GrahamH
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It is difficult to see what the new building’s impact will be as the trees there at the moment kind of hide the space in question.
I like the main elevation but overall it doesn’t look very solid or permanent. I just hope that this ‘incident’ structure won’t be of the gimmicky variety – to use that unfortunate term again 🙂Thanks – thats interesting. So certainly there’s a practical benefit to the clips from a maintainace and replacement perspective, but sure they’re never carried out here anyway – might as well have them fixed!
The swinging-round issue is a common problem with traffic lights too.Considering this prision will primarily serve the capital it is only appropriate and fair to families that basic access services be laid on.
Andrew Duffy wrote:Heuston Station has one or two broken lights at the moment which spoil it QUOTE]And what about the poor Custom House?!
There’s more blown than working! Look at that scheme – if you asked a 6 year old to light it that’s what they’d do.
Otherwise great pic Morlan – see you used a wide(r) angle lens as it’s not possible to fit the whole building in with a standard one, very annoying!Be exceptionally wary of photographing Government Buildings – the Gardai there’ll nab you if you don’t ask permission first.
Believe me 🙂The Four Courts is by far the most photogenic of the major classicals, esp the view looking east along the quays in the evening sun.
Try the Castle St facade of City Hall too – fabulous piece of architecture round there and not often seen. The carving is some of the best you’ll find.
Lots of lovely photos to be had around Fitzwilliam Square and Pemboke St too.Hopefully they’ll have laptops and broadband too so we can get the latest pics of the new building 🙂
Who in their right mind would want to buy this now – sure six-column porticos have been standard since at least 1996 😀
Yes overall it’s good news about Mountjoy – surprising how few new details emerged about the city site though, all the hype surrounded the new location.
McDowell speaking on the radio about a year ago suggested that a free bus service or similar would operate between Dublin and the prison for inmates’ families etc to visit. May prove a tad controversial…What’s the roundy yoke on top there? From that pic it looks like it’ll have a kind of temporary appearance to it, stranded on its own in the middle and not even approaching the pavement.
Seeing that image you do have to ask the question – what’s the point? It’s not as if it reinstates the streetline or restores any type of cohesiveness to the area. The gable-end of the Roomkeepers could easily be improved if necessary.
So you loose much of a garden that could be made extra-specially good if the will was there, and further detach the Castle entrance from the city, placing it at the end of a tunnel.
What do we get in return?Interesting to note in the pic how effective the stripey poles are at attracting your attention to the signs in leafy rural locations – they essentially double the visiblity of the sign.
Agreed about the clips but what are the benefits over the screw system, surely there must be something -do they just make it easier to attach and detach signs?
Re MT’s point about the new typeface – yes it is unfortunate that the signs are more crowded now with the k/mh. And the numbers are also more difficult to read as a result of the new narrow typeface. And to chuck in another whinge, it is unbelieveable how many of the new limit signs haven’t even been erected striaght on the old poles – not even level!@Paul Clerkin wrote:
Got to say – I’ve yet to see a town in ireland that makes less of its advantages than Drogheda. So many good individual buildings but the town still feels like a dump – quite depressing.. thank god for Clarke’s Bar
I’d agree with that. It’s unfortunate as Drogheda has lots going for it, esp architecturally, yet it still has a name as being something of a kip to put it maybe too strongly. But that’s the impression that’s generated by people in the North East overall; they tend to describe it as a poundshop Mecca for some reason which perhaps is unfair.
Its unusual location and narrow and hilly streets tends to make it worse rather than better; if it was in the UK it’d be decribed as ‘charming’ or ‘endearing’ – here it’s just ‘pokey’ apparently, and is a ‘nightmare for parking’ town, heaven forbid – often makes it a no go area for many as a result.
There’s a general impression of ‘ah sure there’s nothing in Drogheda’, and considering its proximity to Dublin it tends to be worth going the extra few miles for whatever it is you want and by-passing the town altogether unless you actually live there.Maybe things will improve with the acres of housing going up all round and a resulting demand for new services. As for a tall building I think Drogheda is capable of absorbing one or two on it’s outer fringes like the location above – known as a town of spires, I think it’s not only acceptable but desirable that a modern statement be made too, esp in such an interesting valley location.
So a year on, any ideas what use will be made of the Mountjoy site?
By the way you just have to see the house on the news that’s going to be affected by the building of the new prison – a Dallas Palladian pile in a field, right next to the prison site – currently up for sale for over €2million 🙂 Catch it on News 2 at 11.00.
