GrahamH
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Over-the-shop-living is by far the best solution (well for those who trade) All of those barren units on the Parnell St side of the ILAC are a case in point. Instead of the demolition of many of the fine Victorian and Edwardian bldgs in the area, many of the traders could have utilised the ground floors, whilst living upstairs. Or even the ILAC could have been developed in this way.
As much as I’d like to say otherwise, I simply cannot see O’ Connell St ever becoming fashionable, most current developments, including Paddy Power moving in, point in the opposite direction. Even supposedly positive developments like the proposals to turn the Fingal offices into a hotel, will alienate consumers/activity from the street. Whereas the existance of staple banks and hotels suggests positive development at first, they attract little, if any people to the area and commercial activity.
What the street needs is lots of cafes that open out onto the street, with tables etc outside, quality retailers like the House of Ireland etc, but mixed with less upmarket, but nonetheless quality stores. The problem with O’ Connell St is that it’s units are too small, hence detracting interest from large quality retailers, and moreover, attracting discount/’low-brow’ development.
Dispite the CC’s plans, it is still very much so commercial interests that are dictating the fate of O’ Connell St, and whereas the CC hope that their physical improvements to the st will spark a new lease of life to the area, it’s going to take a lot more than a few granite slabs and symmetrically places lime trees to attract quality to the Street.Its interesting the rat race that has always prevailed in Dublin, first the wealthy lived on the southside around Christchurch, 17th/early 18th century, then Gardiner came along and they fled across to the north, as far away from the poor & disease as possible, to the heights of Mountjoy Sq in the mid-18th C, then Fitzgerald and his bragging created the fashionable southside, & the wealthy began drifting back southwards. Landlords with an eye for a quick buck snapped up their northside dwellings, the poor swept across the river to the north, causing any respectability left to boot it southwards, and hence bye bye north Dublin. Then the wealthy Victorians continued their journey southwards to the Pembroke estate, and latterly the Edwardians to Foxrock and beyond…
Gardiner must be rolling in his grave.
(Well, both of them)
I agree Rory W, Mercer House is by far the finest, good design and quality materials used, indeed it’s so good it looks like one of the Iveagh Trust buildings. Unfortunatly, it’s wooded sashes have recently been replaced with cheap & cumbersome uPVC.
The solution to these developments I think is to demolish and rebuild on the same sites, undertaken solely by the CC. There’s a huge amount of wasted space in around these buildings/blocks, that inevitably has become barren wastland, which could be utilised to build at a higher density, whilst not ‘ghettoising’ such developments.
As always, the key is good design and quality materials.
The northside went into decline esp during the mid-19th century, with the influx of peasants from the country because of the Famine. Naturally, as the northside had become significantly cheaper than the southside, landlords cashed in big time in converting Gardiner’s houses into firstly respectable ‘apartments’ and later tenements.
What did either of the Gardiners have planned for the southern end of Gardiner St, the current site of the Custom House? Did they plan the Crescent, part of which Gandon executed?
It’s such a pity a circus was never built, an Irish brown stock brick version of Bath’s would have been spectacular, esp if the ground floors were rusticated in granite, or rendered into blocks.
The ones opposite Kevin St are particularly horrendous, faced in those nasty glossy early 60s red bricks that look like tiles. Also, because of the demolition of the corner of Stephen’s Green, they can now be seen from the bottom of Harcourt St and the Green itself, including their washing lines.
There’s no intention to demolish any of these flats as all of their windows are being replaced with charming uPVC.
The flats around Pearse Station/ Lombard St however are particularly attractive (I think they’re the ones you have pictured Paul)
Just onthe side, it’s a facinating painting, with Richard Cassel’s ill-fated belltower looming over the facade of Trinity, and some of the older 17th century Dutch-gabled houses on College Green, which Gardiner undoubtedly would have abhored!
It’s spectacular to see in ‘real life’ , ITS HUGE!, & is in the Millenium Wing.Yep, its awful, esp when seen from the far end of Liffey St.
