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

Its because that “plaza” is technically a street. It continues on to the next parcel over as well. Its a pretty useless street, but still you cant build a building there. If you flip to map mode on apple maps you can even see it labelled as a 1 way. I dont know the story behind it, but Im sure its a holdover from the old grid that was demo’d to make way for the central artery, and subsequent greenway.
 
stick n move said:
Its because that “plaza” is technically a street. It continues on to the next parcel over as well. Its a pretty useless street, but still you cant build a building there. If you flip to map mode on apple maps you can even see it labelled as a 1 way. I dont know the story behind it, but Im sure its a holdover from the old grid that was demo’d to make way for the central artery, and subsequent greenway.
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One of my favorite websites is Atlascope Boston · Leventhal Map & Education Center You can see on there that between 1928 and 1938 the existing dense street network was opened up. I wonder what the logic was at that time? It looks like a huge change to the city plan--maybe prep for the central artery
 
stick n move said:
Its because that “plaza” is technically a street. It continues on to the next parcel over as well. Its a pretty useless street, but still you cant build a building there. If you flip to map mode on apple maps you can even see it labelled as a 1 way. I dont know the story behind it, but Im sure its a holdover from the old grid that was demo’d to make way for the central artery, and subsequent greenway.
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Cross Street was moved south to a straighter alignment in the 1990s/early 2000s as part of the Big Dig project. Prior to that, when the old elevated Central Artery was there, Cross Street was on a curve along the front wall of the proposed hotel.

So, streets are realigned and the old right-of-way abandoned and made available for development all the time. I've worked on many road construction projects myself that did that. Why isn't that being done here? Undoubtedly some utilities are still under the old street ROW, but they could be moved. As for the adjacent parcel, that could remain as is (except for the utilities that would need moving).
 
AndreyD said:
Is this project moving forward?
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A quick Goggle search - the project is still in court. Initially in Land Court, as mentioned earlier in this thread, a neighbor of the project is bringing a lawsuit against the Zoning board.
But now the article link below goes further into the weeds of a Superior Court case to research who is really providing the $ to stop the project.
Also, it appears there was the beginnings of a counter suit against a group of donors that are fighting the project were just subpoenaed for donating to the cause. Imagine donating to a cause and being subpoenaed!! The article indicates those subpoenas were just vacated this past June.
This is snowballing into a litigation hell which I assume was the plan from the beginning. Who knows though, by the end of all the court filings, the interest rates will fall again and the project will get financed.

Bank & Trade - article not behind a paywall!
 
dhawkins said:
A quick Goggle search - the project is still in court. Initially in Land Court, as mentioned earlier in this thread, a neighbor of the project is bringing a lawsuit against the Zoning board.
But now the article link below goes further into the weeds of a Superior Court case to research who is really providing the $ to stop the project.
Also, it appears there was the beginnings of a counter suit against a group of donors that are fighting the project were just subpoenaed for donating to the cause. Imagine donating to a cause and being subpoenaed!! The article indicates those subpoenas were just vacated this past June.
This is snowballing into a litigation hell which I assume was the plan from the beginning. Who knows though, by the end of all the court filings, the interest rates will fall again and the project will get financed.

Bank & Trade - article not behind a paywall!
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So the way the community process works is: you're granted certain voice as an abutter...but you can sell that voice to a non-abutter ; )
 
DwnTwnr said:
One of my favorite websites is Atlascope Boston · Leventhal Map & Education Center You can see on there that between 1928 and 1938 the existing dense street network was opened up. I wonder what the logic was at that time? It looks like a huge change to the city plan--maybe prep for the central artery
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Boston was building a wide car friendly apron for the E Boston tunnels. Note this was a pre-central artery land taking by 30 years. It’s amazing how dense the area was prior to the car. Dern near every building was 5-10 stories tall… or as I read it: Precedent.
 
