O’ Connell Street, Dublin
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I think the objective of the IAP was to tackle the whole area and hence plans were drawn up (but soon forgotten) for side streets. The makeover for OC St is just one part of this and had certain aims, but it now seems to have become the project with hardly a mention of the side streets here from DCC. I suppose many are in limbo with Luas or Metro works proposed.
Parnell Sq is of course next on the hit list for a makeover., to start this immediately if the City Manager is to be believed. The other streets you refer to are part of the HARP plan… Henry Street its true is thriving but I’m not sure you could say that at all about Liffey Street or upper Mary Street, they’re in bits. The jury is also out on Blooms Quarter as its only a new development and as the relevant thread mentions is still a bit sterile. And while Arnotts will hoepfully do wonders for Abbey Street, the Luas was a compeltely missed opportunity for this street in my opinion. it is now so dead and unattractive.
90 or so pages into this great discussion of what needs to be done with O’Connell Street, how that is to be done, how work is progressing and how that work has turned out, could the NEW O’Connell Street now….finally….be deserving of a thread of its own?
Funny you should mention this as I was just thinking the same thing. It would be a shame to lose all the debate gone. However there are lots of new issues coming up to discuss. Perhaps Graham Hickeys promised before and after shots would be a good starting point…. and after all Graham did start this thread.
@StephenC wrote:
….. And while Arnotts will hoepfully do wonders for Abbey Street, the Luas was a compeltely missed opportunity for this street in my opinion. it is now so dead and unattractive.
It is dead east of o’connell. And this will not be changing anytime soon , The abbey theatre is what would turn the street around . I have to say that i can uderstand the minister refusing to shell out the money to buy the adjacent properties. I would have proposed the unthinkable in these circumstances : a smaller theatre ! or a taller theatre. There are lots of clever ways to organise seating, without forcing people into the gods.
East of oconnell , i would disagree it is in a state of change which is only beginning , but arnotts will give it huge momentum. I don’t think it is hyperbole to say that the level of retail on henry street will be duplicated on abbey street between liffey street and the abbey theatre in the future.
When i talk of liffey street i meant ONLY the part between abbey street and the haypenny bridge. It is not particularly pretty with the cars but it is really quite a nice place to sit out a have coffee at the weekend.
The other bit of liffey street is trully awfull . it is so non descript. marks and spencer to blame there.
Yep….the longer I spend drivin past it up and down,up and down several times each day and night,the more it becomes solidfied in my mind…..:cool:
The Taxi Rank has compromised the ENTIRE IAP concept for O Connell St.
What we now have is 3/4 of an IAP which splutters to a halt at poor oul Fr Matthews Sandaled Feet.
The rag tag ecletic millieu of char-a-banc`s and their drivers which now line up along the street seem to be part of a bizzarre real-time Look Back in Anger representation of how we were.It`s almost as if some giant unseen hand had scooped up a collection of Taxi`s from the Old Rank one winter night in 2002 and stored them in a Sandmans Cupboard until this week.
Now they just look Horribly out of place sitting there exposed to the glare of exotic granite paving and totally bare of the shade from the old London Planes,whose true benefit is only now apparent vis a vis concealing the Taxi Folk and their customers.Even the only STATUE which ever stood on the street,the depiction of Christ in the Glass Case is now banished,no doubt in deference to our new found freedom as a multi denominational and all-embracing Capital City.etc etc…
It is difficult to fathom just what DCC can do in order to reclaim the IAP`s ethos on the Northern Fringe of the Street.
The linear Boulavard concept is a dodo for sure,as is the “Strollers Paradise” .
It really is a great shame as the Street now presents a huge blank canvas for enterprising and innovative use.
