Downtown Crossing/Financial District | Discussion

Cars cross the DTC mall at many points; this is not a point of difference with Santa Monica.

I raised the idea of "suburban jealousy" because these "bring in the cars" arguments started in Buffalo when people couldn't stop believing that the suburbs were inherently more successful - because of the car. There follows this sort of knee-jerk argument that the "natural" state of any human environment implies free-flowing traffic, and that this is necessary (though not sufficient) for success.

It seems particularly absurd in the context of DTC which would be one of the most unpleasant neighborhoods of Boston to drive through, formal pedestrian mall or not.
 
czsz said:
Cars cross the DTC mall at many points; this is not a point of difference with Santa Monica.
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Regardless of the merits of reintroducing cars, general car traffic is prohibited to cross through DTC via Franklin/Bromfield Streets and Winter/Summer Streets. This is different than Santa Monica or the old State Street mall in Chicago. Also the Macy's/Lafeyette Place Development superblock resulted in further disruption of road travel patterns.
 
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Is it true that Sleepy's is going to all its landlords to cram down its rents?

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If so, this dog might be put to sleep!
 
Aww...I'm going to miss the Rodger's sign.

At least they sorta kept it.
 
Mattress Discounters failed in Downtown Crossing. Is Sleepy's sure they can succeed where their competitor floundered?
 
My guess is that you will never see this project "built".
 
Developers, Mayor, BRA all get an F for Failure and poor planning. Can we elect a new MAYOR this guy is an IDIOT.
 
I assume they will be moving from their Franklin St location if they move.

That's fine if the do. That was bad location for mattress shop.
 
Ron Newman said:
Mattress Discounters failed in Downtown Crossing. Is Sleepy's sure they can succeed where their competitor floundered?
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They're just moving from the spot around the corner that they've been in for years. I bought my last mattress there.
 
underground said:
They're just moving from the spot around the corner that they've been in for years. I bought my last mattress there.
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Sleepy's has been on Franklin street for years? I could have sworn that place opened in that location 18 months ago at most. I walk by every day to and from the gym and I can count on one hand the times I have seen customers in the store.
 
It was a cheapo book store for a long time. Then vacant. I forget how long Sleepy has been there.
 
tobyjug said:
It was a cheapo book store for a long time. Then vacant. I forget how long Sleepy has been there.
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yes, "Buck a Book" or something like that. I'd be shocked if Sleepy's has been in that location for more than 2 years.
 
Before Buck a Book, it was Lauriat's -- the flagship store of what was once a proud local bookstore chain.
 
It's bound to get darker before the dawn. Everyone is talking about stimulus' and ending the recession in a year or so, but we keep seeing local and national businesses fail, with no regard to size or industry. It's time for everyone to hunker down, buy cheap coffee, and use that one, free resource we have to ensure a strong future-our brains.

Don't they say that a great deal of the world's greatest innovations happen during economic downtimes?

Maybe in 10 years, a shop selling environmentally-friendly synthetic diamonds will take the spot.
 
I just wish it were a bookstore again.

Oh, wait. Books aren't innovative or environmentally friendly.

Fuck.

Well, maybe Kunstler's right and society will collapse to the point at which living in a neighborhood as walkable as DTC will make sense to many again. As long as we get some slaves to operate the elevator winches.
 
I'm not sure how long Sleepy's goes back in that location, but I bought my mattress there over 2 years ago, at which point they'd been in there for a while. In any case, they've managed to hold in DTX for a while, so I'm not sure how moving around the corner will have a determent to their sales. Especially since they're moving into a better location.
 
Crossing fingers
A long-time Downtown Crossing shopkeeper sees the neighborhood?s silver lining

When Red Sox World Series trophies need buffing, third-generation Downtown Crossing silversmith Mike Davis gets the phone call. The same goes for when Patriots nick Super Bowl trophies with their bulbous bling, or when Paul Revere?s teapot needs some TLC, or when Bob Vila, also a customer, has tarnished goods. Today, Davis is polishing three sets of ornate flatware for a woman who will soon pass the heirlooms to her about-to-wed granddaughter. Whether they?re careless celebrities or cautious civilians, Bostonians surrender their trust and treasures into Davis?s charcoal hands.

As silversmiths go, Davis is practically the last tradesman standing. His workshop at 36 Bromfield Street is a throwback to the days when Boston was regarded as a hub of the storied American silver industry. An open-shaft steel-cage elevator takes visitors from the beaten first-floor hallway to the fifth-floor Davis Silver Company, the store his late grandfather John Davis founded in 1945. There?s no hot-water line, so Davis keeps a cauldron steaming on the exposed pipes. There?s no computer, either, so Davis uses hand-written invoices to keep track of the trophies, spoons, and teapots scattered on his dusty wooden shelves.

