Millennium Tower (Filene's) | 426 Washington Street | Downtown

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Re: Filene's

kz1000ps said:
...I can't get a handle on the BOA Tower...sometimes it looks stunning and of the highest quality and then sometimes it looks like typical NYC corporate detritus.
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I looked pretty nice this morning from the Library steps.
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It looks fairly good from far away, which is most of when you see it.
 
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Downtown park will be step up
Developer plans N.Y.-style amphitheater
By Greg Turner
Friday, August 17, 2012 - Updated 11 hours ago

Developer Millennium Partners is dreaming up a special public space for Downtown Crossing: a small amphitheater where workers and shoppers can relax or take in a street performance.

The gathering spot in Shopper’s Park, a wedge-shaped plaza at the corner of Washington and Franklin streets, would feature stadium-style steps built over the entrance to an existing MBTA Orange Line station.

The riser concept — pitched in a community meeting this week for the proposed $620 million Millennium Tower — resembles a seating area built over a theater ticket booth in New York’s Times Square.

“The glass MBTA station that’s there right now, it’s just a box,” said Kathy MacNeil, a principal at Millennium Partners. “What we would like to do is construct this stadium seating over that MBTA station so that now you actually have a public place where you can hang out, eat your lunch or (view) entertainment.”

Millennium tapped Eric Howeler, a Hub architect and assistant professor at the Harvard School of Design, to shape Shopper’s Park. A rendering was revealed at Wednesday night’s meeting, but Millennium declined to release it yesterday.

The revamped park represents an important public amenity for Millennium’s plan to fix the blighted Filene’s block downtown. The project includes a 54-story skyscraper with 600 residences and a renovated Burnham Building — Filene’s historic home — with offices and retail.

“The MBTA welcomes any ideas that are designed to promote and encourage the use of public transportation,” said T spokesman Joe Pesaturo. “We’ll be happy to talk with the project team about the developer’s plans.”

The park overhaul calls for limited landscaping in above-grade planters because trees won’t be able to take root with the T station right underground. The paved plaza would double as a drop-off zone for the building.

Enlivening the park “sounds good” to Fred Rosenthal, owner of the nearby Bromfield Pen Shop. “I think anything they can do to make the area more attractive and friendly to people would be great,” he said.

-— gturner@bostonherald.com
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http://bostonherald.com/business/real_estate/view.bg?articleid=1061153758
 
Re: Filene's

Yes, very good Herald. I'm sure it will be just like that.
 
Re: Filene's

They are going to transform DTX into Times Sq?

Cool.
 
Re: Filene's

BTW I get the idea that the staircase stand idea will be very similar to what is in Times Sq.

But DTX is not (and never will be) Times SQ, so the effect will be completely different, not bad, just different.

So the Herald showing a photo of Times Sq is disingenuous at best.
 
Re: Filene's

statler said:
They are going to transform DTX into Times Sq?

Cool.
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They're taking the TKTS steps a little too literally right now. I think there are better design solutions for that space.

For more shits and giggles, they also mentioned the Spanish Steps along with the TKTS.
 
Re: Filene's

Unless Jeff Markley knocks the building down to build a bigger fortress to satisfy his ego, I don't see the Macy's building going anywhere anytime soon.
 
Re: Filene's

A lot of neon would enliven the Woolworths/Shoppers Park concrete pit.
 
Re: Filene's

It would also obscure the quite nice DSW building across the street though. :/
 
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So, it will probably be the Harvard Square Pit, but built aboveground, so uglier.
 
Re: Filene's

czsz said:
So, it will probably be the Harvard Square Pit, but built aboveground, so uglier.
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AB Forum, year 2027:
"How did this cesspool of pigeon shit and crackheads get built in the first place? It would be cool if we could make DTX like Times Square someday."
 
Re: Filene's

czsz said:
So, it will probably be the Harvard Square Pit, but built aboveground, so uglier.
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can't get much uglier than the harvard sq. pit. I would like to see that whole thing spruced up. it's very gov't center-esque. On a much smaller scale tho.
 
Re: Filene's

The pit isn't perfect but a sunken amphitheatre is aesthetically preferable to the stadium seating in Times Square, IMO. Building bleachers like that ruins the room-like nature of a square. I also kind of resent the forced perspective. I want to be able to sit in a square and look in various different directions, not have a planner suggest to me that the show is straight ahead of the seating plan only.
 
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If the amphitheater is being built on the backside of a new T head-house then I don't really see how it is any more obtrusive than what would already be there.
 
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No neonization for the DSW side. But Woolworths and the new building I'd be turning Japanese, don't you think so?
 
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