Canopy by Hilton (née Haymarket Hotel) | Blackstone St | Parcel 9 | Greenway

Such a generic, low-budget structure in such a heavily-trafficked, visible location. I believe hotels of all price points should exist downtown, but this is a damn shame.
 
From this angle it's halfway passable

51079403762_606d46a973_b.jpg
 
I'm still curious what the new outdoor market will "look" like here. Can't find any renders of the back side of the hotel.

Details from the 2018 approval:
"Approximately 1 ,615 square foot ground floor area off Blackstone Street that will be leased to the Haymarket Pushcart Association to accommodate storage and restrooms for their members. The ground floor of the building will also include restrooms accessible to the public as well as meeting space that can be made available for community use.... The Blackstone Street reconstruction will include new bollards to provide electrical service for members of the Haymarket Pushcart Association during the Friday and Saturday market days. Water service will also be provided from the hotel structure itself.

Landscaping:
(i)the raising of the finished grade of Blackstone Street along its entire length between North Street and Hanover Street so as to be level with the sidewalk adjacent to the building and thereby facilitate use of Blackstone Street by HPA vendors;
(ii) all associated utility relocation and installation work required by reason of the change in grade of the street;
(iii) all related earthwork and paving work;
(iv) the design, fabrication and installation of approximately fifty (50) permanent steel-reinforced stanchions along the length of Blackstone Street;
(v) the installation of adequate and appropriate exterior lighting and electrical power for use by HPA vendors (which may be incorporated into the new stanchions); and
(vi) the provision of outdoor hose bibs along the Blackstone Street facade of the Project for use by HPA vendors and the hotel operator.
1617891105248.png
1617892121337.png
 
Last edited:
I'm still not a fan - the design and quality is just subpar for such a choice spot - but you're right, I'm happy to see this hole filled.

For a 6 story building, I think the massing has some visually interesting elements and contributes to walling off the Greenway.
Im not a fan of the Haymarket side at this point — seems austere.
 
Its the unaligned window pattern that really bothers me... I hate that trend so much.
As with all fashion fads, it has reached the extreme end of its shelf-life. It's become the 'bell-bottoms' version of design (I can't even call it architecture). Yet I'm afraid to imagine the next fad. BTW I'm also choking on the unrelenting use of brick panels that show no imagination or detail. Enough please.
 
^^ “Let me tell you one thing. In this world we are living in, 98 percent of everything that is built and designed today is pure shit. There's no sense of design, no respect for humanity or for anything else. They are damn buildings and that's it."

-Frank Gehry, 2014
 
^^ “Let me tell you one thing. In this world we are living in, 98 percent of everything that is built and designed today is pure shit. There's no sense of design, no respect for humanity or for anything else. They are damn buildings and that's it."

-Frank Gehry, 2014
Great quote, and very ironic coming from him.
 
Indeed it is, extremely ironic. A broken clock is right twice a day and the beekman in nyc and the grand in la are pretty iconic, but overall he has to be the worst “starchitect” of all time. Not even bad in like an artistic “you just dont understand” type of way, but bad as in it looks like a drunk teenager made some of his biggest projects.

Anyways this definitely isnt anything special, but at least its brick and not red grid panels like kenmore sq. Once complete it should fairly seamlessly fade into the fabric of the city and be pretty much forgotten while bringing the streetwall up to the greenway.
 
Last edited:
Overall, I am appreciating how this is looking but more impressed with how it's interacting with the general landscape around it. I absolutely respect the criticisms and realize that the other proposals would've made a more striking impression, but I like that this is keeping the current vibe alive in an area that I have been so fond of since I was a child.

Since Stick mentioned the Beckham, let me say that I have never liked it as a building, but it is an outstanding piece of engineering art.
 
I noticed walking by the other weekend that the cladding looks cheap and disjointed. I am hoping they bond it well and it settles else this'll look crappy.
 

Back
Top