J. Seerski

I’m afraid to say I’m rather disappointed with the end result of O’Connell Street. Its a long time since I’ve been on this board and since the last time the street has effectively stagnated.

Arguably the worst building on the street – Findlater House – has not been redeveloped and seems destined to be a dead civil service office. The Gresham has failed to re-develop to Five Star standard. And, alas, the Carlton not only remained undeveloped since the first redevelopment proposal over ten years ago, but the new suggested replacement is a joke. I think its a trojan horse to force high rise in a subsequent planning application. I cannot envision the project either getting the finance nor the commitment for completion.

The images of the porposal look horiffic and a mess. The suggested new square fronting O’Connell Street is an enormous error. It would break the building line that has been extant since the 18th century, turning the street from a boulevard into a broken and hap-hazard strip.

I intend to lodge an objection. Cant wait! 🙂

Amid all the doom and gloom there are glimmers of enlightened enterprise. No. 1 Synnott Place was painted red for the past 20 years or more and was horribly defaced by advertising hoardings as well as being in a state of neglect. The recent restoration of this building has brought some hope to an area that, while improving, seemed to have lost its heritage in its quest to tidy itself up.

This building is a beacon in an area that has such beauties as George Cosgrave Car Sales building (horriffic is the word!) and the emasculation of some fine georgian palaces near the Nth Fredrick Street end (there is one fine five-bay mansion that merits investigation, given its size and bulk it must have been a notable address – it is beside the shx coffe shop).

I do agree with facades being preserved and or re-instated, if only for reference sake to how the area once was. Moreso, it would re-inforce the importance of the existing housing stock that is already extant.

J.

Quote – GregF

And yes yes yes, those stupid, finicky, parochial, Super Valuesque, ‘lets all join in the fun’ permanent banners on the lampposts – how tacky, how lacking in distinction and grace, how small town Ireland, how patronising to citizens, how expensive if nothing else to maintain all year round – these yokes must cost a fortune to produce, pasted the whole way down the street, not to mention the quays and elsewhere.

This has to be the funniest, most colourful and sadly, truest statement about the redevelopment! GregF – I salute you!

I am in total agreement with you Jimg.

While it is undeniable that many imporvements have taken place on the street, I beleive that there in nothing noteworthy in these improvements. Such improvements are replicated in streets in towns across the country. The street feels clinical, almost sterile, with no genuine feeling of awe which O’Connell Street would appeared to have had prior to its descent into chaos from the 1960s onwards.

What I think is really tacky is the inclusion of banner advertising on the new lamp standards. It bears out my belief that what is intented is an improvement in the commercial possibilities of the street moreso than any central desire for civic improvement. If they were non-commercial banners then, very well. But the sponsorships listed on these banners do not hide their essential function: advertisements.

Moreso than before, the street feels like a motorway. If this was the intention, then the redevelopment was a success. But somehow I understand the initial idea was more noble….

I am impressed with the floodlighting of the GPO and the sensitive restoration of the statues on the street. However, what really bugs me is the removal of the Jesus Statue. What politically correct moron decided on this? Is it not part of the streets history aswell???

The statue has historical, as well as folklore, merit for retention. It was said that after the destruction of the Gresham during the Civil War, this statue was found virtually intact in the rubble, was salvaged, and up until very recently was maintained by the taximen/jarveys rank opposite the Gresham. If the council want to start picking and choosing memorials to remove than why not continue on this pc crusdae and remove the O’Connell Monument, the Father Matthew monument, the Gardens of Remembrence….

Lord Nelson may be joined by other fine monuments that fall out of favour…

Interesting Montage….bears little semblence to reality! Would love to see that terrace on the right hand side – which does not exist!

Rest assured – the metro will never happen…. even if it does, 2012 is an optimistic estimate for delivery…

One important question – has the statue of Jesus been removed from O’Connell Street? If it has its a ptiy as there was an interesting story behind it and the burning of the Gresham in the 1920s.

Oh and Graham, if you are looking for the other obelisks I mentioned, you need to go to the rotunda gardens behind the hospital where you will see several.

I cant see your point kite.

For the very first time in my life I agree with Eoghan Harris. I’m scared!!!!

It is disgusting that at a time of greater conservation awareness the countryside is being plundered for short-term gain with long term negative consequences.

I have the benefit of growing up in Dublin and spending my summers in the midlands – Lucan was a village at the time (1987) and there were long stretches of road from there to Mullingar without any housing. Then they started to appear like ragworth on the roadsides. Now nearly every road is infested with these ugly, visually insensitive, and environmentally unfriendly piles of poor design. You would be hard pressed to find a quarter-mile stretch without a vile bungalow. It is truly incredible that a process that started slowly in the 1980s has completely destroyed the delicate beauty of Irelands countryside. Its not a question of stopping it anymore – it has gone past the point of no return in my opinion….

Small boreens are now riddled with bungalows. Amazing vistas as disturbed if not destroyed by poor development. And still in many cases villages remain undeveloped, whereas a few miles beyond the bungalow plague manifests itself.

Eoghan Harris has written the obituary of Ireland’s once cherished beauty. We still have well preserved beauty spots. However, spots is what they are – the general picture is defaced, bordering on the ugly. 🙁

Well I would say one reason for builing a new street would be the added bonus of having (a) a corner building and (b) an enormous stretch of street frontage which would not be possible.

Corner buildings tend to be more valuable and attract a higher premium – bizarre but true – Im sure a property economist would agree. Arnotts re-instating its missing tower would enhance the prominence of the building – as well as correcting an architectural imbalance. Also, a corner tower would also add to the buildings prominence.

As for the building only being extended less than ten years ago, the nature of the business seems to suggest that tearing down and re-building will be a constant feature in retail from now on.

The intention of Arnotts seem to be not only to expand the store, but act as a landlord for new chosen tenants to enhance the value and image of the area, with subsequent impact on the value of Arnotts itself. It is my understanding that the new street would consist of new stand-alone units, with Arnotts being the landlord. It is interesting that Arnotts are doing what should have been done by Dublin Corporation – namely exercising strict controls over what type of store should open at certain loactions. Not only will this improve the tenant quality of the area, but will be in Arnotts long-term commercial interest.

In a simialr way, it always baffled me why Clerys never exploited its frontage on Earl Place – a windswept strecth only yards from O’Connell Street – it has enormous potential for development yet it lies as a service depot, a complete waste of space. In a way its similar to Clarendon Street, however there the former service area for Brown Thomas has become a shopping street in its own right.

If you mean georgian aka : between George 1st and George 3rd, then there are quite a few examples still lurching around – mostly the facades are gone, the interiors remain.

Areas that were constructed before the 1700s include parts of Capel Street, Stephens Green, Ormond Quay and possibly prts of College Green.

If you mean Georgian in ‘style’ then you would be hard pressed to find any. The Georgian style as we know it today existed prior to the reign of George 1, ie: brick houses with sash windows. However there is one exception to this: it was a typical feature of Dublin housing in the 17th century to have its gable wall at the front of the house as opposed to the side – similar to what you would see in Amsterdam (‘Dutch Billy Gables’ they were called). Some remnants of these exist, though generally the parapets have been levelled, the only clue being the succession of windows not being uniform in sequence.

Plenty of pre-georgian churches still around!