O’ Connell Street, Dublin

Are you suggesting that the Carlton be demolished Fergal?

I disagree about the 1920s terrace being ugly; it is this very monumental character that makes it distinctive. While most of the infill between the signature buildings is nothing much, not least the Cathedral St corner, collectively they compose a grand whole that is worthy of preservation.
The Savoy has a wonderful elegant facade, Hammam Buildings is more austere (though would be less so if the plastic crap at ground floor level didn’t detract from the fine pilasters), the Gresham also has a monumental quality though softened by its ground floor detail that is not concealed in this case, and the infill in certain areas such as left of the Savoy is equally worthy of note.

Similarly there are a great many fine buildings on the western side: the National Irish Bank, the Carlton, the old Revenue offices, the Garda Station, the AIB at the very top, Lynam’s Hotel – even Joe Walsh tours with a bit of work. It is the very hodgepodge nature of Upper O’Connell Street that makes it special; it reads as an open book more than most streetscapes do. It’s interesting to be able to present an official, palatial facade to the world down at the Liffey on Lower O’Connell St, whilst keeping the original grain and character of the thoroughfare tucked away at the northern end, with almost every plot maintaining the same width since 1748.

Sure there’s some bland stuff up there; Dr Quirkey’s springs to mind a possible condender for reinvention, but for the most part is most certainly a lack of maintainance that is the problem up there, not architecture.

The view down the plane tree-less street now from Parnell Street is nothing short of breathtaking – the eastern terrace looks spectacular in the sun:

(slightly over-exposed)

…Horace O’Rourke’s terrace in particular looking incredibly monumental, as does Clerys way in the distance.

The interior of the refurbished Savoy has yet to be posted – here’s the foyer in all its magnificence. What a transformation!

During the ripping out of the 60s alterations, the original plasterwork or elements of it were discovered, and so it was restored to how it originally was. And sure enough, looking at a 1920s picture of it, it is almost identical!

The plasterwork also reflects the basic theme underlying the design of the Savoy Cinema – the merging of classical and Art Deco/Modernist styles. At a casual glance, the plasterwork looks like a fairly standard, almost Edwardian design, but on closer inspection you can see that the outer ‘ring’ of each centrepiece sweeps around in a broad rounded curve, overlapping in the very middle – classic Art Deco, especially evident in the central bay above.

The chandeliers add a wonderful touch of glamour and elegance, also brought up to date with what seem to be clusters of sparkling halogen bulbs inside.

And from the Irish Independent a while back:

After some more research of chandelier designs from the 1930s and with the help of Falks Lighting, Terenure, a design was decided upon. The chandeliers were then custom manufactured in Italy to the specifications provided.
“We always felt the floor finish would be of major importance and after several samples provided we decided to use the Nero Marquina porcelain tile imported from Italy,” the designers add. It was felt from an early stage that the main staircases leading to the first floor would be a major focal point in the space. In order to give the visual effect of two grand staircases, Lough Construction spent considerable time providing different templates on step designs to give the feel that was required.

The flooring effect was continued up the staircases to the first level, along with a custom designed and manufactured carpet, manufactured by PFL carpets in Limerick. The carpet features a stylised version of a fan design inspired by research of the 1930s. “The evidence in early photos showed a dark wood panelling around the foyer space,” McCabe Design adds. “We decided to use walnut as the main wood material for all major joinery in the space. As the grain in walnut was so regular we designed the walnut wall panelling in its simplest form possible. We felt there was no need for unnecessary raised panel details.

“We accented the panelling with 5mm stainless steel strips which were rebated into its surface. This helped to visually link the wall treatment to the custom stainless steel hand rails which were placed to the interior as required to satisfy current regulations. All the lighting for the refurbished foyer was fitted with warm colour bulbs in an effort to replicate the warm tungsten light evident from 1930’s lighting.” As part of the refurbishment an old shop unit was converted to the new ticket sales area. The joinery for the box office desk, manufactured by Lough Construction, is provided in walnut and continues its links with the main foyer space with its stylistic approach to 1930s design. Stainless steel signage throughout provides a sparkle.

Ends

The walnut and inlaid steel strips is beautiful, one of the finest aspects of the restoration. Overall, one of the best projects of its kind I’ve ever come across.
The balance between contemporary design and respect for the origins of the building is spot on – a quality, timeless look has been achieved.

Thanks for that information jdivision. So who exactly owns the site as of now? Is it in a state of limbo, or do the CC own it as a result of the CPO, albeit being contested?

It may take seven years to develop the entire site, but there’s little reason why the main body of the Carlton link couldn’t be up in two years, post planning of course. Seven years would seem to be the contractual timeframe, but hopefully it’ll be up and running long before that.

As for the Savoy signage Morlan, what of the ghastly silver box its tacked on to?! Saying that, it just may be possible that the current arrangement is temporary to get the cinema through its anniversary year. It makes sense that for the high profile events, and general media attention through the year, that the dirty old yoke of a canopy be quickly clad over with a quick-fix material.
There just may be a flicker of hope that the original 1929 canopy will be reinstated…

It doesn’t make sense that such a lavish refurbishment take place inside, that proposals be made for wholescale quality alterations the exterior including the reinstallation of cut stone piers at ground floor level, and a restoration of the bronze windows etc, all to bring the cinema back to how it once was, but that that heap of junk be permanently erected over the doors.
Hopefully it’ll disappear….