North End Cross Street Boutique Hotel | 42 Cross Street | North End

I think it's important to note that the curb cut is just being relocated from Salem St to Cross St, which allows the corner to be a permanent pedestrian plaza. The paver area is the historic Cross St alignment as pointed out earlier and it is still city property. They cannot build over it because it is not part of their property. Their proposal reduces the size of the shared-use space, which functions as a parking lot today. I assume their proposal will come with a maintenance agreement to take care of this plaza, but it will note that they do not have exclusive use to it.
 
sm89 said:
I think it's important to note that the curb cut is just being relocated from Salem St to Cross St, which allows the corner to be a permanent pedestrian plaza. The paver area is the historic Cross St alignment as pointed out earlier and it is still city property. They cannot build over it because it is not part of their property...
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Ah, ok. That certainly affects things.
 
sm89 said:
The paver area is the historic Cross St alignment as pointed out earlier and it is still city property. They cannot build over it because it is not part of their property.
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The City could sell the old right-of-way area to the hotel lot owner That's a common practice when streets are realigned, although given the sensitivity of the project, the transfer of the right-of-way to the private owner would need to go through public review and comment.
 
Poolio said:
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Interesting that the proposal combines 2 restaurants - one owned by the hotel and one as a tenant. Both restaurants have a street level presence, and a portion of the full-length roof deck space.

Not a big fan of the loop - specifically the exit. Can't tell if there is direct 93 access but you know it's going to be attempted.

While I really like that they are acknowledging Cutillo Part with the passageway, I do wish it was even more emphasized as a design feature. Some pocket parks are quaint - Cutillo has been a sketchy back alley for a century. https://friendsofcutillopark.com/history

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Vagabond said:
Not a big fan of the loop - specifically the exit. Can't tell if there is direct 93 access but you know it's going to be attempted.
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It looks like the "loop" exit in the renderings is in the same exact spot it currently is. I've seen drivers go right onto 93N from the driveway, but a bump out of the median separating the ramp from Cross St. and some subtle tweaks to the angle of the merge could fix that.

I'm not particularly opposed to the "loop." I actually think the rendered version with the entrance also on Cross St. (as opposed to the present with drivers having to make a quick right on Salem and then a quick left into the driveway) is an improvement over the status quo. I don't really see a scenario in which that space becomes a plaza or park that people actually want to use, nor do I see a scenario in which you can build a hotel right up to the Cross St. sidewalk without significant traffic disruption and/or risk to stopped vehicles.
 
Lrfox said:
It looks like the "loop" exit in the renderings is in the same exact spot it currently is. I've seen drivers go right onto 93N from the driveway, but a bump out of the median separating the ramp from Cross St. and some subtle tweaks to the angle of the merge could fix that.

I'm not particularly opposed to the "loop." I actually think the rendered version with the entrance also on Cross St. (as opposed to the present with drivers having to make a quick right on Salem and then a quick left into the driveway) is an improvement over the status quo. I don't really see a scenario in which that space becomes a plaza or park that people actually want to use, nor do I see a scenario in which you can build a hotel right up to the Cross St. sidewalk without significant traffic disruption and/or risk to stopped vehicles.
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What they could do is make like Washington Street in DTX -- make the whole area between Cross St and the hotel entrance a pedestrian zone except for the loading and unloading of passengers
just stick two lines of bollards close enough together to block any vehicle except for the most intrepid motorcyclist
one right along Cross St with the entrance open​
one right in front of the hotel entrance doors​

no curbs and no changes in elevation so no need for any ADA ramps -- perhaps some change in the color of the paving
 
vanshnookenraggen said:
It's dramatic and adds more plaza space for pedestrians. I think the curve makes it stand out more (despite calling this a background building).
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If by dramatic you mean hideous. I think what you are advocating works better where there aren’t scars to cover up. Nobody wants to see broken brick, monstrous billboards for a highway that isn’t there anymore, or a parking lot next to the park. The reason the Cross Street curve is still there is to appease people who only care about free parking. If I was the god of boston, I’d build a muni lot underneath the whole plaza and build a new traffic calming street wall stem to stern - except for a new stretch of park connecting to Cutillo Park. More green, less machine. If you look at pics from a hundred years ago, that area was a solid block of living people and commerce. That works. Put THAT back.
 
BeyondRevenue said:
If by dramatic you mean hideous. I think what you are advocating works better where there aren’t scars to cover up. Nobody wants to see broken brick, monstrous billboards for a highway that isn’t there anymore, or a parking lot next to the park. The reason the Cross Street curve is still there is to appease people who only care about free parking. If I was the god of boston, I’d build a muni lot underneath the whole plaza and build a new traffic calming street wall stem to stern - except for a new stretch of park connecting to Cutillo Park. More green, less machine. If you look at pics from a hundred years ago, that area was a solid block of living people and commerce. That works. Put THAT back.
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Beyond Revenue -- the area has been for a long time -- Unruly in a sort of 3rd World fashion a bit like Haymarket

here are two images of Cross Street one from the turn of the 20thC and the 2nd immediately Post WW II -- both predate the destruction caused by the building of the Calahan Tunnel and the Central Artery


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Cross Street and Haymarket Square circa 1905 Salem & Cross Street circa 1949
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the bottom image is the entry/exit to the then 2 way Sumner Tunnel in 1947
The photo is from a 1947 report by a rapid-transit commission established by the state legislature, and has this caption:

This typical congestion will undoubtedly increase with the accelerated postwar production of automobiles.
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Suffice it to say that the Cross Street area has needed to be improved for quite a while
 
Ya know, West Highlander, people rag on you, and some of your posts can wax on, but you obviously love urban life, and I dig the historical contexts you dig up. You offer up more than most of the size queens that prowl this forum, so for that, thanks.
 