Deal signed for new Mountjoy Prison site
26 January 2005
A land deal worth €29.9 million for the new Mountjoy Prison site has been signed.
The new site for the prison is on 150 acres in Thorntown in north Co Dublin.Both the male and female prisons on Dublin’s North Circular Road will be closed and a new step-down complex with different grades of security will be built. The Government has said it would be too costly to renovate the old prisons.
The new prison will be built as part of a public private partnership.Plans have yet to be drawn up and the planning process will be conducted in accordance with the Local Government Planning and Development Act. Precise details of the plans will not be displayed for security reasons.
The Prison Service says the new women’s prison will replicate the existing Dochas Centre. It also says it will listen to the concerns of local residents and endeavour to take them into account when building the jail.
The new prison is due to be operational in 2008.
Copyright: RTE
You must be right – we used to have to go a different way as kids to get to the annual Christmas Lego Exhibition in Arnotts before the dome came along – the highlight of the year 🙂
Christmas has never been the same since 🙁
Can’t wait to have a look round. And the building itself looks great now – the splicing in of brick in place of the old doorcase has been expertly handled and the two replica balconies at first floor level are equally fine.
What a difference from what can only be described as their previous dingy location – which was especially so on a dark winter’s day in the reading room with that murky orange globe light dangling above – shudder…One aspect I hope hasn’t changed is their pleasant and helpful staff – these places can be very intimidating if you’re not quite sure what you’re looking for or don’t know what to do; nothing worse than a crotchety old grouch in a wing chair in the corner or conversely a clueless student, or young upstart who looks at you condescendingly at every question…don’t know which is worse 🙂
Arrgh, just knew I’d forget it when the time came came but anyway: the Spike was exactly two years old as of last Friday the 21st of January – the day when the final segment was hoisted into place in 2002.
Seems like it was yesterday!
I was reading back on many of the pages in this thread and oh the innocence of it all 🙂
Pleased to say that the report from RTE News on the Big Day is still available here and is well worth a look (as is the old pinky set & graphics that look so 1999 :))So what do people think of it now two years on? Do you even look at it anymore?
Can you contrast your first sight of it complete with your perspective on it now?
Irritatingly I can’t remember the first time seeing it complete, but can recall walking away from it afterwards, looking back from D’Olier St & then from Westmoreland and being amazed at its magnificent impact. I didn’t want to walk away south to get the bus!The fact that it’s still a work in progress because of outstanding issues like lighting and cleaning probably still keeps it alive for most of us here – to the extent it’ll almost be a pity to see it actually finished!
Overall I think Shane O’Toole summed up the Spike nicely recently – you simply cannot imagine the street without it.
Certainly looks later than 1980 anyway. Here’s the link to the engineering/materials firm that built the Arnotts extention – it’s here that says 1980. Intersting bits and pieces of info about the job:
Ah you’re pushing it a bit there – bit of a difference between a comparitively detached everyday object like a tram and a blatent advertisment 🙂
You may be right re the dome – was reading yesterday and found the date 1980 but looking now I can’t find it!
I was hoping the railings may have be based on an original design considering the ironwork of the columns etc, but they do seem to be of the shopping centre handbook variety. The forest green paint and natural wood works very well nonetheless.Here’s the only pic available on the net – pretty good though at showing the join:
Maybe the western tower was removed when the 60s part went up? Hardly likely though.
It’s difficult to see exactly why such a palatial facade was drwan up considering it could never be appreciated properly if built, given the location. Then again perhaps that’s why towers were used, to stand proud over everything else and be visible from all around, to make up for the lack of a dominant facade in a prominent location like Clery’s or Pims had.
I see the signature dome was only added in 1980, according to the site this pic came from. Hence presumably the surrounding railings beneath are repros afterall.
@MT wrote:
Speaking of visual monstrosities, does anyone feel there’s an area in Dublin that might be set aside for the type of large scale electronic advertising you find in Picadilly Circus and Time sq. Just a one off as a unique feature in the cityscape.
No
🙂
They tend to be features confined to the major cities of the world anyway rather than every capital. They’re only touristy things really, aren’t they?
RE the Baileys sign – RTE had to remove it regardless of its aesthetic qualities. Whereas it could have earned them a fortune from advertising, continuity graphics are about the only place the channel must maintain a neutral stance if that’s the term. Also to have the station’s identity impinged upon with a dirty big Bailey’s sign would hardly be appropriate 🙂
I’ll store those tips for future reference…
Also apologies to AT – easy target and all that. Unfortunate that their nit-pickey objection actually added credibility to the whole thing 🙂
