New Lansdowne St.

Crappy architecture, yes. But imagine this -- soon filled with concert-goers and people out for a very good time, filling the street. Humanity saves urban development mistakes. Alert the press!!!
 
Crappy architecture, yes. But imagine this -- soon filled with concert-goers and people out for a very good time, filling the street. Humanity saves urban development mistakes. Alert the press!!!

Heh. If only someone would have told that to Gov't Ctr plaza.
 
Lansdowne St. will still be more successful than City Hall Plaza. By those criteria, Lansdowne will be an urban success approximately every Friday and Saturday night, while the Celtics have to win the championship to make CHP work.
 
After all the hate I gave to the back, the front actually succeeded in being worse. I agree with Van, the metal shipping container plus carnival ride light-strips at least would have been interesting, if not beautiful. Thank god for the Sox and drunk college kids to keep this place alive.
 
It seems IMPOSSIBLE that this, The Shreve disaster and countless #'s of tall, well thought out proposals shot down could all happen in the same city. I truely don't get it.

Secretly, hiding in the weeds, The Red Sox are the silent puppetmasters behind the whole Fenway area development. They have too much power in this city in real estate and opinions. The field is named after the area, not the other way around. I think the Sox and Menino forgot about that.
 
Respectfully, Suffolk 83, I must call you out on that. The field is named after the hot dogs, not the area.
 
It seems IMPOSSIBLE that this, The Shreve disaster and countless #'s of tall, well thought out proposals shot down could all happen in the same city. I truely don't get it.

Secretly, hiding in the weeds, The Red Sox are the silent puppetmasters behind the whole Fenway area development. They have too much power in this city in real estate and opinions. The field is named after the area, not the other way around. I think the Sox and Menino forgot about that.

While I agree that the Red Sox organization has incredible influence on development decisions near the ballpark, no one envisioned the Avalon/Axis property would look like this ...

It's a fine line. The Sox want the Fenway neighborhood to be a destination (see note below). The neighborhood doesn't want the Sox to be the sole landowner. The Sox work behind the scenes to influence things, but sometimes there's epic fail. Avalon/Axis is an epic fail.

No one is happy about this.



NOTE: To head off the complaint I know I'll hear: Yes, Fenway residents deserve quality of life, blah blah blah. I'll get you a wambulance. Unless you've lived there since before 1986, shut up. Anyone moving into the area knew what they were in for if they did even a little bit of research. Don't move next to a pig farm and then bitch that it looks ugly, is noisy and smells like shit.
 
By working at a nearby Hotel. I got a chance to meet the people from Georgia that are painting the New House of Blues. They said it will take about 3 weeks to finish the painting.
 
Has there been any word if this place will operate as a nightclub?

Avalon/Axis would have concerts from 6-10pm and then be a nightclub from 11pm-2am. It kept the street very busy, and was a nice sight when the metalheads leaving the concert, with their mohawks and leather walked past the clubbers waiting at the bar, with their miniskirts and 6" heels.

Various famous internationals Djs also stopped by Avalon on big nights.


While having concerts start at 8-9pm instead of 5-6 pm is nice, it would be a shame to lose the life the nightclubs brought from 11pm-2am.
 
Something tells me that a House of Blues is not going to be on Paul Oakenfold or Armin van Buuren's next US itinerary.
 
Something tells me that a House of Blues is not going to be on Paul Oakenfold or Armin van Buuren's next US itinerary.

Did the Roxy manage to raise their capacity again?

They had some pretty big Djs these past few months (David Guetta, Carl Cox, Benny Benassi)
 
Something tells me that a House of Blues is not going to be on Paul Oakenfold or Armin van Buuren's next US itinerary.

Exactly. At least The Estate, Revolution and a few other places have (sort of) picked up the slack on a club scene that was taking some brutal hits for a few years.

I may be proved wrong, but I really believe the only time I'll be in HoB is for a tour at opening.

I can practically see the marketing aimed at mouthbreathers from Billerica or Sharon or some other tragic suburbian enclave who drive (badly) into Boston twice a year. One trip is to see "their sports team" at Fenway/new Garden, the other is for a concert.

In both instances, the fools are paying much more than they need to for tickets (expensive means fun, right!?). In both instances, these menaces will scream, puke and piss their way across the city having a "Good Time" because, damnit, they paid a lot of money for it, they deserve it.

Never mind that if someone came to their neighborhood screaming at 3:00 in the morning, pissing behing their house and puking on their doorstop, they'd get shot.

HoB will book the same size acts that Avalon booked, but HoB has been commercialized. enough that the fools won't notice they're paying 15% more than they should.

Commercialization. I guess that's my problem with this venue. Everything is greasy, glib and cheap.
 
Did the Roxy manage to raise their capacity again?

They had some pretty big Djs these past few months (David Guetta, Carl Cox, Benny Benassi)

Didn't they do some remodeling upstairs recently? Something in the back of my mind, maybe a structural issue with the balcony that, when repaired, actually allowed them to up the capacity?
 
I took these this afternoon.

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This is a Butler Building! (?) Looks like one to me. Google it for info/history.

This is just sad.

Consider another discussion about what constitutes good grit. What was here before would be my definition.

As somebody else suggested, this could be a deliberate attempt at something temporary. (Butler Buildings were in that realm.)

There was a pre-war Butler in Oakland that people tried to save. It was an okay building, considering its function and era of construction.

However, building something like that/this, in the present, on Lansdowne Street, for this purpose, even considering that this is an industrial block of sorts, especially the side facing the highway, for the time being anyway... it could have worked it they put more thought into the ... entire thing. I'm stunned. Really.

This is worse than a Lowes in a strip mall.
 
I didn't realize that they used the same facade on Landsdowne like they did on the Mass Pike because I've only seen it from the back. It looks like the outside of a gymnasium.
 
Has there been any word if this place will operate as a nightclub?

Avalon/Axis would have concerts from 6-10pm and then be a nightclub from 11pm-2am. It kept the street very busy, and was a nice sight when the metalheads leaving the concert, with their mohawks and leather walked past the clubbers waiting at the bar, with their miniskirts and 6" heels.

I think I dated that guy.
 
Yesterday...

Great shots, as usual Kz, thanks. This has to be the strangest and ugliest new building in Boston. Those lights! This building looks like it doesn't know if it wants to be a meat packing plant or a food bank! It's an absolute disgrace. Hopefully the inside will redeem it in some way.
 
1/14
I think it doesnt look that bad in person. The design fits with the older building (left)

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Bonus shot!
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Problem is, the older building on the left is ugly too.
 

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