Mandarin Oriental | 776 Boylston St | Back Bay

For the record, the reason why I said "Avalon" was because the name of the umbrella group that runs the three apartment towers and the professional offices in the lower floors is "Avalon at Prudential Center." In other words my brain is still working correctly. (phew!)
 
Updatel 24/10/06

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jass said:
Updatel 24/10/06
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Where are you from with your crazy, backwards-ass date writing? :?:

Oh and thanks for the updates.
 
Changing the view of the skyline, as of November 4, 2006

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Whoa

If you haven't been by there since they started building, go by. It is REALLY close to the street.

We'll be able to read the newspaper over Herb Chamber's arm, is what I'm saying.
 
That's what I was saying before in regards to the sidewalk width, which looks like it will be around 16 feet -- barely adequate for the area.
 
Re: Whoa

IMAngry said:
If you haven't been by there since they started building, go by. It is REALLY close to the street.

We'll be able to read the newspaper over Herb Chamber's arm, is what I'm saying.
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Trilogy is ridiculously close to the street on the theatre side.
 
Yes it is.. no more than 10 feet. Plus they didn't plant any trees on that side.

Also, I was walking by the other day, and it was quite the dichotomy to see the big fancy-schmancy new furniture store located right next to Emack and Bolio's newest location, which is positively tiny. I found the floor plan for the place and the E&B is 323 sq ft (!), but in the name of staying on topic I'm going to post it in the proper thread.
 
Earlier today





Is that the frame for an elevator shaft?



Looking in from the corner of Boylston and East Ring Road.



Now we can see along the back that there's a mezzanine-type floor splitting the roughly 20 foot high first floor -- will the retail spaces be 20 feet high, or will they be building their space with second floors to suit later on?
 
Buildings too close to the street and poor streetscape is a major reason NIMBYS hate skyscrapers.
 
How is this building too close to the street? If it was 10 more feet away you'd all be crying about how its not close enough.
 
It's too early to say whether the streetscape is bad or not, because there is none to speak of, so that's a moot point as of right now. And as I've said before, I think it's a bit close, but in general, as Bowwest points out, it's better to be in too close than too far. Plus, Mumbles Menino has declared that all new development should be tight up to the streetline, although he made that an unofficial policy long after the Mandarin was designed.
 
'Too close to the street' is a solecism. The street is *defined* by the buildings; interpose a lawn and you get a suburban space-ooze.

That baby is right where it should be.

justin
 
justin said:
'Too close to the street' is a solecism. The street is *defined* by the buildings; interpose a lawn and you get a suburban space-ooze.

That baby is right where it should be.

justin
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Look at the Pru entrance on the side. Shouldnt they be the same?
 
jass said:
justin said:
'Too close to the street' is a solecism. The street is *defined* by the buildings; interpose a lawn and you get a suburban space-ooze.

That baby is right where it should be.

justin
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Look at the Pru entrance on the side. Shouldnt they be the same?
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Yeah they should be the same distance from the street if this was Charlotte or Atlanta.
 
The Pru entrance is simply a finger-like extension off of the Pru shops, definitely not what I would consider to be any type of street wall. If you look at the site plan posted a few pages back, you will see that the Mandarin's street wall does in fact line up neatly with Lord & Taylor, the Lenox Hotel and the rest of Boylston St.
 
Is the concern here that the sidewalk is too narrow and people will spill out into the street?

(This actually happens in a few places, such as Church Street in Harvard Square, and Hanover Street in the North End.)
 
I think there's a certain about of surprise in the neighborhood (on the new depth of the sidewalk), having lived with the gaping hole that formerly occupied that space for so many years.

I personally feel it's "just right" to match up with The Lenox and L&T--there seems to be just enough space without it being an open wasteland like farther down between Berkeley and Clarendon (500 Boylston).
 
^ Counting what were most certainly 4 foot sidewalk panels, the Mandarin will be set back 20 feet from the curb.

Today, sorry about the blurriness.. I had a car bearing down on me.

 
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