Abutters have very specific rights by law in MA. Abutters should have rights and should be compensated for tangible disruptions in their everyday lives due to new construction. Its the old ladies that live 5 blocks away I have the problem with. Its not hard to settle with 3-4 residents and throw them a bone
 
I travel all across the U.S. to experience food and drink lifestyles for my work. There is nothing like or close to the North End within the country (Italian). It's like being transported to a different country and a different time. Even though this project is at the outer most edge of the North End, it's a short hop across the Greenway and will feel connective to the congregation of hi-rises and more modern feel of Boston. (I was walking past and through this exact area just over a week ago.) The proposed development looks nice and fits in with scale, but it will be somewhat transformative with a kind of acceptance sight bridge for further and similar development affecting the essence of what is the North End. What I love about the North End is the absence of new hotels with aimless tourists going in and out. Let them walk to it. Make it more difficult. Don't let them become de facto residents. Be careful. One kind of building can lead to another.
 
TC_zoid said:
I travel all across the U.S. to experience food and drink lifestyles for my work. There is nothing like or close to the North End within the country (Italian). It's like being transported to a different country and a different time. Even though this project is at the outer most edge of the North End, it's a short hop across the Greenway and will feel connective to the congregation of hi-rises and more modern feel of Boston. (I was walking past and through this exact area just over a week ago.) The proposed development looks nice and fits in with scale, but it will be somewhat transformative with a kind of acceptance sight bridge for further and similar development affecting the essence of what is the North End. What I love about the North End is the absence of new hotels with aimless tourists going in and out. Let them walk to it. Make it more difficult. Don't let them become de facto residents. Be careful. One kind of building can lead to another.
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I'm half with you - this is a capstone project to the entrance to the North End - vastly improving this section where the some of the last rotten vestiges of the elevated highway shadow remained. There's no land or appetite that makes this gateway hotel a Gateway drug.
 
Vagabond said:
I'm half with you - this is a capstone project to the entrance to the North End - vastly improving this section where the some of the last rotten vestiges of the elevated highway shadow remained. There's no land or appetite that makes this gateway hotel a Gateway drug.
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The "no land" part doesn't matter now that they've started to knock down historic buildings. I'm in favor of this hotel, but the North End is not landmark-protected and we absolutely are going to loose it if we're not careful. It's going to happen so gradually that no one will notice -- one "insignificant" building after another facing the wrecking ball -- but it is going to happen.

 
BronsonShore said:
The "no land" part doesn't matter now that they've started to knock down historic buildings. I'm in favor of this hotel, but the North End is not landmark-protected and we absolutely are going to loose it if we're not careful. It's going to happen so gradually that no one will notice -- one "insignificant" building after another facing the wrecking ball -- but it is going to happen.

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As an aside:

From that Insta: Samuel Francis Smith wrote the song "My country 'tis of thee"??????? Are we being just a tad loose with terminology , @streetscapecurator?????

I love that Weird Al Yankovic wrote those famous songs, "Eat it" and "I lost on Jeapardy".
 
shmessy said:
As an aside:

From that Insta: Samuel Francis Smith wrote the song "My country 'tis of thee"??????? Are we being just a tad loose with terminology , @streetscapecurator?????
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What's incorrect about that statement? Samuel Francis Smith DID write that song, and he was from Boston.
 
itchy said:
What's incorrect about that statement? Samuel Francis Smith DID write that song, and he was from Boston.
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Smith wrote a set of lyrics. He didn't write the song (the melody, music, structure). The song/melody is the same as "God Save the King."

Ergo shmessy's allusions to Weird Al, who also wrote/writes sets of lyrics and pairs them to existing, well-known songs.
 
All correct - but a little nitpicky to expect an Instagram post to make that distinction, no?
 
I happened to write an article about the plaque commemorating
shmessy said:
As an aside:

From that Insta: Samuel Francis Smith wrote the song "My country 'tis of thee"??????? Are we being just a tad loose with terminology , @streetscapecurator?????

I love that Weird Al Yankovic wrote those famous songs, "Eat it" and "I lost on Jeapardy".
Click to expand...
I happened to write an article a couple of years ago about the plaque commemorating the location that Samuel Francis Smith was born in the North End! It's on Sheafe Street in the North End:
Turns out, the fellow who wrote the words to My Country Tis of Thee was born on Sheafe Street
northend.page

Turns out, the fellow who wrote the words to My Country Tis of Thee was born on Sheafe Street

Ever notice that plaque on the second story of 37 Sheafe St? Behind the fire escape? Next to the abondoned building? No?It reads:Birthplace ofRev S.F. SmithAuthor of "America"1808 - 1895Erected by the Old South Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution1897
northend.page northend.page
 
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