February 27, 2008

More Development Fun: Cute Storefronts on Cambridge Street, Towers on Exeter

I go and write about redevelopment and what happens? Some dude comes in and starts talking about bringing the quaint back to Cambridge Street. I’m all for neighborhood preservation, but this artifical restoration grates against my sense of history.

The south side of Cambridge Street ain’t been cute since they widened it to four lanes in 1926 (see right). Doesn’t Boston have enough ridiculous buildings without 30 more that look just like the Charles Street 7-Eleven?

It’s not like current Cambridge Street addresses aren’t elegant - here’s a million-dollar pad just around the corner on Bowdoin Street, and that is supposed to be the young and irreverent part of the neighborhood.

At any rate, most of Cambridge Street looks just like Beacon Hill; the stretch from Joy to Bowdoin, and a solitary gas station are the only bits that even approach eyesore. And it’s not like the rest of the neighborhood’s adherence to architecture is unblemished, either.

But lest you think “made land” is any less prone to this sort of thing, a classic expressway revolt is brewing over two proposed tower complexes in Back Bay. Since the neighborhood has more organizational factions than an Italian election, this battle is going to take a while to fight out. Whatever the outcome, this penthouse will be a fantastic location from which to watch the sparks fly.

Image: Widening Cambridge Street, 1926. Authorship and copyright unclear; original source here. Author takes sole responsibility for the use of this image; contact this address with any concerns.