It was buried in there.
Downtown Crossing/Financial District | Discussion
- Thread starter KentXie
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It was buried in there.
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Not sure where thes should go, but some photos of the on going renovation of the Center Plaza bldg. and the new work at One Beacon.
Maybe we should change the thread name to Downtown Infill and Small Projects.
CP3
https://flic.kr/p/2aSeqhh
https://flic.kr/p/MbCxWR
One Beacon
https://flic.kr/p/McNwcc
https://flic.kr/p/28bG4WN
https://flic.kr/p/29ygXSM
https://flic.kr/p/NNXjsW
https://flic.kr/p/NNXkiy
Maybe we should change the thread name to Downtown Infill and Small Projects.
CP3https://flic.kr/p/2aSeqhhhttps://flic.kr/p/MbCxWR One Beacon
https://flic.kr/p/McNwcc https://flic.kr/p/28bG4WNhttps://flic.kr/p/29ygXSMhttps://flic.kr/p/NNXjsWhttps://flic.kr/p/NNXkiy
Last edited:
Charlie_mta
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A waste of money. It needs to be demolished and replaced with something more suitably sited and designed: a couple of supertalls with a gap to open up a street to the courthouse.
Thanks.
I would literally prefer a parking lot to this building. At least it would expose the courthouse.
Padre Mike
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How many times will they redo this street level, entrance, and lobby? The hulk was unfortunately designed from the beginning, the cladding claustrophobic, the inset fenestration gloomy, and the scale inappropriate for the location. Other than that it's great. Not.
I'm not saying the market might not evolve naturally in that direction (irrespective of any evolution of gov't regulation re: booze licenses), but, the implied notion here that DTX is somewhat thin on "good bars and restaurants" is, well, odd. There are literally dozens of bars and restaurants within any acceptable definition of "DTX", spanning the spectrum of quality and ambiance.
DTX is a major "entertainment zone" right now, period. It's just a question of whether that usage/atmosphere will intensify.
JumboBuc
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Also, "the overall downturn in retail shopping" is more of a suburban big box issue than a downtown "high street" issue.
And the particular "big box" type stores that are currently in Downtown Crossing are killing it right now (e.g., TJX stock is up 40+% year-to-date; they have a TJ Maxx and Marshall's in DTX and are opening a HomeGoods in the old H&M space).
And the particular "big box" type stores that are currently in Downtown Crossing are killing it right now (e.g., TJX stock is up 40+% year-to-date; they have a TJ Maxx and Marshall's in DTX and are opening a HomeGoods in the old H&M space).
You know, I briefly looked at their financials and came to the conclusion that the stock price increase is 100% due to the tax cuts. I don't know if you can say they are "killing it".
Got it... I appreciate the clarification.
JeffDowntown
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You mean like:
Legal Crossing
Ruka
Back Deck
Sip
Salvatore's
Q Restaurant
They are there; they are just clustered near the Theatre District, where the evening crowds are.
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I too wish there were restaurants on the "main drag" of Washington in DTX proper (say between Winter St and Bromfield), but the problem is that those buildings always had retail in them in that area and not restaurants. It is not easy to retrofit restaurants into the ground floor of an old building that that didn't originally have a restaurant because you need dedicated kitchen exhaust ducts from the cooking hood (grease ducts) to go up through the roof independently that cannot tie into local HVAC ducts. This requires carving out rated chase space on every floor and thus the fitout of the restaurant ends up affecting tenants upstairs.
Did the theater district move from Stuart/Kneeland St?
No--it was merely eclipsed over the past 2 decades by the larger Theater District that is north of the Tremont/Boylston intersection:
Boston Opera House: 2,677 seats.
Paramount Center: 910 seats
Modern Theater: 185 seats.
Orpheum: 2,700 seats.
AMC Boston Common: 4,500 seats.
So, let's see... 10,972 seats. How many seats does your "Stuart/Kneeland" Theater District offer?
So you're saying that movie theaters don't qualify as theaters? You buy a ticket. You sit in a darkened theater. You watch an entertainment spectacle unfold. It just happens to be celluloid (or digital) film instead of live actors. You're really going to disqualify movie theaters because of that final distinction?
Oh good, we're each going to opine upon what we believe qualifies as a theater. This is sure to be an insightful and enriching discussion.
The lack of restaurants is odd. All'aperto* dining on a busy pedestrian only street is among my favorite things any city can offer.
(*This is my snobby way of saying al fresco.)
The lack of restaurants is odd. All'aperto* dining on a busy pedestrian only street is among my favorite things any city can offer.
(*This is my snobby way of saying al fresco.)
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This is a really stupid argument, but actually, yes. Rocky Horror.
Me too! Sometimes my friends get mad at me because I always want to sit outside where possible. I love being in the urban environment rather than being in a dark climate controlled restaurant. Like when I was just in NYC, I had brunch on the sidewalk at Almond with a view of the Flatiron Building.
Me too. Between the beer gardens and all of the restaurants that have added even a handful of outdoor seats, we're doing better. Downtown Crossing itself has added a ton (and it's utilized well). But Boston is frustratingly adverse to outdoor dining relative to other cities. It's not just because of the cold either. I'm always amazed at how Copenhagen, Montreal, Quebec City, and others create nearly year-round outdoor seating by adding heaters and a tarp over the tables. And we struggle to get tables outside from June-September. I almost always prefer to sit outside when it's an option.
Downtown Crossing (particularly Washington/Summer/Winter) would be perfect for a set of restaurants with outdoor dining/patio space. However, in order to accommodate permanent patio seating, Washington St. itself would have to become a much more pedestrian-friendly pedestrian street, and it's still thoroughly disappointing on that front. Between trucks and vehicles parked on the street and constantly having to move out of their way, it's not a great pedestrian zone at all. Summer/Winter are fine (though the activation on Winter could use work), but Washington sucks. It's half-assed.
/rant
Montreal puts Boston to shame when it comes to patio seating and pedestrian zones. Boston should be embarrassed by how it treats pedestrians. The so called DTX pedestrian zone constantly has people driving in it, from cabs after 6PM to lazy cops using it as a cut through to a never ending stream of Brinks trucks.
We need to start using the public space better. Turn parking spots in to patio seating like they do all over Montreal. Its a much more efficient use of space and it generates way more income for businesses and the city. An example:
