Rose Kennedy Greenway

The Ferry Building?

But I take issue with your premise. The Embarcadero is popular precisely because there is very little on the harbor-side -i.e., it sits on the water itself (unlike the Greenway). The views of the Bay are magnificent, and this is a major part of the draw.

More importantly, the Embarcadero on the harbor side is a wide sidewalk uninterrupted by intersections, in stark contrast to the Greenway. This, along with the harbor views, make it ideal for joggers, roller bladers, baby strollers, etc..

Insofar as the Embarcadero fails to live up to potential, it's due to the presence of surface parking lots on the inland side.
 
blade_bltz said:
The Ferry Building?

But I take issue with your premise. The Embarcadero is popular precisely because there is very little on the harbor-side -i.e., it sits on the water itself (unlike the Greenway). The views of the Bay are magnificent, and this is a major part of the draw.

More importantly, the Embarcadero on the harbor side is a wide sidewalk uninterrupted by intersections, in stark contrast to the Greenway. This, along with the harbor views, make it ideal for joggers, roller bladers, baby strollers, etc..

Insofar as the Embarcadero fails to live up to potential, it's due to the presence of surface parking lots on the inland side.
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The Embarcadero is a one mile plus sidewalk between the Ferry building and Pier 39. When the Exploratorium opens its new museum in a couple of years at Piers 15 and 17, that will be a destination mid-way.

Bay-side wise, its not interrupted by intersections because there are no crossing streets to intersect. On the land-side, which people generally avoid because of the intersecting streets, I daresay the only 'destination' along the entire stretch is the Fog City Diner.

My point is that its difficult to animate an area when people have little reason to go there. Now if Harbor Towers had not been built on the old parking lots decades ago, that area could have offered enough space to become a 'destination' development of shops and restaurants etc to draw people from downtown across the Greenway to the other side. To a lesser extent, the idea of transforming the Northern Ave bridge into a Boston version of the Ponte Vecchio might have done the same..
 
stellarfun said:
My point is that its difficult to animate an area when people have little reason to go there. Now if Harbor Towers had not been built on the old parking lots decades ago, that area could have offered enough space to become a 'destination' development of shops and restaurants etc to draw people from downtown across the Greenway to the other side. To a lesser extent, the idea of transforming the Northern Ave bridge into a Boston version of the Ponte Vecchio might have done the same..
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Isn't that Chiofaro's entire point in transforming the garage which will help activate the entire area towards the Greenway to the Aquarium. This would help the Greenway become some sort of destination. I really don't know why the BRA or the city won't work with him at this point.


Also what is going on with Congress parking garage? Is that DEAD
 
Is that what he wanted? I thought he just wanted to build a skyscraper and better capitalize on his own land.
 
I drove up the Greenway for the first time today. Holy fuck is it miserable and the intersection at South Sta is a planning disaster. Took me an hour to go from my apartment in Brigham Circle to Haymarket. My favorite part was the SUDDEN on-ramps to 93. You're cruisin down the Greenway and BANG, you're about to enter the highway.

That steel "canopy" (????) part up near the north end is so freaking pointless too. Such a waste of steel. At least put some roof panels on it to provide protection from the elements.
 
the canopy you refer to is a Pergola. Vines are working their way up it. There was at one point a large discussion here about if the vines should have been of a different species as they are taking a while to grow significantly...
 
just curious, what is so bad about the South Station plaza? It houses a farmers' market once the weather gets warm, which I think is fairly popular.
 
Ron Newman said:
just curious, what is so bad about the South Station plaza? It houses a farmers' market once the weather gets warm, which I think is fairly popular.
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I'm talking roadway. No one really knows where they're going, people are cutting across all lanes and it takes forever. I luckily had some of my friends that work for AECom (that did the Big Dig tunnels), so they knew how to navigate it.

I had just never actually driven on the JFK Surface Rd before. I'll stick to walking. This city was never designed for cars.

And that steel pergola does not look like a pergola at all.
 
Dewey Square is massively improved since the Big Dig as a public space, but three things hold it back still:
a) the southbound offramp that datadyne identified, cutting off the plaza from High/Federal streets
b) the wasted lawn around the ventilation shaft on the north side - this should be developed and provide another edge to te plaza
c) less critic than the others perhaps, the setback and lack of street interaction of the Fed tower.

