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

[Mongo]

I wish the glass in that picture reflected something better :-/

How much would it cost to get some sort of artwork on that garage? Maybe something that runs down Franklin street and around the corner onto Washington.

 

[datadyne007]

I wish the glass in that picture reflected something better :-/

When viewed from Franklin, the glass reflects the Washington Building on the other side of Washington St. It's absolutely beautiful.

 

[tmac9wr]

I know it's intentional, but those slanted pillars still freak me out.

 

[DZH22]

Walked by tonight and there is a new row of cladding on the Hawley Street side. Tower itself is in the process of passing the Burnham Building. Good stuff.

 

[cca]

I wish the glass in that picture reflected something better :-/

Damned reflections! Couldn't the architect do something better with those?

cca

 

[kz1000ps]

Lots and lots of trucks queued up:

 

[HenryAlan]

The glazing really looks fantastic. And that's a great slice of Boston for it to reflect.

 

[BostonDrew]

How much would it cost to get some sort of artwork on that garage? Maybe something that runs down Franklin street and around the corner onto Washington.

What if they added paneling and lighting like they did on the State Street Garage in the Seaport?

 

[George_Apley]

What if they added paneling and lighting like they did on the State Street Garage in the Seaport?

Anything is better than what's there (which is nothing).

 

[Lrfox]

Not a bad view of the site from DSW:

 

[mass88]

Assuming there are not major issues, when will this thing top out?

 

[FenwayResident]

Assuming there are not major issues, when will this thing top out?

Seems to be going a little faster than 1 floor/week, so ~40 weeks left unless they really pick up the pace.

 

[jdrinboston]

Seems to be going a little faster than 1 floor/week, so ~40 weeks left unless they really pick up the pace.

So with any luck, around the time they light up the Christmas tree on the Macy's building in 2015.

I walk by here on my way home for work 2 or 3 times a week and I always end up spending an extra 5 or 10 minutes walking around the building. The last few weeks have been a lot of fun to watch.

 

[whighlander]

Its going to really feel great in a few months to see people pouring in/out of the Burnham and into the stretch of Summer St between Macy's and Filenes just like in the old days of DTX

And then go down Hawley St a few steps and see the Tower sprouting skyward -- the new DTX

 

[DigitalSciGuy]

Is this project making the T station look good?

Kindof. Unclear yet the scope of how much they'll be changing of the entrance, but at minimum they will be replacing the head house with this people-watching seating area:

Damned reflections! Couldn't the architect do something better with those?

cca

I think I've officially gone from skepticism to belief on this reflections issue. Here's a photo I took of the glazing going up on Hawley St a few weeks ago:

When the building is fully lit from the inside, it'll probably look fairly close to the rendering at dusk.

Also haven't seen any mention of the second crane. Spoke with an iron worker at the site who thought I was gawking at the aforementioned 'off-kilter' pylons (was really more stunned by how the glazing looked in person); it turns out a second crane should be going up on the south face of the building in the space between the tower and the Burnham Building.

This was following the recent jacking up of the existing crane a couple of weeks back, so I don't know what the timeline is on that second crane arriving on site. Existing crane looks like it's now on a rig that'll let it climb more easily with the height of the building.

 

[FK4]

Quote:
Originally Posted by jass View Post
Is this project making the T station look good?

Kindof. Unclear yet the scope of how much they'll be changing of the entrance, but at minimum they will be replacing the head house with this people-watching seating area:

It would be a massive undertaking, but I wish in conjunction with this the MBTA could completely reconstruct the station underground. It's a total shitshow in the morning - one passageway and staircase to connect Orange to Red. But I think that's probably years away.

 

[whighlander]

It would be a massive undertaking, but I wish in conjunction with this the MBTA could completely reconstruct the station underground. .... But I think that's probably years away.

If there was an good opportunity it was with Millenium

Next opportunity is when the Big Ugly Parking Garage across Franklin is redeveloped -- and I'm thinking your comment is on target -- years away

If they do start digging at DTX they definitely should make sure to include a pedestrian passage to the Orange Line platform of State Street -- that's the cheapest Red-Blue Connection via the Orange Line platforms

 

[DZH22]

This is now visible from some spots on Memorial Drive! However, it's barely, and very difficult to tell because of all the white cloth at the top of the yellow mesh. But still, she's taking off!

 

[JeffDowntown]

If there was an good opportunity it was with Millenium

Next opportunity is when the Big Ugly Parking Garage across Franklin is redeveloped -- and I'm thinking your comment is on target -- years away

If they do start digging at DTX they definitely should make sure to include a pedestrian passage to the Orange Line platform of State Street -- that's the cheapest Red-Blue Connection via the Orange Line platforms

Agreed -- it is only about 30 feet of separation between the Oak Grove platform at DTX and Forest Hills platform at State. But I believe that there is an electrical room in between, which is a complication.

 

[Toonie29]

I wish the glass in that picture reflected something better :-/

I kinda wonder whether it would be cool (or garish?) if that parking garage covered the Franklin Street parking levels with some type of high-end Times Sq-style digital billboard. Might make for some much more interesting reflections and a more exciting view for those shopping on the retail levels of the tower.

After all, they're already planning a mini-version of the Times Square bleachers.

Based on the pics, I think it would only come up as high as the retail floors on the Millennium tower, but I'm not sure how the residents living on those first few floors would like it.