O’ Connell Street, Dublin
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The Spar on Wexford St has become a Mace to give the ‘better’ franchise to the new Spar on Camden St. The one in the former Irish Nationwide building that was a large department store at one stage.
That is about the best Spar I’ve seen (not that it is difficult to be the best Spar) and bears many simularities with the design of the Dunnes on Georges St. 🙂
And I see there is going to be a new ‘Centra’ next to wher Little Ceasers is being put (into Daly’s clubhouse! opportunity missed I think) on College Green. Pretty soon every shop in Dublin will be a multiple – Spar, Centra and Mace all with high prices, bad wine, minimum wages and a shed-load of porn on the top shelf. Boo to that I say!
Oh and I believe from the planning application that it is the aforementioned Redz that will extend into the former Man U shop. Crapola – another superpub, just what we need
Yeah O’Connell Street always looks so stately in old prints.
Thanks Graham for reminding me to take a photo of the earth and foundations of bollards and columns in front of the GPO portico before it’s paved over. That sight won’t be had for long time to come!
Until NTL come along!
One of the small bollards has been taken up, it’s lying on its side on the kerb.
The first of the side pavement trees are going in now, nothing spectacular in their leafless state. I think they’re planes.
Why are London Planes so called? Are there other examples of these trees currently going in, fully grown elsewhere in the city?
Are there such things as Irish planes?Don’t know what to make of the new trees on the central median, they’re being planted quite symmetrically but the different species may end up looking messy with fully grown canopies. Does anyone know what the tall wispy ones in the middle are with the white trunks?
Clearly the double row of lime trees on the median is out the window now – although in the IAP it was always intended to plant different species, it just didn’t specify in this way.
The smaller crab apples on the median should look spectacular if they are the flowering variety; a neighbour has one that’s a little bigger and it looks fantastic in early summer.Whatever about the median, it is essential that the pavement trees are consistant the whole way down to unify the street and create perspective, at least the IAP acknowledges this as being necessary too.
To be cynical – maybe the CC balked at the idea of clipping 100 limes into boxes every year?
What condition will the Street be in for Beautiful Night event on May the first.
100k people is a huge number for a building site to handle!
Should be an interesting situation…
But great progress is being made, it’s clear the whole paving process has been speeded up hugely in light of recent criticisims in the papers etc.
For example the whole pavement spanning the length of the GPO was dug up, cleared and sand levelled in just 3 days last week, including all the mess involved in diverting pedestrians. The speed is evident in other areas too, whatever about the lack of work or otherwise at weekends.As of Monday, some sort of matting material is being laid over the sand underneath the portico – called ‘Sealosheet’ or something – anyone know what it is? Weird it’s just being laid under this paving.
And you can really see now what it’s going to be like walking past the outside of the columns for the first time in a century, as pedestrians are diverted this way now.
At last the columns appear not as a wall or screen curtailed by the road, rather you can now appreciate them individually as architectural features, with space in front, behind and to the sides – ‘breathing room’ as it were. Their scale is very impressive also, something one could rarely acknowledge previously, squeezing through behind along with 50 other people.More trees are going onto the central median now – and at the crossing with Abbey St you can see the provisions made for the new lighting of the central median, possibly the tall carrigeway lamps – although I think these may be going along the side pavements.
Things are happening!
Walking in front of the columns for the first time in a century? More like for the first time in 2 years!
Do you not remember or where you not here about 2 years ago a pavement placed in front of the GPO for all of 1 month or so. This paved area in front of the GPO portico was put in place and then taken away within 2 months later when work on the Spike started.
Obviously it was only planned to have that short a life span! But seriously, I was bewildered at the time as to what the hell was happening – back-handers perhaps? Or just complete ineptitude?
This pavement is often mentioned – I don’t remember it at all!
Was it directly in front, or on the median – I do remember a large expanse of tarmac that was laid, attached onto the median which narrowed the roadway to two lanes.This pavement was made up on concrete flagstones (if i remember correctly). Certainly it didn’t look to be made of material of a quality as temporary as to match the life span of the actual pavement itself.
I was directly in front of the GPO portico – not part of the central median.
I remember it too, it was like a patio someone might have at the back of a bungalow. It seemed very out of place.
I believe that they were testing the roadworthiness of a section of the paving!
I remember reading something about it at the time!!the section of paving was laid to create a platform etc. for the President / Taoiseach and other big wigs to stand as the remains of Kevin Barry etc. and the accompanying military parade passed down O’Connell street …
Remember ?? thought it was fairly extravagant myself to see it being pulled up a couple of weeks later.
That piece of paving from 2 yrs ago was made of poured concrete – no slabs or anything.
I thought it was put down as a gesture to the people, because the permanent paving work was taking so long to commence – or as a space test, to see how traffic would cope with only 2 lanes.
But maybe you’re right about the military parade Peter F.
Lots of new trees planted today… all the boxed limes along the opposite side from the GPO have been planted. They look great.
The street will be a bit of a state for St Patricks Parade though. I can see all the paving at the GPO being finished but other areas of the street will look patchy. It was a bad idea not to reroute in my opinion. Having said that all our major setpiece ‘civic spaces are under construction. St Stephen Green, Smithfield, O’Connell St. Seems like the devil you do the devil you don’t.
The trees look really good, it would also appear that accommodation is being made for a sunken light at either side of each tree.
On the median the sunken lights are all ready in, they’re only in the treed areas though. Also the main carriageway lamps are going along the side pavement edges rather than the median.
The paving beneath the portico of the GPO is finished, with a strip of the pink granite filling in the gaps between the columns that I’m hmmming about…Also found out that a Super Valu convenience store is moving into the Eircom building at the northern end. You’d despair, you really would…
How the f*** are Super Value allowed to move there I thought there was going to be some sort of restriction on who and what appears on the street from now on.
Super Value is hardly going to give the street the “Champs Elyses” feel the DCC is after.
That just makes my blood boil. 😡
Originally posted by Graham Hickey
Also found out that a Super Valu convenience store is moving into the Eircom building at the northern end. You’d despair, you really would…Graham, I often think that the success of these sorts of areas is about the flows of people between different sections of the street. If a convenience store causes people to use the area, so be it, there is no real problem!
I don’t think O’Connell Street needs another gaudy convenience store to encourage people to that area. It’s got enough pedestrian activity especially at the time the shop is going to be open.
What would make more sense is if the Abbey does move to the Carlton Cinema and the area may become the theatrical area of the city it would keep this area buzzing at night.
The streets needs a bit of class, I think if the rumours of Harvey Nicks moving to the street were true it would be a great. An anchor store like HN would in turn attract other better quality shops and restaurants.
Originally posted by blue
The streets needs a bit of class, I think if the rumours of Harvey Nicks moving to the street were true it would be a great. An anchor store like HN would in turn attract other better quality shops and restaurants.
I fully agree with you about the Abbey, but if there were only certain types of shops allowed on the street it would have the effect of the street becoming an exclusive shopping district as opposed to ‘the mainstreet of the nation’.
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