National Wax Monstrosity

No am not being to PC on the issue. I am just sick to death of people generalising about various areas of the city. I am not denying that there are crime problems in various parts of Dublin, of course there is. However, there are broader societal reasons for sections of a community resorting to crime. The reason I took issue with your point is that you came out with a sweeping statement which encompased everyone. If someone gets caught committing a white collar crime (or any other crime) in one of the more affluent suburbs, should the whole area be blamed for their wrong-doing? I just think you need to think about the localities in the broader sense, and not just based on an element which gives them a bad name.

Kefu, the majority of the blight in that area has been caused by developers who have allowed various properties to fall into ruined conditions.

Perhaps referring to the ‘activities’ of the area would be more appropriate than generalising its people – which presumably is what was intended…

Agreed about the unfortunate nature of the area though – every time we used to pass the Wax in the car it was always ‘lock your doors’ :rolleyes: – frightened the hell out of us as kids 🙂

Pleasant enough area to walk through during the day though – lots of fading grandeur…

Henrietta Street was a “posh” area …. Dorset Street at that time would still have been largely a country road….

Henrietta Street
Archiseek / Ireland / Buildings of Ireland / Dublin / North City / Henrietta Street / Introduction

Henrietta Street dates from the 1720s and was laid out by Luke Gardiner as his first venture. Gardiner, more than any other individual was responsible for turning Dublin into an elegant Georgian city. Named after Henrietta, Duchess of Grafton it is a dead-end terminated by the Law Society’s Kings Inns and was designed an as enclave of prestigious houses. The street is still cobbled but many of the fine houses are now in disrepair.

In the mid 1700s, the street was inhabited by five peers, a peeress, a peer’s son, a judge, a member of parliament, a Bishop and two wealthy clergymen as well as Luke Gardiner himself. At the top end of the street next to the Kings Inns is the Law Library designed by Frederick Darley in 1827. This replaced three of the oldest houses on the street. A proposal by Abercrombie for a National Cathedral in this area would have meant the demolition of the street with the Kings Inns forming one side of a large piazza.

http://www.irish-architecture.com/buildings_ireland/dublin/northcity/henrietta_street/index.html

Paul, What is the alignment of that National Cathedral plan.
I can’t make out where Henrietta Street or the King’s Inns are.

in the image:
http://www.irish-architecture.com/buildings_ireland/dublin/northcity/henrietta_street/cathedral_proposal_lge.html

Henrietta Street has been demolished… to the left of the piazza (the space with the obelisk) is the Kings Inns

@Graham Hickey wrote:

It’d be so funny to be innocently coming along and notice half a church emerging from one of the most reviled piles in the city 🙂

Graham, (and anyone else interested) I was walking past the Wax Museum today and I noticed that through some missing brickwork the remains of that old church actually can be seen! I am not actually joking about this. What I think I could see is the top part of that alcove that is to the top left of the building shown in the photo posted by Paul as it was before it was surrounded by the present building! (If that makes any sense)

Phil

Has anybody been passing the Wax Museum upstairs on the number 10 . .. and seen the tantilising georgain ionic column bearly veiwable through the hole in the facade? I’d love to see it uncovered. is there any plans for this site?

The mind boggles at what was going through the head of the developer at the time; why would you even bother going to the effort and expense of shrouding any building, let alone an historic church, in a concrete box?! :confused:
Why would you want to make your investment even uglier?!

These were taken a while ago, but yes you can make out various details in some of the gaps in the cladding – indeed it’s not even cladding, more of a shell that just covers over the church. The ground floor arches seen in Paul’s picture below can be made out from the pavement below:

A monster of a structure all round.

Donnie Cassidy?