Just as with our Bus Routings so too have the Taxi industry managed to get away with the Status Quo principle as the only show in town.Meanwhile the off-streets now sit in a kind of stasis with no real idea of their purpose save to allow a kind of rat-run for Motorists hell-bent on reclaiming the Capitals Main Street for their own……
A terrible beauty is born……? :rolleyes:
It is a terrible shame the taxis got their way on this one – the rank upsets the whole rhythm of the Upper street, the very part of the thoroughfare that would have had a straight run, given the broken up nature of the Lower street with the Plaza and Abbey/Luas junction. It is infuriating that this median space has been commandeered for use as a glorified car park – I particularly hate having to walk down between two rows of cars with 20 sets of eyes suspiciously scanning you, also having to watch for opening car doors. This is a pedestrian space full stop, and should have been kept as such. One could say what is being ignored in any criticism is that a convenient, easily accessed service is now offered to these very pedestrians in the heart of O’Cll St – well it would have been just as handy in Cathal Brugha Street or Sackville Place, only not destructive of a major urban set-piece.
Regarding uses on the street, agreed that O’Connell Street also serves the surrounding community as it does the city and country at large. This is part of its charm, as well as its downfall though; I’m not sure you can buy multipacks of toilet roll on the Champs
But the biggest problem with the fast food outlets is really their concentration on Lower west, rather than any individual presence, as they present the most appalling vista at the entrance to the street, especially combined with the horrible plastic Footlocker sign. I don’t know why that was permitted recently. All the very worst first impression of a street you could give.
Both McDonald’s and Burger King here require substantial work to their facades and shopfronts.
McDonald’s need to rip off the nasty granite-clad ground floor and start afresh – and no plastic signage this time.
Needless to say the early 90s PVCs most go: horrifying to think a couple of these may even have replaced Wide Streets Commission sashes (though at least some were Victorian two-over-twos).
It’s highly likely the upper brickwork here is Georgian – you can see the stucco surrounds have merely been applied over the decorative over-window detail – which if the case would make it the sole surviving WSC facade on all of O’Connell Street, the last fragment of a scheme that made it one of the finest streets of its age anywhere in the world. Note the modern replacement brickwork in the parapet too – there used to be an elaborate Victorian frieze and cornice up there, evident in a picture below. Probably became structurally unsound balanced up there on Georgian brickwork.
It would be nice for this facade to be restored to its original WSC state down to the first floor, though I imagine they’d be exceptionally reluctant to give up that picture window somehow! But this would restore the elegant vertical profile of each building, allowing them to sit comfortably on top of a new unified shopfront spanning the two properties, instead of the current messy arrangement.
The lower facade of the left-hand building is equally unpleasant, with nasty replacement brick pasting over what used to be a rusticated arch, again evident in a picture further below.
If a better brick base for the upper pilasters could be inserted, and the rather garish white bay windows toned down a bit, this could be a very pleasant property. Some decorative glazing in the upper panes could also work wonders.
Burger King have a potentially attractive fa
Eddie Rocket’s next door is housed in a fine, sturdy Victorian that badly needs cleaning:
All but one of the original windows are intact.
And as shown before, here you can see it being built c1895! 🙂
The chain’s standard shopfront insert is an affront to the fine and seemingly original limestone frame of the ground floor, which come to think of it would make it the oldest shopfront on O’Connell Street!
The acres of flat polished granite are such a cop out – the shopfront should come right up to the top of the corbles, where a limestone panel should then be inserted across the top, with lettering attached. What a fine property this could be once again.
Some good news….I noticed this morning that the lads were finally repairing that hole at the corner of the footpath outside Supermacs!
Thats good to hear though its amazing it was left like that for so long. Its a small point maybe but the whole in the street was repaired but minus the line if gray cobbles that line the pavements. Its attention to detail but it would be interesting to hear of this was rectified.
On the above photos it would be nice to see a bit of effort put in by the fastfooders (whidh after all are multinational companies!) to spruce up their premises. Perhaps a direct approach to them Graham? Or is there a way of sending a link to Archiseek to the head honcho…see if it stirs his conscience.
From the City Council’s Press Office:
PRESS RELEASE 21st May 2006
GIANT HARES TO TAKE OVER DUBLIN’S O’CONNELL STREET
The first steps to install Dublin City Gallery The Hugh’s Lane’s first-ever outdoor exhibition were taken over the weekend of 20th May 2006
. Six giant bronze Hare sculptures, by one of the world’s most renowned sculptors, Barry Flanagan, were installed on O’Connell Street for one of the most exciting, eye-catching exhibitions ever seen in the Capital. Barry Flanagan on Dublin’s O’Connell Street will be a world-class exhibition featuring ten pieces – eight Hares, a playful elephant and a pair of cougars.
