Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am an advocate of raising the blighted areas of the Seaport and South Bay FYI. Some of those areas just absolutely stink. I think they should zone for skyscrapers in South Bay and the Seaport. Yes we can do without Planet Storage.
Not sure the Seaport will ever be zoned for skyscrapers as it's ~4,000ft from the nearest Logan runway.
Also not sure I'd call any of the areas of the Seaport "blighted". Sure there are a few parking lots left, but development is happening fast. Waterside Place and 319 A St are finishing up. The new residence at Pier 4 and new Price Water House headquarters are underway. 22 Liberty Drive broke ground last week. The Envoy Hotel is set to break ground by the end of the year. There is also a large residential project under way on D Street (across from the Convention Center) and another hotel set to break ground next door to that soon. A Starwood I believe.
Not sure the Seaport will ever be zoned for skyscrapers as it's ~4,000ft from the nearest Logan runway.
You're right on that. To be more specific, the FAA imposes a 300ft height restriction on the Seaport and it's not something up for discussion. Runway 9/27 lines up right with the Seaport and unless the city wanted to accept much stricter rules on it's use or close it (which unless someone is building a new runway to replace it, would cause massive problems), the FAA isn't going to budge.
Quote:
Also not sure I'd call any of the areas of the Seaport "blighted". Sure there are a few parking lots left
I'd agree. There's empty/parking lots, redevelopment, and a warehouse or two. Blight is abandoned buildings, decay, etc. The Seaport just has a bunch of flat, empty/unused areas. That said, the parking availability is one of the big strengths of the convention center, and they ought to build a nice big deck or two somewhere off the waterfront (maybe where the big surface lot South of the BCEC is now) to alleviate the loss of parking for the BCEC.
You don't have to have skyscrapers George. DC has ZERO. It's still a great and exciting city. That said, I am a fan of skyscrapers.
Southie most definitely has history - it's just not ALL Revolutionary era - although some most definitely is. That's where Washington put the guns - on Fort Hill - dragged from Ft Ticonderoga which prompt Evacuation Day. There are nooks and crannies of old history hidden all over Southie - Fort Independence an obvious not so hard to find. But yes, Southie represents a different era - but yes, I like it - it has character - one you can't find just anywhere. In fact, most places you can't find at all.
I am an advocate of raising the blighted areas of the Seaport and South Bay FYI. Some of those areas just absolutely stink. I think they should zone for skyscrapers in South Bay and the Seaport. Yes we can do without Planet Storage.
I'm also an advocate of fixing Government Center. I think they should demolish MOST of City Hall - keeping just a piece for *it's* historic value. As in the history of the era of atrocious development. Yes it totally doesn't fit colonial Boston. Why they ever did that in the first place - well those people were insane back in that era anyways. They are the ones who mowed the West End, gave us the Central Artery and of course Government Center. It was the era of Robert Moses and the million highways to nowhere.
Fort Independence is a national historic place and can't be torn down. Most of southie is mid-century houses, apartment buildings and projects. Do the people have character, or the buildings and institutions? Is "character" being defined simply as grit?
DC has zero because no building is allowed to be taller than the monument, which is why mclean,va and tysons corner are where all the new companies are.
I think people make a bit too much of history. Are we really calling for Government Center to be partially preserved to mark it's history? Should we put a plaque outside every store that used to be a dunkin donuts? Should detroit keep all it's dilapidated homes because they are "history"? It should be about keeping quality. What happened in Boston, and what it was built upon, was quality. In order for something to be a real part of history it should be notable, good or bad. Salem witch trial courts, ground zero, tea party, ellis island, etc. City Hall is definitely not "historic." It was built in the 1960s, and nothing of particular magnitude has happened there. If that place should be preserved, so should every building that's ever existed.
I think people make a bit too much of history. Are we really calling for Government Center to be partially preserved to mark it's history? Should we put a plaque outside every store that used to be a dunkin donuts? Should detroit keep all it's dilapidated homes because they are "history"? It should be about keeping quality. What happened in Boston, and what it was built upon, was quality. In order for something to be a real part of history it should be notable, good or bad. Salem witch trial courts, ground zero, tea party, ellis island, etc. City Hall is definitely not "historic." It was built in the 1960s, and nothing of particular magnitude has happened there. If that place should be preserved, so should every building that's ever existed.
You might just get your wish.
Back in the preliminary part of the mayoral race, Marty Walsh, Boston's new mayor, said that, if elected, he would sell city hall plaza to private developers.
Back in the preliminary part of the mayoral race, Marty Walsh, Boston's new mayor, said that, if elected, he would sell city hall plaza to private developers.
It'll be interesting [maybe even exciting?] if this actually happens.
Menino tried this in '98 and 2006. If I remember, part of the problem was the cost involved in (or limitations to) building on top of the Government Center T station, which of course sits underneath.
Government Center is definitely an embarrassment. I saw the redesign options a couple of weeks ago and hate them all. Anything short of its destruction is unacceptable. But I do agree with you about keeping some of it, as a reminder of what happened and as a plea to never return to such a dark time.