HarvardP said:
Ya know, West Highlander, people rag on you, and some of your posts can wax on, but you obviously love urban life, and I dig the historical contexts you dig up. You offer up more than most of the size queens that prowl this forum, so for that, thanks.
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HarvardP, let's be clear about some key distinctions here. This particular post from whighlander directly relates to the discussion by providing pertinent background and insights tied to choices and constraints this developer faces. I agree it is a praiseworthy post. However, that characterization does not fit many of the other responses from him/her in other threads. I think the difference is worth pointing out.

Also, photo sources should be mentioned if they are not his/her own (and if they are, then damn, I'll admit being impressed).
 
BronsonShore said:
Yes, I know Maria retired and the shop is already closed, but my point is that the existing retail spaces were able to host cool places that like. What we're going to end up with now are yet more bland, generically trendy restaurants.
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But is there anything in these spaces right now other than a real estate broker?
 
bigpicture7 said:
HarvardP, let's be clear about some key distinctions here. This particular post from whighlander directly relates to the discussion by providing pertinent background and insights tied to choices and constraints this developer faces. I agree it is a praiseworthy post. However, that characterization does not fit many of the other responses from him/her in other threads. I think the difference is worth pointing out.

Also, photo sources should be mentioned if they are not his/her own (and if they are, then damn, I'll admit being impressed).
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BigPicture: -- I'll take that post as a slightly qualified complement
Here's a way to take what I post -- note the following is not an endorsement -- indeed I'm not particularly a fan of the following -- but its a model:
Sunday NY Times -- for some it's: hard news, for others it provides entertainment in the form of fashion, food, sports, finance, books, movies, real estate, etc.

My posts are either designed to engender discussion or to respond to others posts on topics which interest me in various ways:
I've been following the development in Boston ever since I was growing up in Greater Hartford and had the opportunity to visit the Boston area for family-related matters
I started taking pictures of buildings in Boston ever since I had a nearly new camera made in Germany which was stamped USSR Occupied
Somewhere during a major part of a summer which I spent in East Cambridge with my aunt and uncle -- I got hooked on the Red Sox and the Green Line
I started to be actively interested in Boston architecture ever since I started reading the Globe's Robert Campbell and I got interested in Boston History when I started to read Thomas Boylston Adams
Once I got to MIT circa 1970's I got a chance to do a fair amount of walking in Cambridge and Boston

All of the above ends up motivating and "informing" my posts
 
whighlander said:
Beyond Revenue -- the area has been for a long time -- Unruly in a sort of 3rd World fashion a bit like Haymarket

here are two images of Cross Street one from the turn of the 20thC and the 2nd immediately Post WW II -- both predate the destruction caused by the building of the Calahan Tunnel and the Central Artery


View attachment 10471 View attachment 10472
Cross Street and Haymarket Square circa 1905 Salem & Cross Street circa 1949
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the bottom image is the entry/exit to the then 2 way Sumner Tunnel in 1947


Suffice it to say that the Cross Street area has needed to be improved for quite a while
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How I miss Guiffre's fish market. Going into Salem Street at that corner, the sights and smells told you where you were, and the shops along Salem St., nearly all gone now, were as exciting as Haymarket on a weekend. At least I have the memories of an authentically Italian North End. It is hard to adjust to the present anemic tourist-driven reality.
 
Life Coach Mike said:
How I miss Guiffre's fish market. Going into Salem Street at that corner, the sights and smells told you where you were, and the shops along Salem St., nearly all gone now, were as exciting as Haymarket on a weekend. At least I have the memories of an authentically Italian North End. It is hard to adjust to the present anemic tourist-driven reality.
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Mike -- all you need to know is that the very few of the people living in today's North End who are younger 50 have anything to do with the people who lived there when Salem St was Salem St. and just beyond the traffic was roaring along the elevated Central Artery [or the ramps up / down from the tunnels were jammed for hours at a time]

Its full of Yuppies especially since the Green Monster disappeared
 
Yuppies is an 80s thing. When there was no tech and Boston still had a good chunk of manufacturing done locally Young Urban Professionals were new and different. Now anyone with a job is considered white collar because the workforce has changed as manufacturing moved to near slave economies in SE Asia and the rest of the third world. While they might look rich, they are substantially poorer in constant dollars than their 80s counterparts. Yuppies is what scared old people call white collar wage earners because they are scared of The New and yearn for the Golden Age When They Were Something Awesome.
Just asking for a little sympathy for the devil here.
42 huh? You’re part of the invisible GenX. The same people who were actually YUPPIES called us slackers. Now we’re carrying them into retirement while their kids nip at our heels and threaten our very existence. In truth we have more in common with millenials. Based on all that I refuse to use their insult. Boomers have sucked too much air and value to be much of an example for anything and I will not use their slurs.
If you are indeed 42, then I’m sorry about the Boomer label. We Xers gotta stick together.
 
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