Hall of Fame (CHOOSE 3)

[czsz]

^ I like FHM but what would truly make it exceptional IMO would be better integration with the surrounding city and especially with spots frequented by locals. Right now it's effectively the "colonial history superblock" that 60s planners wanted at the heart of a Boston of more modern ones. We dodged a bullet by avoiding the redevelopment of the rest of the Shawmut peninsula, but City Hall Plaza + the commercial skyscrapers to the south + the width of the surrounding streets effectively isolate the space in the same way that was envisioned.

Somewhere around here ablarc also articulated an interesting critique based on the fact that the market originally had an upscale, artisanal vibe that attracted a healthy mix of locals that has since declined as the place has been overtaken by tourist trinketry. A more careful curation of retail could help.

 

[statler]

I'm sure the national mall outfit that just took over the lease will get right on that.

 

[found5dollar]

really? the last tenement? i just don't understand the other people on this board sometimes.... What redeeming facts does it have besides being odd looking? without the rest of the west end still there it is almost an eyesore.

 

[datadyne007]

really? the last tenement? i just don't understand the other people on this board sometimes.... What redeeming facts does it have besides being odd looking? without the rest of the west end still there it is almost an eyesore.

It is an eyesore and could even be preventing development. The West End is gone and people need to get over it. You can't reverse the past, only look to the future.

Also why the heck was the bridge and Garden split?

 

[kz1000ps]

I'm with you, found5dollar. It's so devoid of context that I can't help seeing it for what it is -- a boring tenement. That it now has historical significance nets it a few novelty points, but that's about it.

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

I voted for it and here's why: it is a unique and historic part of Boston that is very identifiable to anyone who's ever lived there. And also because I grew up with The Little House.

 

[whighlander]

It is an eyesore and could even be preventing development. The West End is gone and people need to get over it. You can't reverse the past, only look to the future.

Also why the heck was the bridge and Garden split?

It's no longer anything except a not that old, not particularly disringuished small building hanging out in the middle of nowhere. Once the Leachemere tressle that nearly ran through the place was removed -- it ceased to have any meaning and connection to the old West End.

Soon Leachemere Station will be gone and all that will then remain of the old Green Line elevated will be the viaduct from Science Park to Obrien Highway (err Boulevard).

 

[statler]

It is an eyesore and could even be preventing development. The West End is gone and people need to get over it. You can't reverse the past, only look to the future.

No one is looking to 'reverse' history, just remember it and learn from it.

The last tenement serves as a powerful tool for that purpose.

 

[whighlander]

^ I like FHM but what would truly make it exceptional IMO would be better integration with the surrounding city and especially with spots frequented by locals. Right now it's effectively the "colonial history superblock" that 60s planners wanted at the heart of a Boston of more modern ones. We dodged a bullet by avoiding the redevelopment of the rest of the Shawmut peninsula, but City Hall Plaza + the commercial skyscrapers to the south + the width of the surrounding streets effectively isolate the space in the same way that was envisioned.

Somewhere around here ablarc also articulated an interesting critique based on the fact that the market originally had an upscale, artisanal vibe that attracted a healthy mix of locals that has since declined as the place has been overtaken by tourist trinketry. A more careful curation of retail could help.

CZ -- No that was 20's planners -- as in 1825 -- when Mayor Josiah Quincy asked Alexander Paris to create Quincy Market Central Building to supplement Faneuil Hall

Really all that Kevin White, ben Thompson and Rouse did in the 190's was to restore the market to its original design and to introduce some modern materials to expand the market outside of the Granite core.

actually the Colonia History Superblock is the "Blackstone Block" including Scotts Alley and the house John Hancock built for his brother Ebenezer

 

[BostonUrbEx]

No one is looking to 'reverse' history, just remember it and learn from it.

The last tenement serves as a powerful tool for that purpose.

I think it's a pretty shitty way to remember the West End. It almost makes think, "Thank God that craphole is gone!"

It would be more significant if it was a whole row, perhaps. And maybe scrub her down or something, sheesh.

 

[czsz]

CZ -- No that was 20's planners -- as in 1825 -- when Mayor Josiah Quincy asked Alexander Paris to create Quincy Market Central Building to supplement Faneuil Hall

Really all that Kevin White, ben Thompson and Rouse did in the 190's was to restore the market to its original design and to introduce some modern materials to expand the market outside of the Granite core.

actually the Colonia History Superblock is the "Blackstone Block" including Scotts Alley and the house John Hancock built for his brother Ebenezer

You're missing my point. Quincy Market isn't a superblock because it's a unified whole (actually, it wasn't until recently - fully functioning streets ran between each one of the market buildings), it's a superblock because of the effect of the surrounding development. There are the large-footprint skyscrapers to the south and southwest, six lanes of Congress Street and City Hall Plaza to the west, the former expressway / current Greenway to the east, the Holocaust Memorial Park and the Hard Rock garage to the north, and just a small bit of Blackstone Block frontage and a couple feeder streets to State that work well to the south to tie it to the rest of the city --otherwise, it's isolated.