The complete exhibition, which is being installed as part of the celebration surrounding the reopening of the Gallery and the refurbishment of O’Connell Street, will be in situ by 27th June, when the last piece will be unveiled by the artist himself. The exhibition is being organised in collaboration with IMMA.
“This is a major coup not only for the Gallery but also for the city of Dublin,†said Barbara Dawson, Director of Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane. “This is Flanagan’s first exhibition in Ireland and it’s incredibly exciting to be able to bring art onto the street where it can be viewed in people’s very own environmentâ€.
Beginning on O’Connell Bridge, the Hares will progress up the central median of O’Connell Street and along Parnell square to the Gallery’s forecourt. “Barry Flanagan’s monumental bronzes have been exhibited in other prestigious streetscapes such as Park Avenue in New York and the Champs Elysées in Paris and this unique and quite exceptional exhibition demonstrates Ireland’s ability to host world-class exhibitions in the heart of the capital city. Exhibitions of this quality and reputation ensure that Ireland remains a key player on the international stage and will attract, not only local and national interest, but world-wide visitors too,†said Ms Dawson.
NOTES RE ARTIST:
Barry Flanagan is one of the world’s foremost figurative sculptors and the ten chosen pieces will allow the general public the opportunity to engage with the exhibition as it threads down the central median of O’Connell Street and along Parnell Square to the Hugh Lane Gallery Forecourt.
The giant hares range in height from 3m to 9m (9ft – 23ft approx) and weigh several tons apiece.
Born in Prestatyn, North Wales, Barry Flanagan has lived in Dublin since 2000 and has become an Irish citizen. The six works installed over the weekend of 20th May 2006 are:
* An Unlikely alliance (Cougar and Elephant) Outside McDonalds
* The Thinker on Rock Opposite Easons
* Acrobats Site of Anna Livia Central median
* Hare and Bell Site of Anna Livia Central median
* Nijinsky South of Father Matthew Statue Central Median
* Drummer Nearly opposite old Aer Lingus offices, between trees on final medianSupermacs and Eddie Rockets are Irish-owned.
Mr. Pat MacDonagh owns the former, based in Ballybrit Business Park, Galway.Rockets is Dublin based, info@eddierockets.ie
MacD is info@supermacs.ie@Graham Hickey wrote:
Eddie Rocket’s next door is housed in a fine, sturdy Victorian that badly needs cleaning:
The acres of flat polished granite are such a cop out – the shopfront should come right up to the top of the corbles, where a limestone panel should then be inserted across the top, with lettering attached. What a fine property this could be once again.
After all that you have to agree that those two Mcdonalds aren’t that bad at all front and signage wise are they?
compare to something like a centra, the worst thing about the Burger King is the window is so big up there you can see all the **** eating their crap.
I spent some time on the street this morning – my first time on it since the work was completed. I hate to say it but I’m somewhat underwhelmed by the overall effect of the work given the years of disruption and the amount of money lavished on the street. I don’t want to be too negative because the state of the street prior to the work was simply a disgrace and what we have now is a huge improvement. Still I can’t help feeling that a opportunity has been missed.
The lack of attention to the side streets has already been pointed out and I assume at some stage they will be tackled but the state of the Abbey Streets and the other lanes really detract from the high quality finishing on the street itself. Parts of O’Connell St always felt a little “fascadish” to me but I think the current state of the side streets has really reinforced this. Obviously the scales and objectives differ but I think it is interesting to contrast the results with what was achieved with Grafton St decades ago which created an identifiable district by including all the side streets in a uniform plan.
Admittedly it’s subjective, but I find the street unbelievably “busy”. There is a range of different street lamps, bollards, litter bins, traffic signs, traffic lights, bike racks and trees all competing visually with the monuments and buildings. I would have preferred a more minimalist approach which would allow the buildings and median monuments to dominate the street as they did in the 19th century. It’s a pity because obviously all the elements are high quality and obviously cost a bit but the quantity is just too much for me. For me the upgrade doesn’t feel like it was guided by a grand vision; it feels almost as if the elements were designed separately – it represents a combination of a paving plan, a lighting plan, a tree planting plan, a traffic plan, etc.