It's what you call "Richardson Romanesque". You can see the similarities in Albany City Hall, Trinity Church in Copley Sq, Toronto City Hall, and Minneapolis City Hall.
So are we going to redesign Boston City Hall right here right now? Sounds like fun!
I'd agree. There's empty/parking lots, redevelopment, and a warehouse or two. Blight is abandoned buildings, decay, etc. The Seaport just has a bunch of flat, empty/unused areas. That said, the parking availability is one of the big strengths of the convention center, and they ought to build a nice big deck or two somewhere off the waterfront (maybe where the big surface lot South of the BCEC is now) to alleviate the loss of parking for the BCEC.
I kinda thought they had some bandwidth for height in Seaport seeing things like the Seaport Hotel and all that going up.
The blighted part of the "Seaport District" - well what I mean is all the horrendous mess west of the Convention Center - all those dilapidated warehouses, junkyards - ewww - maybe that's not actually the seaport district - I thought it was. That's the nasty area I mean. That area is as filthy as South Bay and the Old Colony area.
Fort Independence is a national historic place and can't be torn down. Most of southie is mid-century houses, apartment buildings and projects. Do the people have character, or the buildings and institutions? Is "character" being defined simply as grit?
DC has zero because no building is allowed to be taller than the monument, which is why mclean,va and tysons corner are where all the new companies are.
I think people make a bit too much of history. Are we really calling for Government Center to be partially preserved to mark it's history? Should we put a plaque outside every store that used to be a dunkin donuts? Should detroit keep all it's dilapidated homes because they are "history"? It should be about keeping quality. What happened in Boston, and what it was built upon, was quality. In order for something to be a real part of history it should be notable, good or bad. Salem witch trial courts, ground zero, tea party, ellis island, etc. City Hall is definitely not "historic." It was built in the 1960s, and nothing of particular magnitude has happened there. If that place should be preserved, so should every building that's ever existed.
People definitely DO NOT "make too much of history" my friend. Our future - yours and mine and everyone reading this = approximately 80 years at best. History is forever. You have maybe eighty years to do what you can do. Your legacy is forever. It is eternity. To me, it's much more important than most people give credit.
It's also quite interesting to me. Having moved down to Dallas, my historical interest at the moment is MesoAmerica. We have three thousands years of secrets being decoded and escavated as we speak. We're learning through science and study where we came from and who was here before us. I think it's quite interesting. Learning the stories and preserving the memory of those who came before is of utmost importance in my mind cause it connects and preserves us all. Also, history is where we came from and biologically and culturally who we are. If we don't know history, we don't know ourselves.
Can you believe some lunatic wanted to knock down the Pyramid of the Sun to put a highway here? I mean that's just insane!
No of course, every D&D need not be cast in bronze. Interesting you put it that way. My uncle told me once they were building a D&D in Albany and in the process of digging the foundation they stumbled upon the walls of old Fort Orange and due to fumbling, indecision, and failure to act, got scooped up taken to the dump!
I think as you get older you start to realize more and more that most of your life you will spend being dead. So you start to realize how much you would really like for people to remember you. And it's sorta like the right thing to do. Witness - The Avenue of the Dead:
Boston has a long rich history by American standards, but it is very new by old world standards. That is with the exception the 10,000 year old pilings under Boylston St. But much happened, much has passed, and we have lost some very good things due to lack of foresight. Witness Charlestown City Sq - whose wonderful elegance was replaced by an on-ramp.
Read the fascinating whole story. Note the story documents how some bad ideas are indeed undone (The EL in this case).
Regarding the present city hall, I think despite the fact it is atrociously ugly and totally not fitting to colonial Boston, it is still kinda cool looking. Like freaky. So keep a piece of it. Did you ever notice that down on Atlantic Ave just past Haymarket Sq there a just a few green steel girders left standing from the old Central Artery? Now how cool is that?
I kinda thought they had some bandwidth for height in Seaport seeing things like the Seaport Hotel and all that going up.
The blighted part of the "Seaport District" - well what I mean is all the horrendous mess west of the Convention Center - all those dilapidated warehouses, junkyards - ewww - maybe that's not actually the seaport district - I thought it was. That's the nasty area I mean. That area is as filthy as South Bay and the Old Colony area.
I assume you mean east of the Convention Center? East of D St? That would technically be the Seaport District, as the Seaport District was zoned as far south as West First St and East to the Reserve Channel.
I agree the area from D St east to the channel isn't attractive. It's an industrial area, and also very active.
For example W.B Mason has a showroom and warehouse in there. There is a Boston Athletic Club (BAC) which always has people coming and going. UPS and DHL have their SB operations in there along with a Verizon facility and a Comcast warehouse. Yankee Bus lines has a yard. Machine Age is next to the UPS. The Barnes building has a couple parking lots and Massport/Conley Terminal uses a lot to park trailers, but there is no junkyard.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
