The Alcott (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

awood91 said:
Between this, Gov Center Garage towers, Hub on Causeway, and Avalon North Station, we are witnessing a major expansion of the skyline. Is it fair to say the skyline hasn't evolved so rapidly since the 1970s?
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From an aesthetic/geometric standpoint--which is almost certainly what you're driving at--this question seems subjective.

That said, from a volume/use standpoint--I think you can make it quite objective!

Take Wiki's page of Boston skyscrapers.

Sort by year erected.

You'll see 12 towers built between 1970-77.

[One Boston Pl., 28 State, 100 Fed., 1 Beacon, 99 High, Harbor Towers, 100 Summer, 1 Fed., McCormack, Hancock, Fed Reserve, 60 State]

How much commercial [office tower] sq. ft. was there in Boston before 1970? How much was added by the time 60 State opened? Take the percentage increase, and compare it to our current spurt--however it's demarcated--and enjoy!
 
Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

I think hes saying since pretty much everything substantial was built in the 70's, this is comparable in how much of an impact its having, and there has not been something comparable to then until now.

awood91 said:
Is it fair to say the skyline hasn't evolved so rapidly since the 1970s?
Click to expand...
 
Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

re; DBM; Well, maybe. Still, i would start at 300' to get a more accurate picture. After the novelty Pru, the pace of construction of 380~600' towers was fairly strong from 1964~84, or perhaps you might get as broad as 1964~88, as unabashed height began to trail off.

After 60 State and the Fed Reserve in 1977, we get into the 2nd of back to back to back recessions from 1973~82. This itself is interesting because Massachusetts experienced less exposure to the infamous 'double-dip' in the early 80s, if the prolonged Massachusetts & SF tech booms didn't contribute to helping the US economy out of the fire altogether.

Despite the '80~82 'double dip' wave (perhaps the 3rd recession in less than a decade), we got 7 highrises in 4 years (completed) between 1981 and 85 well-timed for the tech/ financial/legal services boom/s of the mid/late 80's; 1 Post Office Sq ~520', The Marriot 395' The Westin 381', 1 Devonshire Pl ~415', Dewey Square ~600', Exchange Place ~540' and 500 Boylston about 332'. Construction starts stopped when money dried up briefly, from about 1981~83, But with the Reagan boom, we got another burst w/ 4 towers in 1987~88 when supply was already pretty good!

It had been 5 years since Flynn declared war on the Skyscraper. And, in the last gasp of the Mass tech boom, only 1 IP went tall, w/ the other 3 towers going ~380'. *The (3) 380' towers rest on sites that could properly handle 650~750'.

By about 1989, the Mass tech economy had cooled and the nimby years settled in. During the Flynn & Menino years starting around 1988, highrises above 300~350' slowed to a trickle. After IP, between 1987 and 2016 (29 yrs), only 3 towers rose over 500', only 8 above 400', w/ a few others barely topping 300'.

Sexy tower construction probably doesn't reveal as much about Boston's rise–as much as sacred institutions of higher learning, Boston's historical renown and regional appeal (not that anyone asked).

When you look at the various gaps, they clearly reflect those times visited upon the tightening of credit, a Mass tech bust, Big Dig, and nimby years w/ their build-it-squat-n-fat mayoral stooges. Through tumultuous periods of change–a process that steered clear of wild speculation, and stayed the course produced a prolonged miracle.


*Milton Friedman pours the recession years out on the table in Money Mischief-Episodes In Monetary History-1994. Boston construction in the 70's and 80's reflects the credit tightening periods.

/
 
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Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

Thanks for the pictures BeeLine!
 
Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

So the only time this was ever extensively rendered was when it was the same tower, but with brick. Ive been sitting on these, they were never posted because it changed quick, but they never released the updated set, the towers u/c, so I figured Id post them. This is the only way you get an actual idea of the impact this tower is going to have, and its the same exact facade detailing/massing. So here they are:







































https://treetop100babynames.com/exotic-baby-names-boys
 
Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

Wow, that is a lot of digging left to do. How big is the podium for this building? Looks massive.

Also, what's the soil like underneath, big dig slop or pretty solid bedrock?
 
Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

That isn't a podium.... That's the existing block in the foreground. The hole/garage is to hold some ~830 cars. Gonna be a long, long, LONG, LONG time before steel will be rising.
 
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Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

 
Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

I didn’t realize that they needed to blast for this one.
 
Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

Poolio said:
They seem to have left out one little detail here...

Click to expand...

Over-rated relics aside; the real tragedy is they failed at just widening the major streets, + eliminating
the cart-ways to preserve Scollay–and thus, create a proper urban grid of modern scale....
Instead, they chose to desecrate the land to make desolate, foreboding, Orwellian superblocks,
far out of proportion to the neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods' modest scale, and character,
and sealed off pedestrian pathways – (unconscionable).
The Master Plan needed to begin and end with a non-negotiable plan to preserve Scollay Square's iconic,
pedestrian friendly street grid.


RandomWalk said:
I didn’t realize that they needed to blast for this one.
Click to expand...

i often wonder where the mined out rock and gravels are to be taken.
Are they getting crushed, to be used for concrete pours around the City?
 
Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

Crane base appears to be in place per Oxblue webcam.
 
Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

150 Staniford Street (the low-rise co-op building next door to this project) is so fugly. Never liked it, never will.

It adds nothing at street level and I've never known anyone who has actually walked that side of the street, ever. Not even a prostitute.
 
Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

This is still going to be taller than north station tower right?
 
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