tavern: https://www.boston.com/travel/trave...wly-renovated-hyatt-regency-boston-cambridge/

I have not been there recently and cannot vouch. However, regarding your question, I was there for a work event years ago and recall overhearing a conversation with a hotel employee about the Spinnaker's demise. The worker mentioned that its electricity bill for running that thing was absolutely obscene and it just wasn't passing the business sense test since they knew they could rent the space profitably as an events space without the rotating novelty. The view is, I'm sure, still crazy good. I find it amusing that, according the the link I posted above, the renovation contractor needed to demo and remove 50-tons worth of rotating floor/machinery via crane. It is a bit sad/nostalgic; I remember going to a couple of family events at the restaurant in the '90s.

beck4537 · Feb 17, 2023

Art bar was also a great spot along the Riverwalk

bigpicture7 · Feb 17, 2023

beck4537 said:
Art bar was also a great spot along the Riverwalk

That's still there and with a fairly large outside patio overlooking the Charles. I regularly jogged by there last summer and it was always busy after 5pm. The main sit-down restaurant spot at the other end of the Sonesta lobby (which also had patio space) was killed by the pandemic though (it was another Italian place after Davio's, can't remember the name).

JeffDowntown · Feb 18, 2023

bigpicture7 said:
That's still there and with a fairly large outside patio overlooking the Charles. I regularly jogged by there last summer and it was always busy after 5pm. The main sit-down restaurant spot at the other end of the Sonesta lobby (which also had patio space) was killed by the pandemic though (it was another Italian place after Davio's, can't remember the name).

The Davio's replacement was called Dante.

DZH22 · Feb 18, 2023

It's technically the other side of the river, but there's a space with a skyline view at the top of the DoubleTree. I keep meaning (but forgetting) to go.

DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Hotel Boston - Cambridge · 400 Soldiers Field Rd, Boston, MA 02134

★★★★☆ · Hotel

www.google.com

CambridgeSide Galleria Reno/Redev | First Street | East Cambridge

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