Downtown Crossing/Financial District | Discussion

Sure, it's dumb

Yes, renaming areas haphazardly is dumb.

To clarify though, SoWa was named by a local property owner, and the Ladder District was named such many years ago, based on the type of industry in the area (or, the street configuration?).

Beyond that, yes, Realtors suck!!!
 
Re: Sure, it's dumb

IMAngry said:
The Ladder District was named such many years ago, based on the type of industry in the area (or, the street configuration?).
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Street configuration.
 
Filene's Square would be cool, but Macy's and every other surrounding retailer would rightly object to that.
 
Ron Newman said:
I never heard it called Centre City. That's a Philadelphia term.
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Many people still call it Washington Street and Washington Station which is a lot less cheesy than Downtown Crossing and the Zone was/is Lower Washington Street. The name was changed in the 80's mainly because the station had something of a bad reputation.


btw- I thought south of Washington Street was Dedham.
 
Never heard of "Centre City"....my parents, who grew up in town, always called it "Downtown"....as in , "We're going downtown to shop for school clothes." It was understood that "downtown" was centered on Jordan Marsh and Filenes and spread from State St. to Boylston St. The end toward Boylston St. contained lots of movie theatres and then became the "Combat Zone" when adult entertainment moved in. Mayor White tried to sanitize the zone by adding lots of lights and building the little square across from what is now the Registry, in the "Liberty Tree" building. Concentrating all the adult stuff in one place only led to increased crime. Its downfall came when the young Andrew Popoulo was stabbed. Home video has been the (fortunate) downfall of the area, and it has been claimed by our Asian population as a part of Chinatown.
When the area in question was named "Downtown Crossing" it was an attempt to bring up the classiness of the area. At first the paving, benches and lighting added a lot, despite the fact that Jordan Marsh tore down it's 19th C. building (a quite interesting brick panel design) to build the blank and boring corner building, which Macy's tried to gussy up with outdoor lighting that doesn't work anymore. Filenes followed suit with an even more boring, blank building at the corner of Franklin St.
The recently-named "ladder district" was never called anything back then, since those streets contained a mix of shops and offices that were unrelated to Washington St. shopping. The big store was R. H. Stearns, on the corner of Temple and Tremont, now elderly housing.
Along with Jordans and Filenes were a plethora of smaller dept. stores, cafeteria-style food places like "Bickford's", fabric/notions shops. We should not forget "newspaper row" which extended from the Old Corner Bookstore (at the time selling pizza) up past Pi Alley to the State St. end of Wash. St....no apartments..just gritty newspaper buildings (the Globe, Herald, Traveler, etc.), ending in the white marble Sears building, torn down to build the black "Boston Company" building, now Morgan Stanley (I think). Washington St. continued further back then, when Scollay Sq. was alive and kicking, past what is now City Hall and down the hill to connect eventually with what is now North Washington St. to Charlestown.
 
My friend ...

That's an awesome post, Padre Mike!

The Boston Company / Boston Safe Deposit & Trust Company at One Boston Place was bought by Mellon Bank, in the 1990s. Mellon is in the midst of being bought by Bank of New York (BONY), last I heard.
 
Padre Mike, thanks for your post.

As for the Mellon Building, I don't think the name will change. Bank of New York may be the bigger entity in the merger, but Mellon has a better brand name. All of the custody business from BoNY will be migrated to the Mellon platform, and all of the autonomous asset management firms will be merged into the new organization. No changes expected at Mellon's big facility in Everett.
 
Yes, Mellon, that's it!...middle-age brain lock! :cry:
Thank you, guys :D
 
Wow. That actually makes a lot of sense.
It will make the area more active in the later hours. It will create demand for restaurants and pubs in the area and there are no neighbors to complain about the 'rowdy kids'.

And now, here are five people to tell me why I wrong...
 
I like that idea too. It just makes sense and what a way to revive West Street. It's a win-win maybe except for the kids who are going to live there at first.
 
Ron Newman said:
Sounds good to me. Maybe someday Suffolk and Emerson will merge...
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i've been wondering that too. perhaps (to make it even less likely) with wentworth to round out the curriculum... would be very interesting if a third good sized school moved into the dtx / common area.
 
Good ... and bad

Very surprising development, about Suffolk buying the building.

Ten West Street was being renovated into condominiums. It is two buildings, actually, being combined into one. The walls had already gone up; most were one bedrooms or studios, if memory serves right (it was dark when I was there).

Whether or not they'll completely refigure the floorplans, I don't know. Seeing as college students usually live in far smaller rooms than the average person, they could fit three or four into each room, the way it is now.

If they just leave them as is, those will be some of the nicest dorms ever. High ceilings, expansive windows, etc.

Hmmm. Maybe college kids are the solution to Downtown Crossing's problems? (Oh, right, it doesn't have a problem, according to some ...)
 
Colleges in Downtown Crossing is a great solution to its issues. It could so easily become a bigger Harvard Square, and 24 hours at that.
 
singbat said:
Ron Newman said:
Sounds good to me. Maybe someday Suffolk and Emerson will merge...
Click to expand...

i've been wondering that too. perhaps (to make it even less likely) with wentworth to round out the curriculum... would be very interesting if a third good sized school moved into the dtx / common area.
Click to expand...

Sounds interesting however won't that make Wentworth an absentee landlord over at Northeastern?
And I think WIT is half the $ of Emerson and less than half of Suffolk!
I guess they could lease the balance of their space to NU and build with the cash in Downtown.
WIT has an ambitious plan in place for the future in their current location. and they own their land
 
No rest at Suffolk: New dorm plan faces opposition
By Scott Van Voorhis
Boston Herald Business Reporter
Tuesday, March 20, 2007 - Updated: 04:39 PM EST


Just a few months after pulling the plug on plans for a Beacon Hill dorm tower in response to neighborhood outrage, Suffolk University is embroiled in a new community battle.

Suffolk is in talks to buy 10 West Street, a building in Downtown Crossing that was being marketed for high-priced condos but would now become home to as many as 280 students.

But the proposal is not going over well with some of the growing number of condo owners who have made the longtime shopping district one of the city?s fastest-growing residential enclaves.

Suffolk?s dorm plan could derail the area?s residential transformation and sink property values, some residents argue.

?I want to see (Downtown Crossing) continue to grow into the great residential community it is becoming,? said Greg Selkoe, a former Boston Redevelopment Authority planner turned Internet entreprenuer who lives across from Macy?s. ?This puts a damper on it.?

Selkoe admits a personal interest. With plans to start a family, Selkoe had eyed a potential move to a larger unit at 10 West, the building targeted by Suffolk.

Other residents said they are worried Suffolk?s dorm will turn Downtown Crossing into a full-fledged student neighborhood. The area is already home to one Suffolk dorm and Emerson College is building student housing of its own nearby.

?We are concerned we might very well turn into a college campus here,? said George Coorssen, a trustee at 151 Tremont St. and a neighborhood resident and activist for more than 30 years.

Some residents, like Realtor and 151 Tremont resident Deanna Palmin, are upset Suffolk made no mention of the dorm plan at a recent meeting with a community task force.

?We feel they tried to keep it very quiet,? Palmin said.

However, John Nucci, a top Suffolk official, said the university simply acted on an opportunity that came up after the meeting.

Nucci also said there is no comparison with the Beacon Hill flap, because Suffolk has received support from a number of Downtown Crossing residents.

?I think the project will bring a much-needed shot in the arm to the revitalization of the area,? Nucci said.



Link
 
More proof that people will complain about absolutely anything. Harvard (or Suffolk) could propose to give everyone in Boston 500 dollars, and people would still complain.
 
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