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The 70s block of buildings on South Great George’s Street. The big orange first floor of that discount shop on Talbot Street that looks like the top deck of a bus! (if it’s still there)
On second glance, the building on the main page and the one on the linked page are completely different!
Now that Salthill has been almost entirely ruined by some of the tattiest buildings put up in the last 10 years, maybe a giant tower of crap visible for miles is what’s needed to ward off would-be visitors.
Andrew Duffy’s pic shows that the Loopline doesn’t obliterate all views of the Custom House from the quays…
O Connell Bridge House haters – don’t you think the building at least off-sets the height of Liberty Hall on the other side?
I’d probably be killed in some quarters for saying this, but I think both buildings form and interesting visual frame for the custom house when looking up the quays. Tourists taking photos from the Ha’penny bridge are usually facing that way, so the view can’t be that bad…The official launch is not likely to take place until mid-March at the earliest, according to the Times. And the red light couldn’t be fixed last night due to high winds.
From Dorset Street this morning, it looks like the crane is back! Is this possible? (I don’t have nifty digi-cam to offer photographic evidence…)
Anyone would think Dublin was plagued by low-flying daredevil pilots, what with all these aviation lights on ‘tall’ structures. How tall does a building have to be to require a little red light? I’d hope a pilot would realise he was swooping down into the middle of the city centre long before he spotted the light on top of the Spire!
Are the cafes gone? I remember them being popular last summer. If they are gone, are you sure it’s not just a seasonal thing?
The seafront walk at between Bull Island has it all – sea, sky, wildlife and a gritty urban feel, with Howth head to the north, the Ringsend Chimneys and docks to the south, ships coming in and out and Liberty Hall and the Spike visible in the distance. More Real Dublin than Killiney Hill any day.
Temple Bar food market in Meeting House Square on Saturdays.
The Wicklow Way, accessible from near Powerscourt – stunning walks and views for even the not-very-fit, a few miles from the city.
“debate about the spire predictably stalled at the level of the aesthetic”…
Stalled? It’s a sad, backward little country we live in if we can’t talk about a piece of art on its aesthetic merits without constantly asking ‘what’s it for?’, ‘how much’ does it cost?
OK it’s public money, but in the context of DCC’s budget, it’s not a lot. Aesthetics will never win the (grossly simplistic) moral argument. Of course hospitals are more important than art.
So why do we continue, publicly and privately, to spend money on nice-looking but non-essential things? Because we’re human.
Unless Michael Ross lives like a monk and donates his disposable income to charity, I think he should stop flogging this dead horse.A mall would draw people in, all right – during the day. O’Connell Street would become just another ‘high street’ (hate the term, but with all these UK multiples, what else do you call them?). And like Talbot/Mary Street would be deserted at night, apart from the odd tourist coming up to admire the Spike and probably getting knifed in the process.
O’Connell Street needs mixed uses that would give it life right into the night.Have to disagree with Greg. I think it’s totally up in the air whether a new shopping mall, however glitzy looking, would do anything for the street other than drawing more people into it during the day.
The Ilac is a stone’s throw away and look at that…
And DCCs complete powerlessness over what kind of shops are opened once retail use is established has to put a question mark over the quality of any shops in the new mall.
Not convinced? A bookies is now due to open on Grafton Street. Grafton Street!!!
The Abbey is currently tucked away in drab building in a lousy location, and I’m not sure of the benefits of bringing it back onto the river. Have you ever tried showing our world renowned national theatre building to an overseas friend? It’s an embarrassment.
We’ve already got theatre/ cinemas/ music venues on and around O’Connell Street. Why not create a critical mass with The Abbey?
A rejuvenated O’Connell street could be grand enough for people to want to stick around after their show, providing enough bodies for a decent restaurant scene (lacking on the north side).From todays IT:
“The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Dermot Lacey, said yesterday he was hoping
to be asked to unveil the Spire officially in the weeks ahead. He was one of
14 Dublin city councillors who voted against the monument when it was put to
the council for a decision in 1999. But he has now changed his tune and
looks upon it as “something brave we wouldn’t have done 20 years ago”.
“The atmosphere here was fantastic when the last section was put in place,
and I was a bit surprised by that,” he said. “But Dubliners seem to have
really rallied around it, and I think it will now become a focal point for
the city. I touched the top of it just before it went up, just so I’ll
always be able to say ‘I touched the top of the Spire'”How about the Lord Mayor? He even voted against it
Caught the end of an interview on RTE with someone from DCC -either city architect or manager – saying his preferred option for the Carlton site is to move the Abbey there. Surely this is the way to go for O’Connell Street – having a new home for our national theatre there would transform our perceptions of the street at least as much as the Spire. Maybe then we could replace the fast food joints with cafes and restaurants and make O’Connell Street a place to be in itself rather than a route through to the southside…
The debate surrounding this may have been daft at times, but when was the last time a project like this captured the public imagination on any level?
When was the last time thousands of people clapped and cheered and motorist beeped their horns at a building project in this country? Or any country in Europe?
Hope I’m not being overly optimistic, but this could be a coming of age for how Irish people see their built environment.
And fair play to DCC for seeing this through…Isn’t it well for ye all that seem to live AND work in the city centre. Hope you get some good pics for those who can’t be there.
