I was on a walk through DTX and surrounds yesterday. I haven't spent much time in the city during CovidTimes, so perhaps this is more emblematic now of "how things are" ... perhaps it's also emblematic of winter, or Sundays... that being said, I found it more depressing than ever.
Sundays in the winter are always when DTX is at its absolute deadest, and that was true even before we entered the height of a global pandemic.
That being said, the pedestrian zone does need some work and more consistent paving, and that should be put squarely on the City to take care of. Washington should get the same treatment Summer has between the Burnham building and Macy's, and Winter should be torn up and re-bricked.
Wow - great counterintuitive point. I wouldn’t have ever said (or wanted to say) that being a transit hub makes DTX junky and the Seaport with its lack of transit remains shiny (exclusive?)... I’m not sure it’s true (I dont want it to be true) but it is compelling food for thought.
it also makes me realize that DTX is backwards branding for a neighborhood. What’s the urban value in a “crossing?” Is everyone just passing through? Taking no notice? Doing a good bit of nothing? Sure felt like it on Sunday.
I don't for one second buy that transit access harms the neighborhood. This would fly in the face of the experience of basically every urban environment ever. I also don't buy that anyone gives any thought to the "crossing" "branding" of DTX for even a second.
DTX has very few restaurants/bars along the main drag. So the "street dinning" is minimal-none. Washington is almost all retail, which closes early and saps any night-life quality from the area. The little public staircase al la Times Square is nice but closes after dark... I'm sure some US liability issues involved, ruining the fun as usual.
And I've harped on this before, but more of the shops are big chain companies. I can give Macy's a slide, but Old Navy, Primark, 4 unremarkable chain shoe stores, TJ Maxx + Marshalls... such a dud of lame retail. Might as well be in a strip mall at the edge of town.
Imagine DTX with cafes and bars sprinkled throughout, extending the hours of activity in the area. Actually taking advantage of the wide open pedestrian street.
We've talked about this before, but I see all the affordable retail clustered in DTX as a positive, not a negative. The Back Bay has the old money, the Seaport is increasingly getting the new money, and DTX has the retail for the hundreds of thousands of Boston residents and workers who are not "money" of either generation. It's the perfect place for families and kids and workers from the neighborhoods to take the Orange Line to do their shopping.
The staircase gets a good amount of use in the summers, even in the evening.
But yeah, more restaurants and bars complementing that retail would for sure be a win. Hopefully this is a direction we can move once the pandemic is behind us, and the liberalization of liquor licenses would be a key step in helping that become a reality.
