urbanisto
Forum Replies Created
- Posts
Where the plinth is now in front of Leinster House. It used to be a semi formal garden until the cars came along…..
It looks quite good where it is – outside the Q Vic Buildings appropriately. But its not a very flattering likeness…I can’t imagine her being very impressed by it. Which begs an interesting question… what would some of our other notables think of their statues. Would Wolfe Tone like his long, spidery look on the Green, or Thomas Davis be impressed by his on College Green complete with rubbish strewn not working fountain, or Mr O’Connell with his pigeon shit covered head?
Actually the statue on College Green was of William III. A statue to Victoria was on the city side of Leinster House but was removed in the 1940s and left in storage somewhere. In 1988 the Government gave it to Sydney to commemorate the Bicentennial.
A monument to Brian Boru is twee…it has no relevance to modern Ireland whatsoever. I bet most people couldn’t tell you the first thing about Brain Boru past the the Battle of Clontarf…and even there their knowledge would be hazy and inaccurate.
As for Pearse – well there is a beautiful Pieta for Pearse at his grave in Glasnevin and their is also St Ednas as a less militaristic legacy. As for 1916 – we done all this to death in 1966. You have the GPO itself with its plaques and statue and gaudy friezes; a Garden of Remembrance; various plaques on a variety of sites around the city.
Lets get over it…. it’s 2003. lets just enjoy art for arts sake rather than sticking a tacky moniker to it.Its a shame it going really, but theres not really anything else in the area to make a theatre viable. No theatrical critical mass so to speak.
I took a walk by this the other day and the planning notice on the wall (or rather a notice to amend the first application) says that the facade of the building will be retained but that the rear is to be demolished and replaced with a 4 story office block.
What a load of old cobblers… why not just stick to the plain old simple Spike! Or Spire of Dublin if you have to…
All this Padraig Pearse crap…. enough with the 1916 memorials. And as for Brian Boru…please! Where did that one come from. Its so twee.
All these wonderful city councillors with loads to say on the Spire…. SORT OUR POTHOLED FILLED STREETS OUT INSTEAD IF YOU NEED SOMETHING TO DO!I suppose its a bit strong – a bad choise of words…
I was thinking of an article I read about 6 months ago from someone who had forked out for an apartment on Cow Lane. She was complaining that the fact that so many of the apartments were being rented out rather than lived in by long term residents. It is a generalisation but short term renters tend not to want to invest to much time and energy in their living area because they get no return. Live in residents on the other hand have a natural bias towards making a place work and more importantly worth more.I was thinking of the rise of the super pub affecting the whole of Temple Bar from Westmoreland Street down. The fact that TB is no longer a cultural quarter but a place of pub orientated entertainment has let down all the residents and businesses who bought into the original scheme thinking they were goijng to be lving in a nice mixed use area.
However your point about Parliament Street is interesting – I never thought about it so much but I have often unconsciously thought..’ Im at the end now when I get to P Street’ although I like the internet cafe in Old City so I usually get down there a bit.
Most retail stores dont…. large window areas mean less retail space. They also have to be cleaned more regularly than normal buildings (for appearences sake). And I agree it is Roches after all and at least they are making and effort to improve on that ghastly 70s creation they are replacing.
I suppose its a question of use as well… the GPO, Custom House and Courts have all been altered internally to suit their modern (mainly office) purpose. To restore them might look great but might not be of any use to their tenants. A perfect example is the City Hall, the restored foyer looks stunning but has yet to gain a useful purpose – civil weddings would be my suggestion.
The drink! ‘Tis a curse.
And lets face it the main factor that has ruined the original high-minded idea ebhind the whole of Temple Bar is the unfettered spread of superpubs and the yob culture they generate.
Architecturally I think the Cow’s Lane area looks great but if you live there its a different story. Residents have repeatedly complained about the nose from the street and the poor building managment which has let the wrong type of people move into these blocks to the detriment of their neighbours.
The central block off Essex Street is still derelict which doesnt help the overall perception. Also strung across Essex Street is the original banner for Old City which is now dirty and tattered..also not doing very much for its image.
Still some good news. A new building is being completed beside the Front Lounge which looks a bit quirky and different. Still its a far cry from the property mad days of the boom years.
Anyone think transferring management of Temple Bar back to the DCC is a factor in the decline in the area or is it just a case of time naturally taking the shine off a not-so-new pair of shoes?
All these observant people wandering the streets of Dublin at night!
I got Pat Cadden of the DCC in on the act and emailed him about the three bridges lighting, ei well done about the replacements on O’Connell Bridge, sort out the Millennium Bridge please and dont forget the lanterns on Capel Street Brodge which have yet to be connected up (even though the restoration on the bridge finish last year!)Regarding Westland Row: Trinity may have done a clean up and piant job on the buildings but its not particularly high quality. The have left all those horrible doorways intact and not even bothered to call in the window cleaners. And as has been recognised many times on this site, Trinity have not exactly proved to be the best guardians of the sizeable amount of architectural heritage they look after in Dublin city….need I mention Pearse Street.
I sent an email to Matt Twomey about it… if you never ask you never get I suppose. I wonder if he’ll reply.
Its Durham actually. They have a World Hertitage Site in the city centre and the traffic was destrying it. Apparently it decreased the traffic levels by 70% and the charge is only £2. Most people are positive about it although it was only a small core area.
I quite like the cupola although I think it looks a little too large for the building… or badly proportioned.
Parnell St and Summerhill – What a mess they made there. The same goes for Cork Street…it looks like crap!
Back to the subject of Yuck… the Bus Worker Union HQ on Middle Abbey Street is my candidate… its the one with the brown smoked glass. Truly vile!
On the subject of Glasgow… it may have its fair share of bunkers but the core centre is full of some really beautiful buildings and the pedestrianisation scheme look great.
As for the EU billions…. they didn’t go into my pocket anyhow… maybe Jackie Healey Rae can enlighten us.
