dc3
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@kefu wrote:
Also pro: how many lives that would otherwise have been lost have been saved.
Road deaths were down to 239 last year, the lowest on record.
You can’t attribute all of that to the motorway network but it was a major contributor.Certainly a welcome development, but perhaps the road safety aspect of motorway building has been little sold to the public, – very many believe wrongly they are more dangerous than local roads. Of course, if the objective is to reduce deaths, there are cheaper options than spending on any roads. One wonders how quickly the traffic returns once economic conditions improve, I would guess very quickly indeed.
Saw an interesting new development yesterday, at a prominent city location. This was a parked bike with both wheels advertising a nearby cafe. Perhaps this is the “green” alternative to the parked advertising trucks close to the motorways!:D
@Devin wrote:
Canary in the coalmine for PHASE TWO of the building recession got to be planning applications for city-centre surface car parks. This one for a site on the Grand Canal Basin adjacent the new theatre was refused by DCC – Search%20Criteria%20>%20
And now the Carlton want a surface car park on the site of the Royal Dublin Hotel, Upper O’Connell Street – Search%20Criteria%20>%20
Remind me again, is not car access to this premier street already severely restricted? Very long term parking obviously.
There is no doubt in my mind that Hawkins House is the one to beat, but it also “benefits” from a very bleak location, in an underscale car park, given priority over pedestrian access, and with a dreary bus park of a street to one side of it. Viewed, almost always, through a vision of diesel fumes. Replacing the Theatre Royal (no beauty itself but well liked, if not then appreciated or heavily used) also acts against it.
Now my question is if it had been built on a stand alone site, say somewhere in a field in Stillorgan, would it escape condemnation? I tend to feel no.
The recent booklet on Dawson St, which also covers Kildare St, says that the Library was “refaced c1962”.
Amazingly very little signs of the crash there this morning, and the street is open more or less as usual, just guards and yellow tape.
I heard a man on the bus say in the A&E Department last night that only for diving out of his seat, as he saw the crash coming and on to the floor, he would have been a goner. I can well believe it looking at the photos.
While not wishing to judge as to what happened, or how caused, I still believe that the colour chosen for the Luas makes it hard to see.It tends to blur into the grey background in certain light conditions. The front and rear, at least, should have more prominent, high visibility markings. There are many out there with poor sight and difficulty with hearing.
Incidentally, there is a nice view of the “Heineken” sign, also a recent topic here, in one of the photos.
Evening Herald is reporting the first Decaux Dublin bike vandalism story – four bikes on “the Northside” have had headlamps removed.
If only the local authorities here were as speedy as the vandals.
An Taisce has now said there should be resignations in Dublin City Council after An Bord Pleanála criticised the council permission for the Carlton development.
Doubtless that will happen at enforcement speed, or similar.
@rumpelstiltskin wrote:
Oh well god forbid we should do anything different – a park in the sky, just imagine! In Calgary, Canada, there’s a park indoors on the fourth level of the skyscraper, and it’s marketed as a tourist attraction and is very popular.
There is indeed, and very nice it is but one key word is indoors.
Now while Calgary has very pronounced climatic variation compared to Dublin, an outdoor high rooftop venue is one that has yet to catch the imagination of Dubliners.The saga continues.
The Samuel Beckett bridge delayed and not even one waiting for Godot joke, shame on you all. Must try harder.
Perhaps we should take the barge on a nationwide tour first as part of balanced regional development.
The latest look of the Carlton Cinema.
9/15 Upper O’Connell St hosts the Revenue Commissioners in the above ground floors. The home of some Dublin tax districts. Revenue have been there since the 1950’s, at least, perhaps very much longer.
These are probably rented by OPW, it is unlikely the State owns them.
I see suggestions in the Limerick press that, though the Opera Centre seems to be on hold, the “derelict” buildings thereon should now be demolished, as it ruins the look of the city.
(Hollow laugh anyone?)
