Kendall Common ( née Volpe Redevelopment) | Kendall Sq | Cambridge

[Czervik.Construction]

That guy in the middle is smoking a cigarette. 5 minutes after this photo, they were probably chugging martinis at Frank's Steakhouse.

 

[bigpicture7]

That guy in the middle is smoking a cigarette. 5 minutes after this photo, they were probably chugging martinis at Frank's Steakhouse.

And it looks like he's about to drop a pile of ash...maybe the model burned down and that's why that version didn't get built?

 

[stick n move]

Electronics Research Center - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

That would have been interesting if that had been built.

 

[johnmcboston]

If I remember correctly the short builds were supposed to house 'contractors' while the tower had employees. Not sure if that was the DoT implementation or the original NASA plan. Fun fact - "one broadway" was built as a 'contractor building' to be close to the NASA site.

 

[shawn]

One of those crazy historical "what ifs" . . . if JFK doesn't get killed, Johnson doesn't get to move NASA to his home state / Houston. Ground Control should have been Cambridge.

"Cambridge, we have a problem..."

 

[DZH22]

"Cambridge, we have a problem..."

Maybe they wouldn't have had a problem if it was based in Cambridge instead of Houston.

That would have been interesting if that had been built.

It also would have been harder to stomach if they were tearing it down! It looks like it would have been pushing 500'.

 

[Stlin]

Edward Durell Stone was not necessarily the most creative architect when it came to high rises... The "look" of the ERC seems to have largely been sized down to create the Dubois Library at UMass, and sized up for the Aon Center in Chicago.

 

[Equilibria]

One of those crazy historical "what ifs" . . . if JFK doesn't get killed, Johnson doesn't get to move NASA to his home state / Houston. Ground Control should have been Cambridge.

"Cambridge, we have a problem..."

FWIW, this is a myth. NASA was supposed to use the Volpe site for a research facility, not for the functions that ended up at JSC. The Houston site was selected while Kennedy was still alive.

Johnson Space Center - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[RandomWalk]

 

[Ruairi]

FWIW, this is a myth. NASA was supposed to use the Volpe site for a research facility, not for the functions that ended up at JSC. The Houston site was selected while Kennedy was still alive.

Johnson Space Center - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

don't care, still telling the story

 

[#bancars]

May 31, 2025:

 

[johnmcboston]

Funny, I remember when they put that decorative element on the upper floors...

 

[RandomWalk]

We have both kinds of cranes: construction and demolition.

 

[bigpicture7]

Looking pretty hollow these days (6/8):

Now broadway has been converted to one-way eastbound for what will likely be a long time:

New two-way bike lane (mostly protected with jersey barriers) installed adjacent to the one-way eastbound car lane:

 

[RandomWalk]

Slurry walls are moving right along for Biogen.

If you look closely, you can see the fall protection being installed around the top of the old Volpe.

 

[bigpicture7]

If you look closely, you can see the fall protection being installed around the top of the old Volpe.

Indeed...
(Today, 6/16)

 

[#bancars]

June 19, 2025