South Great George’s Street
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God, I remember the Old Chinaman. I think it was known for the cheapest pint in Dublin at one stage.
remember a lot of the drinks in the old china man been served by the can. dog rough pub. not a popular choice for a first date. only made that mistake twice. 🙂
Ok a few of us remember the Old Chinaman, which I recall was a 1970s building.
But does anyone remember a PREVIOUS version of it in a Georgian bdg, apparently just called ‘The Chinaman’? I’m seeing some pictures of it here in the DCC Libraries site:
http://dublincitypubliclibraries.com/image-galleries/digital-collections
A great shot. Since it was published a few months ago, for the life of me I couldn’t get the view to line up with the Stephen Street triangle – forgetting it was taken at a skewed angle – so I started to look elsewhere in the city. How dumb.
A beautiful pair of early Georgian houses with a massive central chimneystack in the middle there. I imagine they’re a charming cumbersome set of transitional style houses, similar to a pair still standing around the corner on Aungier Street featuring a lateral shared roof, rather than being former Billys, but saying that the ground floor heights are very low – either suggesting antiquity or plain old-fashionedness. What an array of shopfronts and a lovely use of paint colours across the board, including windows. A lost art.
The rendered side elevation with Georgian sashes of The Chinaman would remind you of Cummins and Sons – Plumbing and Paints of Lower Abbey Street fame.
No Aungier Street thread…this will do.
No doubt GrahamH will soon treat us to a visual feast and overview, but I stood admiring this recently revealed confection on the corner of Aungier Street and York Street yesterday afternoon.
Nice sunny picture. But when I passed it recently the yellow looked pukey. That might even be a conservation yellow but I still find it pukey. Why does every newly refurbished plastered building have to be painted some tone of yellow?? It’s the Irish yellow obsession that’s been going on for the last decade or so.
Now, dear me what happened to this fine commercial building on Aungier Street? See it below from Google Streetview. Mind you most of the historic shopfront detail still survives. The surviving right-hand half of the building was recently, or still is being, refurbished.
Also note Aungier Street’s provincial-town character in the old photo, haha!
Currently seeking planning permission for…a takeaway and replacement of said shopfront. Of an retention permission for all those ongoing works. Ref 2217/12 was invalidated but I understand they are going in again.
Planning permission is sought for the upgrading, refurbishment, extension and re-roofing of the existing two storey over shop building including: A) The conversion of existing retail/Shop unit on ground floor to restaurant/take-away facility including food preparation , storage area to front and rear. B) The conversion of existing residential accommodation at first and second floor to a one-bedroomed apartment (at each level). The work includes the demolition of a rear return at first floor level to facilitate the construction of a new return at first and second floor level and the provision of new recessed private balcony to the rear of each apartment. C) The upgrading and refurbishment of the buildings exterior and street elevation including the replacement of existing shopfront at ground floor level including the provision of external halogen signage lighting,. Please note that some of the above works have commenced on site and this application seeks the retention of such partial works.
There is a lot of dodgy dealings going on down on Aungier Street (lets not forget, a street included some of the city’s oldest surviving buildings.) The attractiveness of the street to cheap and cheerful new uses is growing as business seek a position close to the main retail core but without the high rental…you can see already a new plant store and ‘cafe’ half-heartedly inserted into vacant units at 19 and 20. No 21, the most historic house on the street for many, remains a refugee hostel and halfway house, despite its tax status its intact timber interiors. Imagine that, a building dating from 1680, extremely rare, used as a hostel! I understand that No 25…dating from about 1720 was also recently fecked over…perhaps Graham /Gunter will have heard more.
The historic house No 21 Aungier Street initially ran as the planned guesthouse when a lengthy refurbishment finished in the late ’90s, then there was bigshit when he, the fella who ran it, turned it into refugee accom about 10 yrs. ago ……….. why is it things that work in other cities – ie. historic house as guesthouse – don’t work in Dublin?
No. 6 will be back for their takeaway permission soon enough …….. there’s another takeaway currently under appeal two doors away at 8 Aungier Street. It’s depressing!
But there are a few decent cafes on the other side of Aungier St, and Bald Barista within Avalon Hse – knockout coffee.
I’m kind of chancing my arm but…
I was watching this documentary called A Stranger’s Notebook on Dublin (http://www.rte.ie/player/#v=3288112) made in the 1960s, and I saw this building (crap screenshot, sorry: http://s1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/marsnominee/?action=view¤t=CouldThisBePartofPims.png). I don’t know where it is, but I was wondering if it could be part of the old Pim’s? The documentary did include shots of South Great George’s Street, but this one was spliced in with shots of Grafton Street. I know Pim’s had more embellishment and a balustrade on the parapet, but can’t think where else could be? Does anyone remember if Pim’s had its decorative elements removed before it was knocked down?I came across this interesting render on http://www.facebook.com/comeheretome Sorry I dont know who to credit it to.
