South End Infill and Small Developments

whats wrong with it? i think it looks quite good actually.
 
I didn't realize that the Lever House was pregnant...

kveus0727s.jpg
 
Seems like a very lazy design to me. It's one thing to add something new and modern to a classic old building like Penny Savings Bank. It's another thing to slap a glass and steel box on top of it. I think I could have designed that without any architectural or artistic skill. It reminds me of a slightly better version of those crap additions that went up on Comm. Ave. brownstones for a while, some of which still exist.

At this point, why'd they even bother keeping the original facade.
 
sight-lines

You can't see the additions when traveling up or doew Washington St. It's a great looking building and the addition does not take away from this. The developer is taking about two restaurant on the ground floor.

Just a few years ago this was a no man's land and now the are a half dozen restaurants on Washington St. In the next few months there will be two 'name' chefs moving even further east on Harrison St., Seth Woods - Gaslight and Michela Larson - Roca

The Penny Savings Bank was owned by a sleaze bag absentee slum lord for about 30+ years. They allowed the building to sit empty and deteriorate . They allowed a Sliver line Station was placed in front, narrowing the sidewalk to almost nothing and blocking the building. The developer has since moved the T-Stop to a better location at their own expense.
 
They should have put the Apple logo on the glass box. Then everybody would be cooing over it.

justin
 
UMMMMMMMMMMMM ....

If by "sleezebag slumlord" you meant the Archdiocese of Boston, you're correct.

They owned the Penny Savings Bank building for the past thirty years.

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2005/03/21/daily66.html

Rumor has it, the Cardinal (Medeiros?) walked into the Penny Savings Bank one day in the 1950's and asked to open an account, and was told they didn't take money from Catholics (or the Irish, I forget which).

The church bought the property the next day, and closed down the bank.
 
Re: UMMMMMMMMMMMM ....

IMAngry said:
Rumor has it, the Cardinal (Medeiros?) walked into the Penny Savings Bank one day in the 1950's and asked to open an account, and was told they didn't take money from Catholics (or the Irish, I forget which).

The church bought the property the next day, and closed down the bank.
Click to expand...

Those darn Penny pinchers.

I dunno, I kind of like the new building. As simple or lazy it may seem, I think of it as being a fresh and clean juxtaposition to the white facade.
 
works for me -- mainly because of the way the addition angles back to acknowledge the upper part of the building next door. also the Hancock in background.
 
Not unlike Exchange Place in the Financial District. New construction molded onto old material. Not saying I like or dislike it, but it seems to work fine for Exchange Place.

exchange_place1.jpg
 
Rumor has it, the Cardinal (Medeiros?) walked into the Penny Savings Bank one day in the 1950's and asked to open an account, and was told they didn't take money from Catholics (or the Irish, I forget which).

If it happened in the 50's it would definitely have been Cardinal Cushing. He was just the guy who would have done something like that! Richard Cardinal Cushing was probably Boston's most colorful and well-known Cardinal.
 
Umm....

Humberto Sousa Medeiros was from an island but it wasn't Ireland, it was the S?o Miguel, the Azores and he wasn't ordained Cardinal till 1970. They probably mean Cardinal Cushing.

Even so, people weren't lining up to develop real estate on Harrison Ave in the 50's and 60's, and judging by the number of replys to the RFP the BRA got for ArtBlock, they still aren't. We are lucky a non-profit community development corp took on the job.
 
I believe the bank closed well before the Archdiocese of Boston bought it. While they owned the property (it is across the street from Holy Cross Cathedral) it was used for a number of years as office space for Catholic charitable works so it didn't simply sit idle until recently. In fact the Archdiocese has been responsible for the development of lots of affordable housing on Washington St. and around eastern Mass. for decades; trouble is there's been little press about it....Hmmm, the Catholic Church doing really good things for the community? Nah....doesn't sell papers.
 
Tut tut ...

Tut tut tut ... I think smart South Enders know the Archdiocese was owner of the land under Rollins Square and that they forced the developer to include affordable housing as part of their agreement.

Much appreciated, by all its neighbors.
 
Thank you for your clarification. I wonder how many people know the number of affordable and senior units the church has developed in NIMBY towns around the state. Much good is being done quietly.
 
In fact the Archdiocese has been responsible for the development of lots of affordable housing on Washington St. and around eastern Mass. for decades; trouble is there's been little press about it....Hmmm, the Catholic Church doing really good things for the community? Nah....doesn't sell papers.

You're absolutely right, the business of the Church is to do good things for the community and they've done a wonderful job providing many services for the public at large. However, when priests and bishops and cardinals of the Church stray from that mission by committing crimes, and the Catholic Church covers up for them, they're gonna get as much press as the next organization. A teacher who's taught for 25 stellar years, then molests one of his/her charges, is gonna get some pretty tough press, a ruined reputation, and possibly jail-time as they should. Should be no different for the Church.
 
at just that intersection

The church promised the neighborhood it would not include retail like a convenience store in Rollins sq, guess what they lied they put in a convenience store. When they planned the new gym next door, the neighborhood asked that they include retail on the Washington St side. They said they have no experience doing retail!

When they sold the Penny Savings Bank instead of selling it to the highest bidder and using the money to keep schools or churches opened they sold it to a connected developer. Many developers in the South End said it was worth a lot more.

And let's not get into how cardinal law was so well rewarded for the sex scandal he ignored.
 
That's not the way I remember it ...

Why do I fear this conversation is about to get way off track?

Anyway, the way I remember it, the developer who bought the land at Rollins Square is the one who said there would be no retail on the first floor - not the church.

Please, now, continue on with your argument.
 
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I've had a number of years to vent my spleen regarding the problems of coverup, abuse, crime, etc. found among certain RCC clergy and leadership and the tragedy that it produced. Believe me, I can trump any anger, disgust, feelings of betrayal, etc. that anyone who is angry with institutional religion can come up with. BUT I came to this site to enjoy an important aspect of my life (Boston Architecture). This is not the site to vent anger that is totally off-topic. Email me if you're that interested in a real conversation about the abuse....otherwise, let's stick to ARCHITECTURE IN BOSTON. Thank you.
 
Plenty of buildings have retail on the first floor and a gym upstairs -- for instance, the CVS/Healthworks in Porter Square, the forthcoming CVS/Boston Sports Club in Davis Square, and a Northeastern University gym on Huntington Avenue.
 
Padre, you can't have it both ways. If you read your original posts on this subject, YOU were the one who strayed off architecture and brought up all the good that the Church is doing with regards to housing, etc. I see no venting in either my post or PaulC's post, I see no anger in any response but a simple pointing out that there are two sides to every story. I have as much right as you do to express my opinion to another poster's opinion.
 
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