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A curiously apt quotation to our earlier discussion I came across earlier-
…………….The street is exceedingly broad and handsome; the shops at the commencement, rich and spacious; but in Upper Sackville Street, which closes with the pretty building and gardens of the Rotunda, the appearance of wealth begins to fade somewhat, and the houses look as if they had seen better days. Even in this, the great street of the town, there is scarcely any one, and it is as vacant and listless as Pall Mall in October.From “The Irish Sketch Book.” By WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY
Plus ca change?
Frankly cant see those females that currently alternate between Dundrum Shopping Centre and Grafton Street being lured that far away from their comfort zone. It may depend on the tenants, of course, but a standalone Department store there may well struggle. Not to sure what anchor would go there and work there.
This end of O’Connell St was always dead, even when the Carlton and Aer Lingus office gave some reason, other than reaching a bus stop, to walk up it in the 1950’s/70’s.
Foot fall more or less stops dead on this side at Henry Street (or Mc Donalds), and on the other side, even when Findlaters were active, persons venturing above the Savoy were in the great minority. O’Connell Street is really two differing streets, from bridge to Henry Street / Talbot street it is busy with pedestrians, beyond that is fairly dead and always was in my memory.
So will this scheme change things, I very much doubt it, with pedestrians turning left or right at the Spire:eek:.
I assume that the strictures on the redevelopment of O’Connell Street after 1916 / Civil War must now be considered to be definitively lifted.
Why not move the Carlton facade to provide a focus and a signal point of arrival for the Western Corridor?
Poor old O’Connell Street continues a downward slide.
Just noticed yesterday that over the Pharmacy (it used to be HCR) near poor old Dan’s statue
– there are two missing panes of glass in a window on the third floor,
– and on the top floor, we have a large plywood panel replacing all the glass at present.
So much for the primary street of the Capital.
It does seem that the relatively recently opened Pier C, the only vaguely comfortable boarding gates at Dublin Airport, will be leaving us to accomodate this.
You could never accuse Ireland of forward planning, could you?
Just in passing the Paris “free bike” scheme, soon to visit us here in a much less generous form, has coincided with a very substantial increase in cycling accidents in the French capital.
Whether this is due to persons last on a bike when the Renault 4 was state of the art now taking up the bike or failure to provide for the co-existence of bikes and cars is unclear.
Of course it could be visible clutter too.
The Henry St / O’C St road surface lures pedestrians to their doom, very easy to walk out on the road.
The Slattery Camera shop, located in the Carlton cinema complex, which is now closed for over twelve years, is to close shortly.
The New Electric Cinema, set back at a angle to Talbot Street and approached by a long passage from the Talbot street entrance, was completely demolished in late 2005.
There was, I understand, apartments (what else) to be constructed on this site, which is accessed from Amiens Street also. Progress should most easily be viewed from the DART or rail line. As the photo shows, the Talbot Street facades are retained.
“Wing mirror clipping is a serious problem in the capital, with hideously dangerous consequences”
Indeed. Very many bus shelters in Dublin actually leave little space to pass between shelter and kerb,
I have regularly noted near misses between late arriving passengers and the wing mirrors of late arriving buses, as they diced with death while passing this limited space between shelter and kerb.
If you ever cross from the St Stephen’s Green corner (near the Shelbourne) the new one way alignment for city bound buses puts wing mirrors ready to catch the unwary pedestrian standing too close – and they regularly do.
By the way, there is a nice array of bollards in varying styles, in Merrion Row – indeed it is hard to walk down the south side of it against any pedestrian traffic.
If I recall correctly, and it was a very long time ago now, Pims had been demolished for many years before the replacement buildings eventually emerged. Probably very soon after the shop closed, (in the mid / late 1960’s?) it was demolished.
I recall passing a hoarding there for what seems like ages, but then time is relative, except for the purpose of an appeal.
Well originally posted over five years ago my me, I see.
Where does time go?In all that time absolutely nothing whatever was built on the triangle spot, where the toilet block was demolished. It is just an expensive road obstruction to make car drivers life more difficult.
I think that the “tentative design” for “this” is still on display down near the LUAS station.
(Anyone see the design for the Tara Towers in the Times last week – Centrepoint in glass.)
No Vitrolite is long out of production, it was also relatively expensive to make when new.
There is a person in the USA who has a large supply of Vitrolite, which he bought up from stocks held by suppliers. The main source now would be architectural salvage, but as it is easy to damage when being removed, there may be little in those places too!
This was covered briefly on RTE news at 18.00 and you may catch it later at 21.00. It seems to be an extension to the original museum, which Maureen O’Hara also opened back in the 1980’s.
Very many post boxes in the Dublin area are in a shameful condition – with eroded paint showing undercoats, rust etc.
It is likely that some of the older ones were painted with lead oxide red paints to protect from rust in the past, which are now revealed.
Curiously, in most other countries, whatever the condition of the post office revenue accounts, post boxes are maintained, kept clean and painted. Indeed we used to do that too. Grafiti was removed regularly.
No more alas.
Interesting building.
Where is this building, please?The Art Deco Ireland website is now at a new location
http://www.geocities.com/barrybyrne.geo/deco1.htmif you want to see more examples of this style in Ireland
Yes
Well done Graham.
My understanding is that Ronald McDonald houses provide living quarters for parents of sick children, so they can stay with them in hospital.
Note the second Dodder photo. With the combined cycle / pedestrian path.
The path joining from the right actually carries far more pedestrians and cyclists, starting out on the Dodder walk here.
They enter from the other path below from the right. It has, of course no sign or pictogram at all saying which side of the combined path below, is for the cyclists, and which one is for the pedestrians.You have to walk to the end of the path, at the bridge near Ashtons, to find another sign explaning the dividing line, what it means or what either group is supposed to do here.
Not unusually then, there are bikes, prams and people on both sides of the line on most days.
I seem to recall reading a microfilm news report from the period that the primary school in Crumlin was the largest in Europe due to the sudden influx of new residents.
One wonders if locating the Children’s Hospital there too was an early (rare) example of planning.
The influence of Marino on Crumlin is very pronounced. Pity the planners of both areas did not foresee the explosion in car ownership, a the narrow roads are in part the explanation of the early transformation of gardens into car parking bays. This is one of the most pronounced, yet unremarked, features of changing urban landscape.