There are a few little random things that annoy me. I find the concrete box (is it part of the Luas’ electrics?) at the Abbey Street junction horribly intrusive. And even as a cyclist, I think it was a mistake to use the median as a cycle park even though instinctively I’m loath to sacrifice function for form; somewhere like Prince’s Street should have been dedicated for this purpose.
I hate to be critical because it’s too easy to denigrate the work of the council and a lot of effort went into this but the result of the work simply doesn’t excite me.
I am in total agreement with you Jimg.
While it is undeniable that many imporvements have taken place on the street, I beleive that there in nothing noteworthy in these improvements. Such improvements are replicated in streets in towns across the country. The street feels clinical, almost sterile, with no genuine feeling of awe which O’Connell Street would appeared to have had prior to its descent into chaos from the 1960s onwards.
What I think is really tacky is the inclusion of banner advertising on the new lamp standards. It bears out my belief that what is intented is an improvement in the commercial possibilities of the street moreso than any central desire for civic improvement. If they were non-commercial banners then, very well. But the sponsorships listed on these banners do not hide their essential function: advertisements.
Moreso than before, the street feels like a motorway. If this was the intention, then the redevelopment was a success. But somehow I understand the initial idea was more noble….
I am impressed with the floodlighting of the GPO and the sensitive restoration of the statues on the street. However, what really bugs me is the removal of the Jesus Statue. What politically correct moron decided on this? Is it not part of the streets history aswell???
The statue has historical, as well as folklore, merit for retention. It was said that after the destruction of the Gresham during the Civil War, this statue was found virtually intact in the rubble, was salvaged, and up until very recently was maintained by the taximen/jarveys rank opposite the Gresham. If the council want to start picking and choosing memorials to remove than why not continue on this pc crusdae and remove the O’Connell Monument, the Father Matthew monument, the Gardens of Remembrence….
Lord Nelson may be joined by other fine monuments that fall out of favour…
This statue isn’t the only thing to have conveniently been removed under the guise of the IAP works – the four protected Victorian bollards have also disappeared, with no sign of them going back in, having been replaced with a raft of traffic signal poles.
As for the Jesus statue… (here it is in 1978, since encased in PVC)
…I can see the CC’s point in removing it. While I agree with opinions expressed here before that it shouldn’t be removed for movement’s sake, there’s no doubting how completely incongruous, not to mention ugly, it would have been left standing exposed in the middle of the taxi rank, by that, also referring to the horrendous concrete base. It’d almost be akin to reerecting it on the median of O’Connell Bridge. The context has changed completely.
It could be moved a little further up the street, but that defeats the purpose of retaining it – it was something of little significance in a physical sense, that just developed organically on site; it was equally eh, ‘organically’ removed with the road works – which is largely true.The story about being salvaged from the Gresham has always sounded a bit odd – what would a large religious statue be doing in a hotel? Surely the Catholic Commerical Club across the road would be more likely?
Agreed with much you say jimg – though while it is right to criticise the lack of action on side streets, to be fair this should not cloud over what has happened on O’Connell Street itself. What do you mean the side streets reinforce its ‘facadish’ nature?
But yes, the amount of clutter is quite extraordinary in places, nearly all of it generated by the median. Indeed this is crux of the matter for me with the new look O’Connell Street: it has two conflicting parts. The new side pavements and their trees are magnificent, as is the Plaza, really lovely spaces, but what pulls the whole scheme down is the median. It’s become an unresolved space, forced into being by the monuments, but not wide enough to comfortably accommodate café seating, while arguably too wide in its attracting of motorcycles and bicycle parking, not to mention the host of urban clutter the IAP has foisted on it.
It is also trapped between two busy traffic lanes, making its use as an alternative pedestrian space decidedly unpleasant at certain times of the day, even more so without the lovely mature tree cover that was there before which combined with a wider median at the time ironically made it ideal for café-style seating!Also I feel the new median trees dilute the effect of the side pavement ones; they’re not ordered enough in their own right to form anything distinctive, while negating the impact of the highly ordered side pavements in the process. You get the feeling it should have been all or nothing with trees on the median. Perhaps this will resolve itself as the trees mature, the side ones especially. And as mentioned before, the bland expanses of paving either side of the Plaza, mainly the Larkin side, do nothing to consolidate the linear nature of the street.
