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kz1000ps
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Re: W Hotel
All the pictures I took today were taken from 3:20 to 4:30, with this one being at 3:58.
Subtext: the Patriots-Dolphins game kept my interest longer than I anticipated, so that by the time I got out I only had an hour of sunlight left (you can see how low the sun was in even the earliest pics I took at Harvard-Allston) and I was left racing around Cambridge like a madman trying to get it all covered
All the pictures I took today were taken from 3:20 to 4:30, with this one being at 3:58.
Subtext: the Patriots-Dolphins game kept my interest longer than I anticipated, so that by the time I got out I only had an hour of sunlight left (you can see how low the sun was in even the earliest pics I took at Harvard-Allston) and I was left racing around Cambridge like a madman trying to get it all covered
JimboJones
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Re: W Hotel
Re: W Hotel
The building itself is ok, a little too long for my taste (that's what she said...sorry had to do it). It is a plus in the area, But I think the real thing that will determine whether this is great is its street level interaction.
The building itself is ok, a little too long for my taste (that's what she said...sorry had to do it). It is a plus in the area, But I think the real thing that will determine whether this is great is its street level interaction.
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Re: W Hotel
I still don't know what I think of this. Nice HRD tho.
I still don't know what I think of this. Nice HRD tho.
Re: W Hotel
I like the light colored glass--it provides a nice contrast to brick, concrete, reflective glass, and dark glass. (Not that I want all new buildings to be similar, mind you).
And I am so happy to see this site built on.
I like the light colored glass--it provides a nice contrast to brick, concrete, reflective glass, and dark glass. (Not that I want all new buildings to be similar, mind you).
And I am so happy to see this site built on.
czsz
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Re: W Hotel
All of it. The neighborhood has the catatonic feel of one of those industrial Midwest cities that has seen much more destruction than construction in the last 50 years, its buildings mostly mediocre prewar stock.
All of it. The neighborhood has the catatonic feel of one of those industrial Midwest cities that has seen much more destruction than construction in the last 50 years, its buildings mostly mediocre prewar stock.
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Re: W Hotel
I kind of wish they would just turn this into a Times Sq-esque type place with ads and lights everywhere. It really is a crossroads and making it a destination would only help it. The W-Hotel could be the first step.
I mean I don't even like Times Sq but it would really plant a seed to make Boston a 24 hours city.
I kind of wish they would just turn this into a Times Sq-esque type place with ads and lights everywhere. It really is a crossroads and making it a destination would only help it. The W-Hotel could be the first step.
I mean I don't even like Times Sq but it would really plant a seed to make Boston a 24 hours city.
kennedy
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Re: W Hotel
Yes, yes...it's very shallow and pedantic, the whole neighborhood.
czsz-you know im just messing around. i agree (partially) to what you're saying-most of the theatres in the theatre district are beautiful buildings that have simply run out of lovin'. give em some, and this is a hip happenin' neighborhood.
Yes, yes...it's very shallow and pedantic, the whole neighborhood.
czsz-you know im just messing around. i agree (partially) to what you're saying-most of the theatres in the theatre district are beautiful buildings that have simply run out of lovin'. give em some, and this is a hip happenin' neighborhood.
czsz
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Re: W Hotel
I think part of the problem is that it's really not. Both the Theatre District and Park Square have always felt sort of superfluous to central Boston - like the city's back lot, an urban afterthought. It barely has room to breathe, to collect people and uses before it collides with the Common or falls off into the Mass Pike trench. I mean, you can see from one of the neighborhood's edges to the other in some of castevens' photos.
People actually need an incentive to show up there. The theatres it's named for aren't exactly doing the trick anymore.
I think part of the problem is that it's really not. Both the Theatre District and Park Square have always felt sort of superfluous to central Boston - like the city's back lot, an urban afterthought. It barely has room to breathe, to collect people and uses before it collides with the Common or falls off into the Mass Pike trench. I mean, you can see from one of the neighborhood's edges to the other in some of castevens' photos.
People actually need an incentive to show up there. The theatres it's named for aren't exactly doing the trick anymore.
czsz
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Re: W Hotel
I think Chinatown and Boylston are the closest. A lot of people get off at Boylston for the Boston Common cinema, which would have helped the neighborhood a lot more if it were further down Tremont or on Stuart (the current spot would have done just fine as parkfront condos or offices).
Even if the Pike were covered, the South End is a mess of housing projects and assorted architectural detritus for blocks until you reach the more cohesively urban, vibrant parts of the nabe.
I think Chinatown and Boylston are the closest. A lot of people get off at Boylston for the Boston Common cinema, which would have helped the neighborhood a lot more if it were further down Tremont or on Stuart (the current spot would have done just fine as parkfront condos or offices).
Even if the Pike were covered, the South End is a mess of housing projects and assorted architectural detritus for blocks until you reach the more cohesively urban, vibrant parts of the nabe.
czsz
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Re: W Hotel
I'm always suspicious of attempts to make places that have become avoided for a reason into "destinations". Even in its darkest days, Times Square was a vital transport hub. To try and pretend the Theatre District is worth lots of lighted advertisement strikes me as an artificial band-aid. On a similar note, I really hate Toronto's Dundas Square, a literal attempt to recreate Times Square, but it's at least in a relatively central location.
I'm not condemning the area forever, I'm just trying to give it a proper diagnosis. What would help it most of all would be an incentive to revive of Boston's nightlife and entertainment scene in the area - a revival that would preferably not solely be funded by Emerson College. A shot in the arm in the form of arts grants, small business loans for trendy little bars and music clubs, maybe even a dash of Combat Zone venues would be best for it.
I'm always suspicious of attempts to make places that have become avoided for a reason into "destinations". Even in its darkest days, Times Square was a vital transport hub. To try and pretend the Theatre District is worth lots of lighted advertisement strikes me as an artificial band-aid. On a similar note, I really hate Toronto's Dundas Square, a literal attempt to recreate Times Square, but it's at least in a relatively central location.
I'm not condemning the area forever, I'm just trying to give it a proper diagnosis. What would help it most of all would be an incentive to revive of Boston's nightlife and entertainment scene in the area - a revival that would preferably not solely be funded by Emerson College. A shot in the arm in the form of arts grants, small business loans for trendy little bars and music clubs, maybe even a dash of Combat Zone venues would be best for it.
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