Winthrop Center | 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Randy N. Craven-Krawtch said:
That entire area needs rescuing, but few people seem to care much about the situation.
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If you want to make lazy, vague, over-the-top assertions and gross generalizations about the neighborhood, there's plenty of space on the Globe comments forum. Otherwise, make some practical, thoughtful suggestions that demonstrate you've been studying and researching the "situation", however you can define it in a way that is incisive and compelling. Robust qualitative & quantitative data indicating how, precisely, "few people seem to care much about the situation" is especially welcomed.
 
It is mostly a desire to avoid having the “wrong” people loitering. Beautiful people with money to spend are welcome. Homeless people are not.
 
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BosDevelop said:
This! I don't understand why the steps are ever closed during the day. Are we trying to encourage people to linger in Downtown Crossing or just walk through on their way to somewhere else?
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I don't pass through there that often, and usually when I do I'm on a bike. But is this typical? Or might it have been due to recent weather and icing?
 
Kinopio said:
Those steps being fenced off half the year are a great example of how people are treated like crap in this country compared to cars.
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and that's your example of how people are treated like crap? I can think of much worse. When I use to visit dtx, those steps were never used. I suspect it may have been put in place when there were summer activities (street performers) in the immediate area.
 
Funny thing about those expressing their outrage is that if some homeless guy fell and split his coconut they’d probably be the first ones demanding an investigation into how he was allowed up there and why it was open in the first place.
 
citydweller said:
and that's your example of how people are treated like crap? I can think of much worse. When I use to visit dtx, those steps were never used. I suspect it may have been put in place when there were summer activities (street performers) in the immediate area.
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It's clearly a "nice weather" amenity and of COURSE potential litigation and liability plays a role. FWIW the last three(!) times I was in NYC, the "Red Steps" in Times Square were blocked/closed to the public. For the exact same reaons.

"Occasionally, you may arrive at Times Square and find the Red Stairs closed to the public. The crew puts a barrier in front of the iconic ruby-red steps to indicate that access is not possible. Various reasons could lead to their closure.

For instance, maintenance crews might need to clean the stairs in the world’s most famous square. Inclement weather, such as rain, could also result in temporary closure. This is done to prevent visitors from slipping and getting injured. Additionally, the Red Stairs in Times Square are often closed during the night for safety reasons and thorough cleaning in preparation for the next day."

During the summer, the steps by Millenium are open nearly every day and closed at night. How INSANE! Boston treats people like crap! Rich people are welcome and poor people are not!

Go, go, go virtue-warriors! Save the world, one keystroke at a time.
 
I don’t think apologist arguments for frequently closing public amenities for less than justifiable reasons are indicated here. While some statements here might be somewhat hyperbolic, denigrating them as unreasonable and cheerfully accepting the (bullshit) excuses that are often offered for closing perfectly harmless and reasonable public amenities is ignoring the many problematic practices and patterns embedded in such closures—ranging from, yes, hostility to homeless people, underfunding of government, bureaucratic inaction, the loss of enjoyment of amenities due to defensive civil practices, and excessive use of “security” and “safety” to herd people away from congregating in places the powers that be don’t want. All of these are real issues and impact the urban fabric of cities, including Boston, and are relevant to this forum. The steps in question were built only a decade ago as a public amenity. They’re new. IE, nothing has changed, not the weather, terrorists, homeless people, or lawsuits. If it is true that we invested land and money into a large architectural folly that is deemed necessary to close off for half the year due to weather, that’s a waste of an investment.

I always thought those steps had potential but they were a little out of place and probably suffer from being too high and not wide enough. In any case, either fish or cut bait: it’s a big structure so it should be usable 365 or it should be replaced with something else. Boston should not be in the business of approving things being built that need to be roped, fenced, bollarded, or jersey barriered off for whole swaths of the year. Barriered off public spaces are classic detractors of urban space.

All that being said, has anyone actually confirmed if these steps are regularly closed off in the first place?
 
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FK4 said:
I don’t apologist arguments for frequently closing public amenities for less than justifiable reasons are indicated here. While some statements here might be somewhat hyperbolic, denigrating them as unreasonable and cheerfully accepting the (bullshit) excuses that are often offered for closing perfectly harmless and reasonable public amenities is ignoring the many problematic practices and patterns embedded in such closures—ranging from, yes, hostility to homeless people, underfunding of government, bureaucratic inaction, the loss of enjoyment of amenities due to defensive civil practices, and excessive use of “security” and “safety” to herd people away from congregating in places the powers that be don’t want. All of these are real issues and impact the urban fabric of cities, including Boston, and are relevant to this forum. The steps in question were built only a decade ago as a public amenity. They’re new. IE, nothing has changed, not the weather, terrorists, homeless people, or lawsuits. If it is true that we invested land and money into a large architectural folly that is deemed necessary to close off for half the year due to weather, that’s a waste of an investment.

I always thought those steps had potential but they were a little out of place and probably suffer from being too high and not wide enough. In any case, either fish or cut bait: it’s a big structure so it should be usable 365 or it should be replaced with something else. Boston should not be in the business of approving things being built that need to be roped, fenced, bollarded, or jersey barriered off for whole swaths of the year. Barriered off public spaces are classic detractors of urban space.

All that being said, has anyone actually confirmed if these steps are regularly closed off in the first place?
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After reading your rant, I had to go back to the previous picture to remind myself if those were cement steps or a homeless shelter.
 
The steps always seemed like the goofiest thing in the neighborhood (well, maybe the maudlin Famine Memorial is in the running there.) But it is a used comfortably by the Washington Street Irregulars and others in the April-November time frame. I would not want to go on it in super cold slippery weather. And it would be a lousy shelter. An arts budget for it would be nice.
 
kmp1284 said:
Funny thing about those expressing their outrage is that if some homeless guy fell and split his coconut they’d probably be the first ones demanding an investigation into how he was allowed up there and why it was open in the first place.
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Come back when the T puts up safety barriers between the tracks and platforms at all underground stations.
 
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From what I remember the steps always felt a bit too steep, to the extent that climbing to the top was semi-scary. They're much poorer overall than the more gradual ones built at Fan Pier, and the top doesn't offer the larger standing area for small crowds to gather.
 
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BosDevelop said:
They used to have music performances and events (I saw daytime trivia one time) in warmer months.
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Yup, you’re right. In early days they worked it hard as a sort of “B Stage”. But was never sure where the “A Stage” was!
 
If nothing else, the steps will always serve as an exquisite vantage-point to admire 387 Washington St (aka DSW building), which was just designated as a Boston landmark and, in my opinion (warning: hot take incoming!!!) was as deserving of landmarking status as 350 Boylston was not.

In addition, should the 11 Bromfield St. project ever get built, they serve as another amazing, free vantage-point for taking in the stupendous theater of a huge construction crew mobilizing to demolish that building and then erecting a 300 ft.+ tower in its place...

387 Wash.jpg
 
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DBM said:
If nothing else, the steps will always serve as an exquisite vantage-point to admire 387 Washington St (aka DSW building), which was just designated as a Boston landmark and, in my opinion (warning: hot take incoming!!!) was as deserving of landmarking status as 350 Boylston was not.

In addition, should the 11 Bromfield St. project ever get built, they serve as another amazing, free vantage-point for taking in the stupendous theater of a huge construction crew mobilizing to demolish that building and then erecting a 300 ft.+ tower in its place...

View attachment 59540
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The garage needs to go. The nexus of all the city’s subway lines leads to….automobile parking.
 
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