Saw the Roches cladding this morning, looks rather snazzy, but of course it will, when it’s brand new, and before we see the other 3 acres tacked on…
(Assuming these are the doors, they’re stone columned and pedimented doorcases, with fanlights, similar to those on the east side of Stephen’s Green (OPW side))
I knew it. I just knew it. I passed those townhouses/ex-tenements a few weeks ago, noting their appalling condition, just knowing that the CC would want to rip them apart. As far as I’m aware, there was a major fire in them a couple of years ago, so the doors probably aren’t sufficient as fire escapes.
So they take the easy option and rip them out.
Surprise, surprise…
Gardiner is so under-acknowledged in this city, is there even a statue in his honour? There’s no excuse for a statue not to be erected on O’ Connell St now, as part of the works, considering it was his foresight that created for us one of the finest streets in Europe.
I cut across Gardiner St most mornings and it is truly beautiful, or rather whats left of it…
The houses are much more uniform & dignified than those of the over-celebrated southside, and after all, they set the standard for much of Merrion Sq and the like.I agree that the Spire shouldn’t be named after anyone.
The worst thing about the current ILAC, is the Brutalist concrete facade. Unbeliveably however, there isn’t even anything behind it! The ILAC has always been criticised for it’s shameful waste of prime city centre space for only being 2 storeys, but in fact, most of it is only one, there isn’t even any need for all the concrete!
Surprising Irish Life didn’t bother to extract some office space out of the building, esp with Michael Lucey being it’s property manager, then King of all speculators…
The last segment of the doughnut encircling the Spire’s base is being inserted as I speak/type (12.15), still can’t see properly to acertain whether its the cast bronze base, or just it’s supports.
Interestingly the whole central median of the northern end of O’ Connell St stretching from the Spire to the Gresham has just been pressure washed in anticipation of the base’s unveiling/Patricks Day, the only bit of foresight the CC has shown in recent times, and admittedly, I never thought crude concrete slabs could look so fine, (albeit for 6 months) esp in contrast with the grotty uncleaned ones, they’re a dazzling white, Portland stone colour and act as a surprising lift to the whole Street, esp in the sun.
At first sight, I thought they were the temporary floodlights used to light a building site with work in progress! How terrible, they are exactly the same as the grids being used to light the Port Tunnel site through the night!
Spike is just fine, there is always an official level that cannot accept such casualness, which is fair enough, and we must also accept this. To be frank, we’d be more of a laughing stock, rather than thought of as being laid back, internationally if it were called the Spike on an official level.
Ciaran O, when a renouned architect criticised Liberty Hall, quoting: ‘the frippery on the roof being a slap in the face to the dome of the Custom House’, now I know what he ment!
I know this is the Spire thread, but just to say there’s a very fine and virtually unknown statue of Albert (Victoria’s other half) to the rear of Leinster House, excecuted by John Henry Foley, maker of O’ Connell Monument, and is in a similar style but smaller. Nice it didn’t suffer Victoria’s fate round the front.
God I can’t belive my ignorance, thats what it was, the Michael Collins film statue on Dame St! I knew there was one of her somewhere, sometime in the city,! I remember hearing about it now
Even so, with all the city’s attachments to the pillar and want it mentto the people of Dublin etc, I’m glad it is gone from a purely asthetic point of view. It was the 19th century’s Hawkins House, a ghastly stout cumbersome doric pillar, that was grossly top heavy, further exacerbated by the addition of double height railings/protective caging in the 20th century.
It’s base being a terrible Stalinist block of stone the size of a 3 bed-semi, unadorned, and hugely out of scale with the Street,
and wasn’t a patch on the elegant slender profile of London’s corinthian Nelson Column, which was exquisitly scaled & decorated.I remember now Stephen C about William, from that painting in the Ntl Gallery, of the Volenteers on College Green, where was the statue of Victoria?
