Rose Kennedy Greenway

[JeffDowntown]

Why the fixation on covering the ramps? The cost benefit doesn't seem worth it. Just work with the areas around the ramps at parcel 12. There is usable green space at parcel 12 or enough room for some structures.

Go with a scaled back Boston history concept and make it into a new visitor center maybe with some small flexible exhibition space. And/or just a bunch of pushcart vendors. Tie parcel 12 in with Quincy Market and the North End with information about the Freedom Trail. Boston is the museum, make parcel 12 a place to tie it together.

Part of the fixation is that the ramps are actually unfinished. There is a ton of rebar sticking up at the various ramp parcels on the tops of semi-finished walls.

So at least finishing off the tops of the walls, and trying to get something useful seems better than just leaving the ugly rebar there.

Also the ramp parcels tend to damage the connectivity of the Greenway.

 

[datadyne007]

Boston is the museum, make parcel 12 a place to tie it together.

I really like this statement.

 

[coleslaw]

I think its strange that people are proposing pedestrian bridges as a counter to these when these are basically a pedestrian bridge.

 

[tangent]

Part of the fixation is that the ramps are actually unfinished. There is a ton of rebar sticking up at the various ramp parcels on the tops of semi-finished walls.

So at least finishing off the tops of the walls, and trying to get something useful seems better than just leaving the ugly rebar there.

Also the ramp parcels tend to damage the connectivity of the Greenway.

Much of the rebar has been removed or there is a permanent looking fence on top of the walls. Parcel 6 dead ends the Greenway anyway. Parcel 6 has nice sidewalks and usable green space on two sides. Parcel 18 is fine as-is with a walkway down the middle.

Nobody in their right mind is going to spend millions on elevated pedestrian walkways to nowhere so people don't have to walk an extra 100'.

 

[GW2500]

^^ Here here! I imagine these will be quite expensive, and it just strikes me as dumb, no return on investment, buildings can at least generate income, maybe not completely recoups cost, but still.

 

[tangent]

Here is a sketchup I did for parcel 12 which keeps the building off the ramps.

You still end up with a good amount of street level square footage at parcel 12 without decking over the ramps. If anything you could scale back the footprint of the structures further and keep more of the green space.

Or just landscape the current green space and calling it a day.

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

And a terrible floorplate. That won't work for any business that could afford to move in there.

 

[Shepard]

Here is a sketchup I did for parcel 12 which keeps the building off the ramps.

You still end up with a good amount of street level square footage at parcel 12 without decking over the ramps. If anything you could scale back the footprint of the structures further and keep more of the green space.

Or just landscape the current green space and calling it a day.

As Van said, this wouldn't be a real, functional building. One idea I've had was for a 3 to 5 story tall varied and nicely-detailed "Potemkin Streetscape" along the same footprint you've proposed. On ground level would be retail opportunities for local craftsmen, artists and "innovators" who could occupy the spaces at well-below-market rents.

 

[Lisbon]

As Van said, this wouldn't be a real, functional building. One idea I've had was for a 3 to 5 story tall varied and nicely-detailed "Potemkin Streetscape" along the same footprint you've proposed. On ground level would be retail opportunities for local craftsmen, artists and "innovators" who could occupy the spaces at well-below-market rents.

I like this idea. I think it could function even as a single story retail-only building, though having fake floors above could be a nice touch.

 

[tangent]

As Van said, this wouldn't be a real, functional building. One idea I've had was for a 3 to 5 story tall varied and nicely-detailed "Potemkin Streetscape" along the same footprint you've proposed. On ground level would be retail opportunities for local craftsmen, artists and "innovators" who could occupy the spaces at well-below-market rents.

I agree this wouldn't be a profitable location for a building. Period. Height restrictions versus the odd footprint versus the cost of decking make it uneconomical. I was thinking along the lines of justifying the utility of any structure there for greater public purposes, space for indoor cart vendors to extend Quincy Market onto the Greenway.

A visitor center with video walls and small exhibition space which might serve some purpose, scaled back, way scaled back, but along the lines of the purpose of the Boston History Museum which was originally intended for this parcel.

 

[goldenretrievers]

installation occurring today: http://www.rosekennedygreenway.org/visit/public-art/janet-echelman/

 

[atlantaden]

This is sooo cool! Bet it will be amazing at night! Hope I get to see it before it's taken down.

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

That's really cool.

 

[mdd]

This is sooo cool! Bet it will be amazing at night! Hope I get to see it before it's taken down.

I think I remember seeing that it will be up through the summer, so you'll have plenty of time.

 

[coleslaw]

Saw it in person today. Awesome, we need more public art.

 

[Tombstoner]

I realize it's temporary, but I wonder if people like it, it could be re-engineered to be permanent... We desperately need larger art pieces on the Greenway and as it's off the ground, what could be better?

 

[whighlander]

I realize it's temporary, but I wonder if people like it, it could be re-engineered to be permanent... We desperately need larger art pieces on the Greenway and as it's off the ground, what could be better?

Tomb -- don't think it is at least in its current incarnation compatible with November - February

I'm trying to forget as quickly as possible -- but I think it had something to do with combinations of frozen precipitation and wind in various mixes --

 

[bolehboleh]

This artwork looks lovely but are those cranes placed ON the road to hold it up? That's going to annoy some drivers.

 

[whighlander]

This artwork looks lovely but are those cranes placed ON the road to hold it up? That's going to annoy some drivers.

I believe that the cranes were only there for the installation -- the thing is suspended from the aerial cables anchored to the buildings

from the wbur web page -- it might not yet be finished as there LEDs for night time

Cranes attached the 2,000 pound fiber sculpture to Financial District skyscrapers hundreds of feet in the air.

Looking down from the 28th floor of International Place at the aerial sculpture. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

Greenway curator Lance Cowan says people will be able to experience it night and day.

“You’re going to be cast with the shadow of the net and watching the rippling of the movement within the wind,” Cowan tells WBUR’s Andrea Shea.”And if you come at night and around dusk when the LED lights comes on, it almost looks like a giant jellyfish that’s floating in the air.”

A public opening is planned for May 11. It will remain suspended between high-rise buildings through October.

 

[Shepard]

I was all hung up on what to say about this, but I think I'd say it's a net positive.