….and be replaced by a
(temporary) car park (are you laughing yet?)Seemingly, some person was “afraid” to walk by them.
The Monument Creamery was one of a small chain of grocery stores in Dublin when I was a lad, very similar to the Liptons or Home & Colonial Stores chains at the time. This is the era before self service. Afraid I have no particular location in my mind, doubtless findeable in Thoms Directory, but they were not particularly milk, cream or ice cream oriented, despite the name. ( Was there one in Talbot St also?)
Pillar Cinema / 62 O’Connell St
From the CTA Bulletin
………At No 62 Upper O’Connell St, once lived the Pillar Cinema dating from 1913 / 1914 to the design of architect Aubrey O’Rourke, a brother of the city architect, Horace. Taking its name from the nearby monument to Lord Nelson, destroyed by persons unknown in 1966, the cinema name must have sent out mixed signals to visitors from abroad as generally the thing you want least in a cinema is a pillar! Nearly, but not quite, visible in almost every postcard I have seen of O’Connell Street’s Nelson Pillar, it remains an elusive image but it had a fine site beside the tram terminus. Elements of the original exterior design of the narrow façade, in pink Kingscourt brick, remain even today but like many early cinemas the street façade gave little clue to the original function. The curved porch is long gone, as are all the interior features of this narrow hall type cinema, seating about 400 patrons.
With this cinema we first encounter the early Dublin cinema proprietor Alderman J J Farrell. Any time the early Irish cinema trade had a problem with government, on tax, or censorship issues, Alderman Farrell was to be found on the cinema trade delegation seeking redress. Substantial suspension of credibility may now be required of readers, but Alderman Farrell was originally elected to Dublin Corporation on a temperance platform of some rigor. As the temperance craze faded, and nationalism replaced it, the Alderman and former Lord Mayor, found the electors of Dublin more supportive of his growing cinema interests than of his political views. It is not clear that he actively intended the cinemas as an alternative to the public house.
The Pillar was the second Dublin cinema of the Farrell cinema chain, coming after his early Electric Cinema in Talbot Street. He would go on to have the Grand Central cinema further down the street later and the cinema chain would pass to a second generation after his death in 1945. The Pillar survived the rebellion of 1916, when much of the surrounding area was wrecked. It continued into the sound era too, turning into an ice-cream parlour only in 1945, which retained the pillar name, continuing on in the fast food trade. Now with this site far longer in use for fast food purposes than for films, we can pass over the Henry Street junction to the General Post Office……………
GrahamH wrote:annnnnnyway…Gandon must be rolling in his grave.
QUOTE]I doubt it, he has had far worse provocations over the years, including the Loop Line Bridge.
Earlier forms of building blocks are “blamed” for encouraging Frank Loyd Wright into the field of architecture, of course so perhaps the Lego generation are not the first to learn from the blockwork. Are Lego roofs more watertight, I wonder and what did Zaha play with as a child?
It is indeed a fantastic model, and thanks for reviving this thread, I missed it the last time it was around.
@darkman wrote:
The Green Light has been given to the Dublin Central scheme….could not find a thread on that.
Is this “the Carlton facade moves up the street” scheme?
Still trying to find “An Lar” myself.Happy New Year and Better Buildings everyone.
I have got to say that delay has made this project appear :eek:increasingly unreal to me.
The bus is gone, boys, not just moved 40m up the street.
From the New York Times today, a quote from a much longer story.…..Aldis Nordfjord, a 53-year-old architect, also lost her job last month. So did all 44 of her co-workers — everyone in the company except its owners. As many as 75 percent of Iceland’s private-sector architects have probably been fired in the past few weeks, she said……………………
The College of Physicians in Kildare Street is a very attractive space with much of interest. Some rooms are more interesting than others, but I suspect that Christmas bookings should perhaps have 2011 or 2010 in the request box rather than 2008 at this stage. Car parking, for the sober few, possible in this area in multi story locations.
