GrahamH
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OH, LOOK, LOOK, LOOK, I’ve just become a senior member, oh the pride! The privilige! Better brush up on my grammer! Oh I’m made up over this!
It’s not the worst in the world, esp after it’s refurbishment, it is clad in very pricey Portland Stone after all, but still, its the only tall building in the entire ‘real’ city centre, the Grafton Street – College Green – Westmoreland – O’ Connell Bridge/Street axis and destroys the entire character of the area, and dosn’t leave the visitor with the impression of being in an historic low rise city, which Dublin is. (I don’t object to tall buildings in the Docklands)
No, fjp, I did’nt get access, I think a tenant has been aquired recently though, as the big advertisment for it’s letting on the front of the building has come down. When I was there before Christmas, the entrance gates looked closed for months, with piles of rubbish behind them. There was also a boarded up window that had been broken. I had to make do with the Ballast Office (or rather it’s replica) and the 17th floor of Liberty Hall, which was great.
Some facts about O’ Connell Bridge House:
It was built in only 2 years 1963-65, ‘designed’ by the notorious Desmond Fitzgerald (Greg Fs friend)
It cost £1,000,000 to build, an astronomical sum at the time.
It was finished in the same year as Liberty Hall (1961-65), & even though it is substantially lower in height, it contains a lot more floor area.
Over 50 men were kept employed by it’s construction.
It consumed 500 tons of steel, 90 tons of reinforcind bars, and a mere 7,500 tons of concrete, as well as the Portland Stone cladding.
It stands 11 storeys high, towering to 145 feet or 48m, and was taller than Nelson’s Pillar at completion.
At one time, the advertisment on it’s facade earned nearly as much income for it’s owner, John Byrne, as the entire 45,000 sq feet of space inside the building!
Even though at the time, every office bldg was required to have a parking space for every 500sq feet, and O’ Connell Bridge House would have required 90 spaces, this was blatently ignored and so, not only was it built, it was built with no spaces at all!
Planners were bitterly opposed to it’s construction, and the demolition of the existing fine & very grand bldg built by the Wide Streets Commissioners, but it is belived this was waved over because of John Byrne’s long friendship with Charlie Haughey, then Minister for Justice.
An extention was added, hence the demolition of more historic bldgs on D ‘Olier Street in 1968.
The only benifit that Dubliners ever derived from it’s construction, the rooftop restaurant, was closed, just a few years into it’s life, in order to create an office suite for it’s owner on the top floor.
As mentioned before, a mirror image of the building was ludicrously proposed on the site of the Ballast Office, Dublin’s answer to the Twin Towers, to stand guard over O’ Connell Bridge, but was thankfully, firmly rejected this time by planners.
Be whatever you want to be, this is the internet!
The crane has just gone asleep, there’s no point keeping it up for a week, until the beacon is has to be removed.
Even though I hate the place, I also tried to gain access to shoot (with a camera, you’ll understand) O’ Connell Street, but the place is still empty, even Q Bar knew nothing at all about thousands of tons of concrete over their heads. Very mysterious…
Bank of Ireland/Old Parliament House is on College Green, just to be a pedant.
City Hall on Dame Street is Dublin’s hidden treasure & is a must visit.
Also, to transport yourself back nearly 300 years, (and take your life in your hands) Henrietta Street on the northside is quite extraordinary.
Sorry, I meant no coverage on British Television. Ch 4 usually does such ‘novelty stories’ in it’s efforts to be different from the mainstream.
In my experience, I’m interested to note that I have’nt come across a single young woman who is in favour of the Spire, yet all older women seem to love it, whereas all young men think its fantastic and older men think its the stupidist thing they’ve ever come across. Anyone notice similar patterns?
Enter Ciaran O. There hasn’t been any coverage in the UK at all, not even Channel Four news, which is unusual. Can I ask sherrioverseas, what is a dingleberry?
All along, I’ve taken it as being 120m, and that’s stated by all ‘official’ sources, but I heard a construction worker on the site say to a passer-by that it’s 125m. Any definite figure anyone? Presumably he got it wrong, but he could have been in the know…
The one thing I would do in this city if given the chance, above absolutely everything else, is the demolition of O’ Connell Bridge House, I’d do it with my bare hands if offered. It is the most inappropriate building in the city, not necessarily the worst looking, (although it is very bland) but the worst positioned. It’s nothing short of disgraceful, slap bang in the middle of the low rise city centre. And whats best of all, is that it’s developer, John Byrne, had the cheek to propose a twin, mirror image of the building across the road on the site of the now ‘reconstructed’ Ballast Office!
I mean from further back, coming in from Clontarf & into the city, but it does look brilliant from the Loop Line Bridge as well, its a great talking point for everyone on the train (or rather for eavesdropping on other people’s conversations)
The very least he can do, he owes us big time!
I’ve just seen the most spectacular view yet of the Spire, coming in on the train this morning over the northern viaduct that passes through Stoneybatter and that area, into Connolly. The sky was full of grey clouds but the dazzling sunshine was coming in from the east, making the Spire light up like a beacon, it turned almost completely white, with a dazzling silvery tinge. And it stood there, alone, towering above the vast tracts of the terraced Victorian houses that streched out as far as the eye could see. Spectacular!!!
If only! A mere college project I’m afaid (although using the best of equipment!) I’m hoping to have it shown on the Ntl channel when I get around to finishing it & contacting them.
Yep, very nice. Don’t worry though, I had to buy it for research and for videoing, ie ripping off copyright, it’s pictures, for a documentary mentioned 558 posts ago in the very first post on this thread. Reading it now is quite amusing, ignorance is bliss. The whole bloody thing has to be re-edited now to take account of the Spire! I’ve been waiting for it to be finished for three months now!!!!!
The main reason for developing a shopping centre/mall on the Carlton site, indeed the reason it was originally proposed, is to draw people to the northern end of the Street. O’ Connell Street is being used simply as a route to get to Henry Street, people do not go any further, to the detriment of businesses on the other side/northern end of the Street, as stated in the Area Plan, and is an obvious fact.
Wheras developing the Abbey on the Carlton site is a charming and obvious idea, it simply would not act as a draw to this hugely neglected area, least of all during the day. Even an accociated cultural centre would only draw a couple of tourists during the summer, certainly not Dubliners at any time of the year, again to the detriment of the rejuvination of this area. Aside from the Spire and the repaving, the major issue in the Area Plan is to show there is life beyond Henry Street, and nothing but a retail, restaurant and service providing development is going to do this.
Here’s the ill-fated, well designed proposed facade, mentioned before, and contrasted with the current site.
The plaza is just outside the GPO, however the entire street is being repaved, and the pavements widened, as well as the central median overhauled. You can buy the
O’ Connell Street Integrated Area Plan in Dublin bookshops for the princely sum of
20 euro, which I did in ignorance of part of it being 5 years out of date. But the paving and general plan is still relevant.We’ll see the claims pouring in now from people falling and tripping over, as they were too busy looking upwards!
I have never seen so many people smirking and smiling around the city centre. Walking in any direction away from the Spire, every single person coming towards you is looking up, smirking, and making wry comments regarding the IRA and other more provocative remarks, then of course proceeding to crash into you.
It’s brilliant! But still, mostly all you can hear passing by is positive, positive, positive:
“It’s incredible, how did they do it?” “Beautiful finish isn’t it” and “They’ll have some job cleaning that huh huh huh ” etcOn the News yesterday, Paul Cunningham said it would be illuminated in 7 days (the tip) There has been no progress as yet on it’s floodlighting, mounted on the 4 corner buildings though.