John, his grandfather, opened the shop after leaving Tuttle Silver, where he started as a 12 year old and worked his way from polisher to foreman. When Tuttle moved from Southie to Connecticut, John refused to relocate, and instead brought his bench to Bromfield. There, he eventually taught his son, Ed, who ran the business until retiring 12 years ago, turning the operation over to Davis, his son. The cement walls, splintered window frames, and even the rusty air are essentially the same as they were the day John opened shop.

?I don?t remember when I didn?t work here,? says Davis, 55, who has run a full-time solo operation since 1996. ?I?ve been coming to this place since I was at least five years old.?

It would be understandable if Davis ? whose shop has outlived the refugee Russian tailors who filled 36 Bromfield in the ?50s, as well as most lawyers and accountants who rented in the ?70s, and the nonprofits that got priced out in the ?90s ? was reluctant to welcome the glossy, near-billion-dollar projects that pols, planners, and mega-corporate interests have slated for his ancestral soldering grounds. But despite being a near-anachronism in Downtown Crossing as it transitions into the 21st century, Davis is a surprising ally of change. Whether they?re developed with mirrored skyscrapers or magnificent prewar paragons, Davis has the same ideal for every lot from Temple Place to School Street: the buildings should be accessible, occupied, and bustling with shoppers.

The future of Downtown Crossing has become a hot potato in the embryonic 2010 mayoral race, as all three declared candidates have criticized perpetual-but-so-far-unannounced contender Mayor Tom Menino for his handling of the $700 million Filene?s project, which promised a hybrid hotel-retail-residence complex. That effort, which is central to the Downtown Crossing revitalization process, but has so far amounted to a universally scorned square-block hole in the ground, was suspended in November due to financial troubles after five months of demolition. Candidate and city councilor Sam Yoon called the halted project a ?glaring failure?; fellow candidate and councilor Michael Flaherty blasted Hizzoner for letting control fall under the authority of ? hold your nose ? a New York?based company. Menino has defended himself by saying that Filene?s is a victim of the international economic tsunami, plain and simple.

Either way, Downtown Crossing has become a symbol of urban overreaching, and the gaping pit at its heart off Washington Street ? the site of two partially demolished buildings (one of which was the flagship Filene?s building, a historic landmark) ? has become a metaphorical vortex that even in good times blemishes the city, and in bad times creates conditions for further blight.

Parking at the end of the tunnel
The view from Davis Silver?s fifth-floor windows used to have a clear line of sight to Old City Hall. These days, he faces 45 Province Street ? a three-years-in-the-making, pool-topped, 32-story bourgeois monument that will offer a ?celebrity chef? restaurant and 150 luxury condo units. He doesn?t expect that many old-money families laden with antique silver will move into the sleek glass tower, but Davis does anticipate residual benefits from the aesthetic improvement nonetheless ? even if construction was supposed to wrap in 2008. For one, its underground parking facilities could be a boon, since the new building replaced what was the largest garage in the area, and as such has inconvenienced customers for three years and counting.

?This was already a hard area to navigate,? says Davis, ?and without that garage, there?s really nowhere to park. But it?s not just that ? [merchants] around here would agree that Filene?s being gone is the biggest problem. It used to be that women would drive in, see me, see their jeweler, maybe have lunch, and go shopping. But without Filene?s, a lot of the time people just call me from downstairs so I can meet them in their cars.?

Davis regularly chats with fellow small-business owners, and says most believe that Downtown Crossing needs more commerce ? and some sort of rent stabilization ? more than it needs proper streets to replace the current pedestrian walkways, as many critics have recently alleged.

While he closely follows media coverage of Downtown Crossing, Davis doesn?t over-think his shop?s immediate future. Whether or not his grandchildren decide to learn his trade ? which he?s not exactly pushing ? the only thing that can ultimately move him is the money. He?s been able to survive despite the visual blights, constant bulldozing, and financial crisis, but Davis can only take so much. ?My rent has tripled in the last 12 years,? he says, ?and if rents go way up again, I won?t be staying.?

Still, his last days downtown don?t seem to be looming.

?I guess the good part is that even if something does happen, it will be a while,? Davis says as he explains the history behind his shop?s flagship attraction ? a massive, ostentatious brass toucan that was abandoned by a onetime walk-in customer in 1997. ?Hopefully, if the owner ever comes to retrieve this thing, I?ll be here to give it back to her.?
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http://thephoenix.com/Boston/Life/79793-Crossing-fingers/
 
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