Fix these things and Dewey Sq could become a landmark great space.
 
I walked by the "pergolas" today too. Not a single vine on them. Just shiny bare steel.
 
The earlier landscaping by the Fed installed by the Big Dig was completely torn up within a year or two by the Fed, so that a post 9/11 security-oriented landscape could replace it. Nothing is going to happen to that space until the Fed buys itself a new building and moves.
 
Why do Chicago and New York get good looking Feds? 'tisn't fair!

edit: I do find something attractive about ours, but I just don't like the area around it on ground level.
 
Walked the lower half of the greenway today - 70 degrees around noon! Predictably the crossing from Quincy Market to Long Wharf was lively. Below that it was almost completely empty. Where was everyone? Well, the harborwalk nearby - despite being winding and lacking in green space - was crowded all the way to South Station.

This part of the Greenway will probably always be empty with the water so close by. So what remains the point of these parks?
 
Shepard said:
Walked the lower half of the greenway today - 70 degrees around noon! Predictably the crossing from Quincy Market to Long Wharf was lively. Below that it was almost completely empty. Where was everyone? Well, the harborwalk nearby - despite being winding and lacking in green space - was crowded all the way to South Station.

This part of the Greenway will probably always be empty with the water so close by. So what remains the point of these parks?
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I actually would probably rather see MARSH land growing in the middle of the city at least it might have character. The Greenway after Harbor Garage is a DISGRACE. Nothing at all to attract tourists, just an open dead median strip.

With so many educated people in this town your telling me we cannot come up with sometype of creative concept to attract tourists? Nancy Brennan you really should be FIRED.

I'm not sure what happened with the Greenway Tax? I'm betting that some of the landlords wanted more power over the Conversancy and they said no.

They really need to sell off the Greenway Parcels.
 
BostonUrbEx said:
Why do Chicago and New York get good looking Feds? 'tisn't fair!

edit: I do find something attractive about ours, but I just don't like the area around it on ground level.
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Are you kidding? The Federal Reserve Tower is probably one of the nicest buildings to come out of that era. Think of this - if the Federal Reserve were located closer to Atlantic Ave, it would partially block the long view down the Greenway you get now (from South Station's perspective). It acts as a great counter to One Financial as well, Dewey Square is really great because of the height of these two buildings.
 
Sicilian said:
^Rifleman

"Conversancy"

Nice!
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What are you going to do? Hopefully nobody with intelligence reads these boards. Just call me the Mumbles of the archboston message board.

Wow, imagine this is how Boston's Development is run. LOL

AKA (WHO CARES)
 
datadyne007 said:
My favorite part was the SUDDEN on-ramps to 93. You're cruisin down the Greenway and BANG, you're about to enter the highway.
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It's like they went to the Los Angeles school of traffic planning.

Actually, no. Because if that were the case, the onramp would end in 50' with either a forced-trip onto a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT HIGHWAY or simply dump you in a wall of traffic that wouldn't even think about letting you in.
 
Just did a very quick sketch of my thoughts for Dewey Square.

Existing (well, with Atlantic Wharf completed!)
dewey.jpg


Improved (ahem, if you could imagine the new structure being flush with ground!)
dewey2.jpg


Essentially, replace the lawn with a mixed-use lowrise building that blocks or wraps around the ventillation structure, and then extend a year-round covered marketplace onto the current plaza. Instantly bounds and activates the space.

Another thought I had, which could be interesting (not included in the sketch above), would be to cover the on/offramp trenches (left side of the pics) with glass in the same style as the new headhouses (as in the right side of the pics).
 
Greenway ideas from Boston design contest
Image by Christopher Karlson/Courtesy Boston Society of Architects Prev1 ...
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ...
19 Next Photo gallery

NextDesign No. 1 - winner
Design by: Christopher Karlson of Cambridge

In addition to spaces for athletic endeavors, the space also houses social programs, and is intended as a free and open 24-hour space.


http://www.boston.com/business/gallery/rotch_design_greenway_2011?pg=6


Anybody see this? I think this is UGLY
 
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