W Hotel | 100 Stuart St | Theater District

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This afternoon, quickly fading into the evening:

img2058wt4.jpg
 
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The sun was setting, eh? Must've been just after lunch . . . :(
 
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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 :)
 
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Three pics from Nov. 25 from outside the RMV on Washington:





Edit: I resized the images so they won't slow down the forum; those are mighty big. -vanshnookenraggen
 
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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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I like these shots...it's looking rather sharp. The contrast with the moribund architecture of the Theatre District gives it quite a bit of gusto.
 
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Mmmm...moribund and gusto, I concur.
 
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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.
 
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I like these shots...it's looking rather sharp. The contrast with the moribund architecture of the Theatre District gives it quite a bit of gusto.

which moribund? Radisson or Majestic?
 
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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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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.
 
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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.
 
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It really is a crossroads

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.
 
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if the pike were covered up as planned, then it would be a crossroads.

what t stops are near here?
 
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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.
 
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well, wouldnt you say that would be something worth redeveloping, so that it is more of a crossroads? i definitely agree with van-help this neighborhood, and it will turn itself into a destination.
 
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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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