New Bar and Restaurant for Long Warf

Re: Marriott Long Wharf makeover

Aw, c'mon...I can't believe there's so little respect for this historic wharf, once the longest in the world and witness to the heart of Boston's history. That so-called design for a restaurant is plain hideous. I realize what is there now is purely utilitarian, but at least it can serve as a shade pavilion if a few benches were placed in it. If a restaurant must go there, then I propose tearing down the present structure, preserving whatever practical purpose it must serve, and building a properly designed building that is in keeping historically or at least contextually with what is already on the wharf.
 
Re: Marriott Long Wharf makeover

Justin7 said:
They are modifying what is already there. I'm not sure where all the confusion is coming from, but they are turning the pavilion, which serves as a vent shaft for the blue line into a restaurant. The building is already there. They are just adding glass walls and planks on top.

Also, and I may be the only one here who feels this way, but I have no problem with the design. It's a harbor restaurant in a small building. I think it fits. It's not as if they had the freedom to build something from the ground up.
Click to expand...

When looking at Live Maps, I didn't realize that was the vent. I thought they were saying the restaurant would be going over the compass. I guess that makes it a little better, but not by much. That building is still absolutely hideous. If they're going to do this, go all the way, don't just throw up some wood and glass and call it a day. Strip it down to the bare vent and build something new around it.

Modifying this vent-covering building isn't like taking an old industrial building and turning it into hip new condos. There's no architectural merit to it whatsoever, so what's the problem with making something completely new?
 
Re: Marriott Long Wharf makeover

Below is a 2006 press release from BRA:


City Selects Restaurateur for Long Wharf Pavilion SiteEat Drink Laugh Restaurant Group Plans Casual Seafood Establishment
The Boston Redevelopment Authority Board today selected Eat Drink Laugh Restaurant Group (EDL) to redevelop the Long Wharf pavilion site into a thriving dining and entertainment locale. EDL?s winning proposal includes the creation of Doc?s, a unique, casual 88-seat restaurant that will feature a mostly-seafood menu. Doc?s will be a completely new concept for Boston, not just a restaurant, but a full indoor/outdoor experience, anchoring Long Wharf as a ?must visit? destination for locals and visitors. EDL?s previous restaurants include The Paramount on Charles Street, 21st Amendment on Bowdoin Street, The Blarney Stone in Dorchester, Peking Tom?s on Kingston Street and West on Centre in West Roxbury.
?We chose Eat Drink Laugh because of their unique restaurant concept,? Mayor Thomas M. Menino said. ?This restaurant will enliven Long Wharf with increased daytime activity and nighttime entertainment. It will provide another way in which residents and visitors can enjoy Boston?s harbor.?
Doc?s will incorporate leading-edge, ?green,? engineering and strategies in its architectural design that will echo the character of Boston?s historic waterfront. In addition to the 88-seat interior capacity, Doc?s will feature an exterior capacity of 176 ? this includes a seasonal standing deck for 88 patrons, a promenade patio for 12 patrons and a compass patio for 76 patrons.
Doc?s will provide a warm and vibrant meeting point for locals, city visitors, business-people and others who are taking to the harbor or simply enjoying the waterfront. By night, Doc?s will transform to an evening destination for people seeking quality food, beer or wine, and socializing ? with Boston Harbor as a backdrop. Doc?s will be built, first and foremost, for its local patrons. EDL believes that if you build a loyal following in the neighborhood, visitors and tourists are sure to follow. The food at Doc?s will reflect the combination that has made all of EDL?s restaurants so popular: delicious food that isn?t fussy; meals that are moderately-priced, yet made with the highest quality ingredients possible.
EDL was founded in 1993 by principal owner Michael Conlon, a life-long Bostonian and second-generation restaurateur. EDL is distinct in that it is not a restaurant chain, but rather a series of unique establishments created specifically to suit the neighborhoods that they are in.
The BRA advertised a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Long Wharf site in August. The RFP called for a development team to rehabilitate the Long Wharf Pavilion building, which was constructed to serve as a MBTA vent building and Blue Line tunnel emergency egress, into a waterfront restaurant. The BRA sought a team that could create a unique restaurant concept which would further enliven Long Wharf and bring the activity of the city back to the harbor. The location represents one of the last opportunities to operate a restaurant directly on the waterfront with amazing panoramic views of the harbor.
Following this designation, EDL will comply with the City?s Article 80 development review process and complete Small Project Review before proceeding with their project. Contact: Jessica Shumaker 617.918.4446

Release Date: December 21, 2006
 
Re: Marriott Long Wharf makeover

bosma said:
compass patio for 76 patrons
Click to expand...

