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Fort Point sign changed to reflect reality
By adamg on Tue, 11/11/2014 - 8:44am
Paul Villanova notes the angst on the Fort Point welcome sign, which famously greets you as you leave Fort Point.
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Comments
This is totally unfair
There are plenty of older luxury condo communities.
Maybe not as nice as your one
Maybe not as nice as your one Dedham.
You made a funny!
Did you think of that all by yourself?
Provincetown older and larger
Provincetown older and larger.
Oldest?
The artists showed up only in the late 70s early 80s. Before that the area was warehouses and small manufacturing. The trucks were triple parked outside Stuarts( now Luckys) where they enjoyed a shot and a beer for breakfast at the bar, and food at the restaurant.
There are plenty of artist communities way older than the Fort Point Channel. Provincetown comes to mind, and there are others.
Fenway Studios is a much older artist community in Boston
built way back in 1905.
Nothing can be built over the Turnpike right of way in front of their building, as it would block the studios' north light. Long before the Turnpike was built, this was a wide railroad right-of-way.
Visit their open studios this weekend !
Rocky Point
Wikipedia claims that "Smith Cove [Gloucester] is home to the Rocky Neck Art Colony, the oldest art colony in the country."
Presumably the Fort Point designation is based on some pedantic distinction between "Artist Community" and art colonies.
Open Studios
I visited Fenway Open Studios last year for the first time-an embarrassing confession since I've lived in the area 20+ years, and have done the Fort Pt open studios many times. Some good art on display and the building itself has fascinating history and design.
Memories
like the cobwebs of my mind. At Stuarts, for 75 cents you could get a shot of Fleischmans or Golden Wedding with a small draft. I remember having lunch there opening day of the '79 season wondering how early in the game the first complaint would be made against Zimmer (about the third inning). Also remember reading the Herald there the day after that terrible plane crash at O' Hare that kept me off planes for a number of years. You could get a great Italian sub (spuckie, they called them) at Sal's Lunch down the street. Good times, I think.
Why on Earth
is it necessary to put the Mayor's name on signs like these? There must be hundreds that still have Menino's name on them (granted, 20 years is a long time). It would be more beneficial to taxpayers to not have to change these signs every time we elect a new mayor.
it's just a reminder of the institutionalized corruption
and doing it after menino is sending a message that the old way of doing business in boston is alive and well, just a new godfather.
Until the mayor himself
Until the mayor himself formally orders all city employees to "stop putting the mayor's name on everything", city employees will continue to put the mayor's name on everything.
"It would be more beneficial
"It would be more beneficial to taxpayers to not have to change these signs every time we elect a new mayor."
Or clean them off whenever someone vandalizes, amirite?
I was astonished once to
I was astonished once to discover a bridge rebuilding project in Chattanooga TN where the most prominent info on the sign was not the name of the politicians who could attach themselves to the project but the budget and cost of the project. It was refreshingly novel.
In the early days of the Interstate Highway System
construction, it was common practice to put up large "Your Tax Dollars At Work" signs that emphasized the cost of the construction contract for a particular segment. And yes, the signs were a bid item on the contract.
More recently, projects funded under the American Recosntruction and Recovery Act (ARRA) program had similar signs, but minus the project cost.
Important Part
The important part is that the Mayor's name is imprinted on the sign. God help us should anyone momentary forget who's the current mayor.
Lucky sign maker
The sign manufacturer must have hit the jackpot when Marty was elected. Does anyone know more about this? Do people bid on those contracts?
I think the City does the signs themselves
which would explain why it's taking forever to redo them.
Menino shut down the city's sign shop during his last term.
I don't whether Walsh has reopened it.
It's funny 'cause it's true.
It's funny 'cause it's true.
can someone explain to me why
can someone explain to me why all the new condos are being called "luxury condos"? Aren't they just new construction and thus they look nicer than what's out there? From what I've seen they have pretty standard attributes. Did the townies attach the word luxury to all the new condos or is this something that the yuppies use too?
luxury
Years ago in Southie when we first saw these signs on newly renovated houses turned into condos we figured out it meant granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. I don't think it was the people from Charlestown or the yuppies that named them thusly, it was the real estate agents. If a sign went up then or now it HAS to say luxury for some reason or I guess the agents feel no one will look at it.
Fan Pier = Luxury Condos but don't know if that's Fort Point
The condos at Fan Pier are supposed to have the most expensive condos per sq. ft. in the city but I don't know if the artiste who changed that sign thinks of that as Fort Point or not.
Otherwise, I agree. I was driving down there last night (Melcher St) and it all seemed the same to me except for a couple of new restaurants.
Looks the same?
One thing you couldn't see was the price on the rents.
Well, in Boston, in my
Well, in Boston, in my opinion, any new (even contractor standard) construction would have to qualify as luxury, when compared to a sea of dilapitated 100 yr old stacked triple deckers that dominate most of this city still. Having been born and raised in a triple decker, I couldn't wait to "get out" all my life. It's too bad the "new construction" is not attainable to Boston's real middle class families. You either have to be poor/homeless, know someone, or be rich to get into quality, clean and life invigorating property. John Barros recognizes that ugly truth. I was elated to hear that he envisioned the Seaport area as a place where average hardworking Bostonians could one day venture into. A true visionary.
Is art today even art?
Is art today even art?
Artists seem more like pranksters, not artists.
Well, 6 years ago when you
Well, 6 years ago when you could still visit artists' studios in the area, you would have seen a lot of what you consider to be art, painters, sculptors, etc. Just let your ignorance wash over yourself though.
The art world is as corrupt
The art world is as corrupt as every other area of modern life.
Let your self-delusion wash over you.
You could still visit artists' studios in Fort Point this year
Just a few weeks ago, in fact, at their open studios on October 17-19. They'll have another open studios event next spring.
While there are quite a few
While there are quite a few untalented, trust funded boys out there whose artistic output consists of dick jokes and Bart Simpson references, there are plenty of talented young artists currently making interesting work that isn't watercolors of lighthouses.
To go totally meta
The NOT ART stencil guy (or gal) needs to tag this.
Untitled November
Looks like the revised sign is part of Pat Falco's untitlednovember project.
H/t Greg Cook.
Untitled Nov.
Love the "Affordable Housing" photo - funny 'cause true indeed.
A different kind of sign and message
I remember looking at a picture of a similar sign for a garden community in Baltimore called Roland Park. The sign proudly proclaimed how Roland Park as a leader in neighborhood segregation.
While I could not find the picture there is plenty of web based material discussing that neighborhood segregation - before redlining - was more than legal; it was desirable - at least to the financial, industrial and political leaders running the city.
Today outside the neighborhoods where a 6 figure salary is required to reside, at least skin color, religion or even language are not important. If a person has a job, can make the mortgage payments then they have a home. I think that is good progress.
Now if we could move out of being an economy where many full time jobs still do not meet a middle class standard of living.
That could be a great Republican strategy for the upcoming Congress: Encourage an economy that rebuilds industry, supports middle class jobs, reduces the light year gap between executive pay and line worker pay, etc. If only fantasy could be reality.