Seaport Neighborhood - Infill and Discussion

#bancars said:
FWIW--I routinely see people from outside Boston praising the Seaport despite all the local hate it gets. Most recent example: this NY Times commenter:
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"Cities lose the vibrancy and drive that makes them great. They develop a mall-like effect"

Seems like the commenter is praising the Harborwalk, as opposed to the Seaport itself. I am inclined to agree — the Seaport neighborhood (and Assembly Row, for that matter) feel like giant malls, but the Harborwalk itself is very nice.
 
Brick Top said:
Seems like the commenter is praising the Harborwalk, as opposed to the Seaport itself.
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Maybe, but I don't think you could have the very nice Harborwalk if you didn't also have the mall-like Seaport to support it.
 
xec said:
Maybe, but I don't think you could have the very nice Harborwalk if you didn't also have the mall-like Seaport to support it.
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There is an equally nice Harborwalk from the Financial District to the North End, and neither of those neighborhoods feel remotely mall-like.
 
Brick Top said:
There is an equally nice Harborwalk from the Financial District to the North End, and neither of those neighborhoods feel remotely mall-like.
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Maybe so, but how many people from outside Boston have you seen routinely praising the "equally nice Harborwalk from the Financial District to the North End"? I haven't seen any, but I have seen a lot of the kind of praise #bancars is talking about.

For me this is the highest compliment the Seaport has ever received, and totally cements its reputation as an outstanding urban environment.

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I would never have expected a comment like that from a San Franciscan. Not with everything they have going for them, present circumstances notwithstanding.
 
xec said:
Maybe so, but how many people from outside Boston have you seen routinely praising the "equally nice Harborwalk from the Financial District to the North End"? I haven't seen any, but I have seen a lot of the kind of praise #bancars is talking about.

For me this is the highest compliment the Seaport has ever received, and totally cements its reputation as an outstanding urban environment.

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I would never have expected a comment like that from a San Franciscan. Not with everything they have going for them, present circumstances notwithstanding.
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Why is that? Even if one did find the Mission Bay area better than the Seaport, what is the major difference? Remove the palm trees and rail down 3rd st, what is better about Mission Bay? To each their own, but I like the Seaport more.
 
mass88 said:
Why is that? Even if one did find the Mission Bay area better than the Seaport, what is the major difference? Remove the palm trees and rail down 3rd st, what is better about Mission Bay? To each their own, but I like the Seaport more.
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You're reading that 100% the opposite of what I meant and what the person who posted the comment meant. When he wrote that Mission Bay is good, but not quite Boston Seaport good, he was saying that Mission Bay is not as good as the Seaport, not that it's better than the Seaport, which is also what I meant. Capiche?

The reason I put so much value in his comment is that whereas most Bostonians have a chip on their shoulder about Boston always playing second fiddle to NYC, I personally have a chip on my shoulder about Boston always playing second fiddle to SF, so it just totally rubbed me the right way that he considers the Seaport superior to Mission Bay.
 
Brick Top said:
There is an equally nice Harborwalk from the Financial District to the North End, and neither of those neighborhoods feel remotely mall-like.
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Can't compare the Financial District/North End Harborwalk (which is nice, but interrupted in several places, most notably by our "friends" in the Harbor Towers) to the world-class/iconic picture postcard Seaport Harborwalk. Whoever is responsible for the Seaport Harborwalk is a genius. And it will only get better with the Commonwealth Pier stretch being added. Sorry, but they are not "equally nice". I recommend walking both and then reviewing.
 
mass88 said:
Why is that? Even if one did find the Mission Bay area better than the Seaport, what is the major difference? Remove the palm trees and rail down 3rd st, what is better about Mission Bay? To each their own, but I like the Seaport more.
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I agree with Xec. You misread that. The San Franciscan was putting Boston's Seaport up on a pedestal as the summit and that Mission Bay was indeed 'good but not THAT level good'.

I never thought I'd say this 5 years ago, but the Seaport is a winner. Perfect? No, but a spectacular addition to the city. And so much is still coming - - wait until that BGI Tower completes with the skywalk parks, etc, and the Commonwealth Pier Harborwalk extensions - - not to mention directly across the harbor with Piers Parks II and III adding on to the already incredible Piers Park I. Then, we can enjoy watching how the Charlestown waterfront gets integrated into Harborwalk.....and then Somerville/Medford/Chelsea Everett establishing the "Mystic Riviera" pedestrian waterfront. Most are really not aware of the pedestrian access revolution we are experiencing. It's incredible and wonderful.
 
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shmessy said:
Can't compare the Financial District/North End Harborwalk (which is nice, but interrupted in several places, most notably by our "friends" in the Harbor Towers) to the world-class/iconic picture postcard Seaport Harborwalk. Whoever is responsible for the Seaport Harborwalk is a genius. And it will only get better with the Commonwealth Pier stretch being added. Sorry, but they are not "equally nice". I recommend walking both and then reviewing.
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As much as I love our friends at Harbor Towers, the harborwalk around there is not too bad, Commercial Wharf is way worse with private condo parking on both sides where the harborwalk should be. Amos and his Pilot House at Lewis Wharf is just as bad, but the rest of the North End harborwalk is really nice, especially Puopolo Park and behind the skating rink.

I agree, Seaport harborwalk is getting even better with WTC and the St. Regis opening up enhanced public access.
 
Some pics from the Holiday Market this past Friday. Food was overpriced and drinks were waaaay overpriced, but the mix of vendors was nice and the atmosphere was good.

And honestly, having food/drink (even if overpriced) is a big step up from the market on City Hall Plaza from a few years ago.

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I think the drinks were $15 a piece (mulled wine)- if so that's on par with pretty much every place close by to it
 
This must be the most expensive stretch of sidewalk in the Seaport! It’s been in the works for like 6 months or more…lots of labor. I think this stretch is called Harbor Way? Also an intriguing title on the bench - Tidal Flats dating back to 10,000bc.

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Dont forget too they also had already built it once like 5 years ago and now ripped it out and redid it to make it match the rest of the plaza going in between the amazon buildings, so that makes it even more expensive.

This boardwalk iteration does look much better though and now it will be continuous through all of seaport sq, so its definitely worth it.
 
stick n move said:
Dont forget too they also had already built it once like 5 years ago and now ripped it out and redid it to make it match the rest of the plaza going in between the amazon buildings, so that makes it even more expensive.

This boardwalk iteration does look much better though and now it will be continuous through all of seaport sq, so its definitely worth it.
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I also read somewhere that there was a leak into the garage underneath the plaza. During reconstruction there was a lot of tar and they took it down to the bare tub structure, so it could be both things.

On an unrelated note, it's a little disappointing that there are still first and second floor retail places around that plaza that haven't been leased yet. With all the new businesses at the Superette a block away I hope these sites don't stay vacant for too long.
 
stick n move said:
Dont forget too they also had already built it once like 5 years ago and now ripped it out and redid it to make it match the rest of the plaza going in between the amazon buildings, so that makes it even more expensive.

This boardwalk iteration does look much better though and now it will be continuous through all of seaport sq, so its definitely worth it.
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'they' are 2 different entities though.
Skanska had bought the 2 sites of 101 and 121 from BGI and initially constructed the plaza.
WS then bought all of the remaining sites of Seaport Square, changed the vision to include the pedestrian Harbor Way and are now reconstructing this portion to match the rest of it (which will go all the way to the Summer St steps).
 
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