And with that, I think I'm seeing where some of the objection is coming from. The restaurant would turn what is now a quiet, passive place to walk or stand into an occupied, crowded, and possibly loud outdoor seating area.

I'd still like to see a restaurant here, but perhaps one that doesn't encroach quite as much onto its surroundings. Does anyone have a diagram that shows exactly where the proposed outdoor seating and standing areas will be?
 
Re: Marriott Long Wharf makeover

the city of boston NEEDS a few more crowded loud outdoor seating areas on the water.
 
Re: Marriott Long Wharf makeover

Ron Newman said:
Does anyone have a diagram that shows exactly where the proposed outdoor seating and standing areas will be?
Click to expand...


Again, from the .pdf link on page 1:


lwplan.jpg


sidewalks said:
the city of boston NEEDS a few more crowded loud outdoor seating areas on the water.
Click to expand...

Agreed.
 
Re: Marriott Long Wharf makeover

Thanks. Unfortunately the diagram doesn't show the compass rose, so i can't tell whether it's outside the diagram or covered by the seating area.
 
Re: Marriott Long Wharf makeover

Looking at the satellite view of Long Wharf in Google Maps and then at the diagram, I would guess that the Compass Rose sits outside the patio area or perhaps coming up to it's edge. Someone who is better at determining scale would know for sure.
 
Re: Marriott Long Wharf makeover

sidewalks said:
the city of boston NEEDS a few more crowded loud outdoor seating areas on the water.
Click to expand...

Desperately.

I have been here on absolutely gorgeous spring and summer days and have seen no more than three of four other people. It is quiet in a bad way. Not a comfortable place to sit and read a book by the water. It just feels dead, as if no one is supposed to be there.
 
Re: Marriott Long Wharf makeover

Exactly what I was looking for!

Thanks Justin7!

Nice work too. :)
 
Re: Marriott Long Wharf makeover

statler said:
Exactly what I was looking for!

Thanks Justin7!

Nice work too. :)
Click to expand...

No problem. Wanted to see for myself. Until I did this I thought the grey in the picture represented some kind of patio, but now I think it's just supposed to be a shadow. The fact that a shadow is included in the diagram of a one storey building is kind of scary.

The think the seating is unobtrusive and leaves more than enough room.
 
Re: Marriott Long Wharf makeover

That is further proof just how wrong headed and reactionary that group is.
 
Yeah, I agree as well. If people are wondering what this will end up as in terms of programing, I think the little out door bar over by the Aquarium is a good place to start (although I think this will be slightly larger). That bar is hardly a loud/obnoxious place. In fact, it makes the whole area between the IMAX and Long Wharf one of Boston's best out door spaces.
 
Re: Marriott Long Wharf makeover

Justin7 said:
Desperately.

I have been here on absolutely gorgeous spring and summer days and have seen no more than three of four other people. It is quiet in a bad way. Not a comfortable place to sit and read a book by the water. It just feels dead, as if no one is supposed to be there.
Click to expand...

are you serious?!?!!? in favorable weather this space is positively teeming with people. i lived right by here for 5 years and can attest that never in probably well over 50 visits have i ever seen so few people here as you describe, unless it was during a 530am run, a 2am stumble, or during nasty weather. Even then I can never remember seeing it empty, which is more than can be said for most plazas in boston, especially one as remote as this.
 
Re: Marriott Long Wharf makeover

vanshnookenraggen said:
That is further proof just how wrong headed and reactionary that group is.
Click to expand...

actually after seeing that i tend to agree, tail between legs. I do notice that the raised platforms next to the sea wall that mark the edge of the path doesn't line up in that overlay... are they proposing to relocate the stairs closer to the edge? Also will the space between the restaurant and the Gardiner Building become a dumpster and service ghetto like the areas around Chart House Restaurant? And does anyone know if ADA will require there to be accessible parking spots next to the restaurant?
 
I worked at 66 Long Wharf for a couple years and in the summer the boardwalk was bustling with hundreds of people ... hundreds. I would always buy my lunch from Al's and sit on one of the granite slabs at the end of the wharf and gaze out into the harbor. Everyone did this...

Obviously it's a different scene in Fall and Winter ... the only action I saw out there would be maintenance trucks and security making sure no one left their car parked out there too long.

Boston needs more all season spaces!! No more warm weather venues!!
 
The problem isn't the number of people, it is how they are spaced out.

I just came back from a walk on the waterfront. I walked from Rowes Wharf down to Long Wharf. There was probably an equal number of people in each 'segment' of the walk (Rowes, Harbor Towers, Aquarium, & Long). Rowes Wharf was easily the most lively feeling space.

Why?

Smaller spaces. People were more bunched together, interacting a lot more, moving a lot more. That's good public space, that's urbanism. This is what places like Long Wharf should strive for.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top