Its an interesting solution to a site that has remained surprisingly unresolved for so long. Another option of course is a plain old simple green space or pocket park. The commercial use of the site however has the advantage of making it better cared for (at least in theory) with attention from the premises owners each day.
Hey Stephen
Good find. I have to say, I was always very surprised that this site was never developed. Given building technology and innovation and some of the structures that were shoe-horned onto miniscule sites during the boom, this should have been a prime candidate for construction. I can only assume that there are complicated ownership issues with the “site”……much like derelict sites on Dean St which remained undeveloped for just such a reason.
C
I’m not so sure the DCC would allow actual public seating 😉 They seem to be against it in most areas of the city. And they made a right mess of the square opposite the Olympia.
Really don’t like all the brushed steel stuff in that 3D sketch. It looks hideous in most of Dublin.
A nice simple green canvas cover design and seating more appropriate to the rest of the street would be better I think.I doubt there is even more need for a food outlet either. It’s a bit noisy for a long sit down spot. Perhaps changing book stall, or feature with seating.
Well well…perhaps the above render is not so fanciful after all.
Very welcome to see this patch being redeveloped.
Brushed steel and birch trees strikes again,… and again and again and again……. keep it for eastwall business park, please. Perhaps some warmth and texture, why does everything have to be so bloody contempary, cold and clinical.
Back to that building mentioned above (in April) on Aungier Street. This is the building a couple of months back after its refurbishment
There is a whole back story to this… a tale of works undertaken without permission and retentions sought etc. On top of this is the proposed use of the shop unit as a takeaway – hardly an aspiration for what is one of the most historic streets in the city.
Anyhow “conservation ” works undertaken….new render, new quoins and architraves, new repro windows…in fact very little conservation. Still rather than reduce the building to rubble someone obviously felt they were doing the city a favour.
And then this…
To me, this is a perfect illustration of the failure of the planning system in this city. Unable to deal with unauthorised development, unable to guide (and compel) the development to a more appropriate conclusion and unable even to repair the bloody pavement afterwards!
Meanwhile on (now swanky) Fade Street
Great to see this building back in use and the refurbishment is very well done (albeit a less challenging building than 6 Aungier Street above).
Fade Street has come together very well. Apart from the street lamps (which are a bit to bling) the street looks very smart. Established premises like Hogans and Le Gueilleton have used the public realm refurb as an excuse to smarten up their premises…exactly how it should work.
The exceptionally high standard of fitout of Dylan McGrath’s new restaurant, as well as the social and economic life it brings with it, is to be warmly welcomed. I particularly like how the array of sash windows of the former bacon curing factory addresses the pavement at eye level as one walks by. I often feel the two-over-two sash is very under-rated – arguably the most elegant pane formation, not least when segment-headed. Of course this building was earmarked for demolition during the boom, which would have been merrily granted by our city fathers if permission was applied for. Now it’s one of its greatest assets, as should be the case with all historic building stock in the city.
I am however disheartened by those hideous awnings, which I knew they’d make a balls of. Firstly, the look proposterous tacked onto a planar facade. I would not have granted permission for awnings on this building, as simply put, they have no reference point. No fascia, no hood moulding and no shopfront frame. They look stupid.
Secondly, an express condition of planning was: The projecting awning shall remain free of any advertisements (including the name of the premises) and the colour of the awning shall be similar and complimentary to the existing awnings on Fade Street. Reason: In the interests of visual and environmental amenity. So both the branding and the colour happily ignored by architects Reddy Associates.
Thirdly, the drawings submitted showed a continuous awning measuring 17.75m in length. The awnings were conditioned: The full length awning at 17.75m shall be omitted from the development and replaced with 3 no. individual awnings, each no greater than 5 metres in length. Given that the new awnings cover precisely the same area as shown in the drawings, something ain’t adding up here lads.
Fourthly, the submitted drawings depicted a traditional striped scheme, while that as erected does not, and clashes with the rest of the street.
A shame such a positive development lets itself down at the final hurdle. And will any of the above be followed up on?
As for Aungier Street, it’s a scandal what happened to that building, a structure far more significant than meets the eye. But what’s the point in wasting breath on these guys, or the system that ‘governs’ them.
Also worth concurring with Stephen’s points above about Hogans and Le Gueilleton. The former in particular is dewily, romantically gorgeous since its spruce-up, with fantastically muscular Edwardian cream awnings, always kept immaculately clean, projecting from each side of the building, as well as repainted timberwork in a deep forest green. The icing on the cake is the glittering clear candle bulbs in the array of famous green-tinged lanterns adorning the ground floor piers. Always kept clean, always all working, always an insistence on avoiding nasty CFL tempatations. A complete delight, which when coupled with Le Gueilleton’s immacculately mannered seating ensemble next door, creates a concentration of presentation standards unmatched elsewhere in the city.
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