Winthrop Arcade. Don't distroy it!!!

Typewriter

http://www.archiseek.com/content/showthread.php?t=7683

I recently saw this thread over on archiseek.com.

My mind boggles on why anybody would want to remove Winthrop Arcade from our streets? This is Ireland's first shopping mall!!!
Structures like this have made city's like Paris famous! I think that if the city council hadn't made such a balls of doing up Oliver Plunkett Street (they should have pedestrianized the whole thing like Grafton street in Dublin) this wouldn't be the case. If the street was an open plaza people wold notice this more. Now it is to be torn down to be replaced with yet another glass box.

This has been appealed to An Bord Pleanala by An Taisce. The Result is expected in March 2010.

We as citizens of cork cans stop this destruction of our heritage!!!

shnaek

Why not make the English Market into an appartment block while we're at it, and make Cork into the generic city the council seem to want it to be. 'Character' doesn't seem to be a word they have in their dictionary.

D-Generate

Yeah we should certainly keep this building which has only 50% occupancy at any one time!
I like the building but you can understand from the owners point of view that basically no one wants to take a retail unit in there. They won't make money having an empty attractive building. I used to walk through it nearly every day for 6 years and the only places that seemed to be occupied consistently were the clothes shop (Designer Fusion I think), the barbers and the flower/funeral wreaths shop. I think before the barbers there might have been a cake shop too. Either way, the shop at the entrance to Winthrop Street has changed hands more times than i can remember and that is a good location. The arcade just doesn't get the footfall to sustain business within.

Sleipnir

D-Generate wrote: »

Yeah we should certainly keep this building which has only 50% occupancy at any one time!
I like the building but you can understand from the owners point of view that basically no one wants to take a retail unit in there. They won't make money having an empty attractive building. I used to walk through it nearly every day for 6 years and the only places that seemed to be occupied consistently were the clothes shop (Designer Fusion I think), the barbers and the flower/funeral wreaths shop. I think before the barbers there might have been a cake shop too. Either way, the shop at the entrance to Winthrop Street has changed hands more times than i can remember and that is a good location. The arcade just doesn't get the footfall to sustain business within.

I see your point but you can't just knock a very beautiful building with a long and proud heritage just because it's not a money-spinner anymore. How many historic buildings would we have it now if it just came down to pure economics?

simu

It should be given protected status imho. We have enough bland "giant-cube" type stores in Cork as it is!

I'm sure it could be developed into a successful trading area in the right hands.

seclachi

It should be saved. I also think if it was marketed right it would have no bother with footfall. I used to love walking through it as a kid, I used to think it and the english market were one continuous tunnel !

Last thing we need is another souless opera lane, who designed that place? its one big wall of glass, you cant even see what shop is what until you are right in front of it.

Fabio

The rents were too high simple as that I reckon. Lower the rents to suit the climate and allow small shops to operate.

Beautiful place, one of the first shopping "malls" in Ireland it's a disgrace that there ain't more of stink being made about it.

shnaek

Oldest brewery in Ireland - close it and make it into apartments.
Oldest shopping mall in Ireland - close it and make it into apartments.
Sir Henry's - close it and make it into apartments (but leave it as a carpark for ages)
For too long we've let the developers and the money rule the place. It's time to take the power back!

Bill-e

Wow, I had nearly forgotten about that place.
I haven't walked through there in ten years or so, I might do so this lunch time.

Typewriter

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