O’ Connell Street, Dublin
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@Graham Hickey wrote:
There is so much to be improved up there one would wonder if property owners are purposely waiting for the big guns to start sniffing around or waiting for values to go through the roof before flogging their buildings hence keeping them in poor condition.
The majority of buildings are held under lease which explains a lot as there is no incentive for the owners to invest money that would depreciate in favour of the shop or business, it is only the Corporation who have any motivation and that is sorely lacking.
Graham Hickey wrote:I know this is probably my fourth time mentioning the filth of the O’Cll Bridge balustrading but look at this picture of a test patch that was pressure washed the other day – WOW – even I didn’t think it was that manky 🙂
For some reason this eastern balustrade is more dirty than the west – perhaps the dirt of the traffic blowing up from the ‘tunnel’ of the quays.
It’s extraordinary how it changes from a horrible concrete appearace back to salubrious Portland stone]A lot of it is down to the prevailing wind direction I think and from a climatic point of view I’d prefer the East rather than the West to be the dirtier but from a civic point point of view it is a disgrace.
@Graham Hickey wrote:
And in the same photo how many other ways can you see that Dublin could be improved?
-pavement could be paved in stone flags rather than tarmacadam
-pavement could be cleared of chewing gum
-car transporter and other trucks removed from quays and sent down the tunnel (when it’s built)
-revolting smelly seaweed removed from sides of river –or river damned past the custom house so it stays high all the time.
-bus eireann vehicle in a bus lane (is there not one already?)
-horrible white plastic windows removed
-better weather!Well that all goes without saying 🙂
You can chuck in Aviation House while you’re at it…@Thomond Park wrote:
From a climatic point of view I’d prefer the East rather than the West to be the dirtier.
What do you mean?
As mentioned before, pictures from the late 70s show these walls to be bone white so that seems to be the last time they were cleaned]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/Dublin1/OCllBridge-GasExplosion.jpg[/IMG]
The bridge is square from overhead.
Has anyone got an image of the ‘Bowl of Light’? I’ve often heard of this failed artwork on O’C bridge that was eventually chucked into the river. I think it’s from the 50s.
Is Dublin the only city where unwelcome public art is often physically destroyed by the public? It’s democratic in one way but barbarous in another. At least the spire looks pretty durable.
@Thomond Park wrote:
A lot of it is down to the prevailing wind direction I think and from a climatic point of view I’d prefer the East rather than the West to be the dirtier .
@Graham Hickey wrote:
What do you mean
The prevailing wind being westerly hence more pollution on the western face of the eastern ballustrades, St Johns Newfoundland is quite a sight from the air at night around this time of the year.
It was just your unusual use of prefer that threw me 🙂
Well the entire length along here this side of the bridge was cleaned early this morning – it was still wet when I passed so it was very patchy. Even so you can now clearly make out the newer balusters that have been spliced in over the years and the patchiness of new and old sections. It’s also revealed quite a bit of deterioration in places.
Still, overall the difference is remarkable – the large river facades now need to be cleaned too.What was the ‘Bowl of Light’ Karen? I’ve an interesting still of the bridge from the 50s I think with spooky Christmas tree-like yokes down the centre – must post it.
Regarding the strange set of four bollards at the top end of O’Cll St opposite the Parnell Monument, it would appear that they are the bollards that originally guarded the statue of W Smith O’Brien on his island site at the O’Cll Bridge south junction. Often suspected this but it’s always been difficult to confirm.
Still can’t be 100% sure – the tops look slightly different but that could just be distortion in the original pic. Also hard to see if the originals are preferated like the current ones.
Anyone know what the modern-day trapdoor is for? Are the bollards being used for ventilation?Another pic from the olden days- the WSC corner just after the Rising.
Ironic that they sold gunpowder 🙂
You can see the arched WSC shopfronts too, as well as the tripartite feature window with corbels:
You can also make out the little pediments on the 3rd window in on the river front as well as on the window above the feature one. The forerunner of Burger King had emerged by then too with the minor adaption of the upper floors.
I saw ‘Mise Eire’ there recently and there’s some great archive footage of post-1916. The opposite corner to that in the picture over on Eden Quay is completely destroyed:like someone took a massive bite out of the corner – extraordinary sight, not to mention that the one here survived virtually intact.
The Tomb of the Unknown Gurrier
“In 1953, it was decorated with a flower bed and adorned with a Bowl of Light for An Tostal, the first cultural festival to be held In Ireland. These changes were not always greeted with universal acclaim and the flower bed was removed and the Bowl of Light was dispatched into the Liffey by a disgruntled university student.”
Symbolising the State— the iconography of O’Connell Street and environs after Independence (1922)
Yvonne Whelan, Academy for Irish Cultural Heritages,
University of Ulster, Magee Campus DerryKaren,
According to Frederick O’Dwyer in ‘Lost Dublin’ the Bowl of Light (basically a plastic coal-effect fire set on tubular steel arches) was unveiled in April 1953 as part of a series of events to attract exiles home under the title of An Tostal. It was soon infamously dubbed ‘The Tomb Of The Unknown Gurrier’ by Jimmy O’Dea. It met it’s end when a group of undergraduates hurled it into the Liffey a fortnight later. The fountain was subsequently drained and turned into a flowerbed known as ‘The Thing’ until the Corpo reinstated the lantern sets in the mid-60’s
http://www.dublincity.ie/traffic/frame_c.htm
Is it just me? But, why are there three lanes of traffic only to merge to two when you reach O’Connell Street from the bridge??? No hint of what is coming and isn’t it dangerous that traffic is merging to avoid the newly extended pavement??
Arrows or chevrons??
(imagine driving on the very left lane on the bridge)
But based on markings shown by the traffic cam you refer to, there’s 4 lanes on the bridge with 2 turning right (exclusively) and 2 going straight (exclusively) onto o’connell st. There shouldn’t be any merging.
On a related note, is private traffic from the south to be prevented travelling up O’Connell Street (the same way as traffic from the northside is?) Cheers
@Telemachus wrote:
According to Frederick O’Dwyer in ‘Lost Dublin’ the Bowl of Light (basically a plastic coal-effect fire set on tubular steel arches) was unveiled in April 1953 as part of a series of events to attract exiles home under the title of An Tostal. It was soon infamously dubbed ‘The Tomb Of The Unknown Gurrier’ by Jimmy O’Dea. It met it’s end when a group of undergraduates hurled it into the Liffey a fortnight later. The fountain was subsequently drained and turned into a flowerbed known as ‘The Thing’ until the Corpo reinstated the lantern sets in the mid-60’s
I always wondered what it looked like.
Hi Lotts
Just replying about the 3 lanes of traffic into 2. Only 2 lanes from O’Connell Bridge are for going straight ahead. The other two are right turns only.Graham
A well deserved spring clean for the ballustrades. Now lets tackle the appalling pavement. The works to install new signaling havent helped. If anythiung it looks worse than ever. Lets bite the bullet and have new granite paving. Perhaps all those old flags lifted from OConnell St. Also the phone kiosks on the corner of the bridge and Eden Quay should be removed. Its a very narrow stretch here. Probably the most inappropriate spot for 3 kiosks I can think of!
The Boardwalk extension is finally being completed. Some smart new bus shelters along this trech would be welcome as well. In fact getting rid of the bus stops full stop would be good.
@ConK wrote:
what are these things?
Conk,
There is a small amount of discussion about these above. Graham Hickey is not sure as to whether or not they are the same ones that once surrounded the statue of Smith O’Brien, but they certainly look identical.
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