Although it looks nice from air, at the end of the day the 1970s promises of travelling to work via spacepod never quite materialised, so it’s the on-street impression that still matters. As such the roadway should run right up to the Plaza – the Larkin area confusingly feels like a plaza in its own right.
But most definitely J. Seerski, if there’s one thing I’d change, and as you’ve mentioned a few times now ;), is those feckin side lampposts – hate them with a passion! Their design is so utilitarian and crude, with their dull matt grey surfaces giving the impression they were never finished off. They simply lack the distinction, finesse and plain quality O’Connell St has been accustomed to over the decades, and of what one would expect of the lampposts of a country’s main street. They ought to be flagship designs, to the extent that a national competition should have been held to this end. They are that important.
And yes yes yes, those stupid, finicky, parochial, Super Valuesque, ‘lets all join in the fun’ permanent banners on the lampposts – how tacky, how lacking in distinction and grace, how small town Ireland, how patronising to citizens, how expensive if nothing else to maintain all year round – these yokes must cost a fortune to produce, pasted the whole way down the street, not to mention the quays and elsewhere.
The whole design concept of these lampposts is flawed – the impact these crucial structures can have in generating identity for an urban space just wasn’t realised here; it’s such a shame. The same can be said of the median posts – they ought to have been custom-designed, not plucked from page 13 of the urban regen handbook on every city architect’s desk in western Europe.Some pictures definitely need to be posted to try and sum up what has mostly been a very good job done though – in particular it cannot be emphasised enough the attention that’s been paid to all of the new paving, really the finest masonry skills have been employed on this project and it shines. Very attractive paving design too.
As an aside, this picture shows the Eddie Rocket’s building in all its original (though watercoloured) glory, with expansive glazing inserted between the stone piers:
Agree with most everything that has been said. But I think one thing in need of particular attention is the Luas electricity sub-station at the Liffey end of the street. It really is incredibly incongruous and yet, it would have been so simple to even just clad it in timber.
I think the best thing for it now would be an open artist’s competition to transform it into a large open-air installation of some sorts. I’m absolutely convinced this is feasible even if the ESB require entry to it.It is to be incorporated into a kiosk kefu as far as we know, clad in timber just as you suggest.
Just waiting for that part of the IAP to happen – hopefully in the next month or two.@kefu wrote:
Agree with most everything that has been said. But I think one thing in need of particular attention is the Luas electricity sub-station at the Liffey end of the street. It really is incredibly incongruous and yet, it would have been so simple to even just clad it in timber.
I think the best thing for it now would be an open artist’s competition to transform it into a large open-air installation of some sorts. I’m absolutely convinced this is feasible even if the ESB require entry to it.Actually it could pass as one of English artists Rachel Whiteread’s concrete moulded installations.
The hare sculptors on the street are mad…kinda ‘fun’ pieces. See we brought home from Argentina a statue of Irishman Admiral William Brown the founder of the Argentina navy. Wonder where will they put it.In front of the Department of the Marine in Virginia to commerate the creation of another great maritime force.
I like the hares there is a good variation in the emsemble which appeared very popular with tourists and have acheived a lot more than a single piece could ever have.
On a more depressing note I observed the removal of tarmac on the nelwy paved path outside Funland on Upper O’Connell St on Sunday morning; when I returned on Monday it had been replaced by more tarmac all of the work was undertaken by a private contracting firm with no supervision by the CC. Is this an omen of the future or will DCC take a stand to protect their investment in their transformation of this street?
The CC have given the green light to plans to change the former BOI banking hall beside Clerys into a shop. Significantly they included the condition that the two glass display cases meant for either side of the entrance be excluded. This is good news as I think these glass cases didn’t look so hot. There has been previous discussion about the challenges posed by this odd building with its grand but contraining entrance and lack of large windows. Still a retail use is much more appropriate than the sports bar and betting shop oiriginal planned. For those interested a pic of the proposed glasses boxes can be accessed from the planning file online.
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