Middlesex County Courthouse Redevelopment | 40 Thorndike St | East Cambridge

[commuter guy]

Ironic that a gut job of what was a homely and sick building turns out better than the vast majority of new construction in Boston

 

[chrisbrat]

It's wild how much better this is.

I don't think it's purely nostalgia (could be wrong), but I preferred the previous.

More singular. This could be anything, anywhere.

 

[resisttheist]

I don't think it's purely nostalgia (could be wrong), but I preferred the previous.

More singular. This could be anything, anywhere.

Thanks for saying this, Chris. Every time I see this thing, I think it is banal and generic, and basically just horrible. Yeah it housed a prison, but I agree the original building was better.

 

[kdmc]

Architecture opinions are so funny.

I found the old building oppressive and depressing. I think the new building is A-OK... while tall, its unremarkability lets it take a back seat to the beauty of East Cambridge's brick courthouses and old townhouses.

That said, I think the brutalist concrete Boston City Hall is astoundingly beautiful and I gawk at it every time I walk by, so clearly my architecute opinions should not be taken in very high regard

I do think nostalgia matters a lot with these opinions. I did not frequent East Cambridge when the old jail was there, and I did not exist when Scollay Square existed, so I can enjoy the new buildings without missing the old ones.

 

[type001]

I'm on the side of this being a complete success.

 

[dhawkins]

I wonder if the Owners will have a Shaman perform a ceremony to rid the site of ghosts and bad juju of prisoners past. The owner of Alex and Ani stores had this ceremony performed at their new office build out in RI and I thought it was corny but in a place like this it might not be a bad idea. I'll just leave this here Liberty Hotel

 

[bigpicture7]

I'm on the side of this being a complete success.

The old version might have been cool from afar, but not so for the people who had to live/work near it often. The new version may be less unique, but it is, as a whole, much more harmonious from both near and far. It is a success in my book as well.

 

[Ruairi]

I don't think it's purely nostalgia (could be wrong), but I preferred the previous.

More singular. This could be anything, anywhere.

the thing is, at the moment 'anything, anywhere' is far more generic and less unique than this.
I like it.
The old one was interesting but stuck out like a sore thumb and was terrible at street level.
This works much better, especially considering it's on the line of 2 or 3 story residential and larger bio tech commercial.

 

[Java King]

After having served Jury Duty several times at the old Court House, the view was great while you had to wait around to be picked or not. Beyond that, I found the building depressing. I MUCH prefer the new iteration. I personally think it fits much nicer into the urban surroundings.

 

[Randy N. Craven-Krawtch]

My condo overlooks the new version of the building and it is such a much more pleasant view than the old hulk was. Waited a long time for this renovation.

 

[#bancars]

This project has a lot of nice angles from all over East Cambridge:

 

[Life Coach Mike]

It's turning out beautifully. I think it's a great success given what was there before.

 

[bigpicture7]

Today (4/21):