URBAN EXPRESSION AND DEPRESSION
Street Photography That Highlights Urban Life
MAY HAVE BEEN RELOCATED AT SOME STAGE
Apparently this is all that is left of a large Victorian mansion, many of which lined Burlington Road in the 1880s. The street is now home to many modern [and older] office blocks.
18 MARCH 2023
I mentioned Amazon because I received an communication from them today advising that they are closing DPReview in April [10th].
Most people in Dublin were aware of Burlington Road because of the Burlington Hotel. I went to school nearby and during the summer holidays I worked in a variety of hotels owned by P.V. Doyle who owned the Burlington Hotel.
Back in the late 1960s I heard some of my teachers, who lived in the area, describe Burlington Road as being “leafy” since then many of the grand houses have been replaced by generations of office blocks mainly because the older buildings occupied sites that were worth more than the occupying buildings were.
The first phase of modern buildings included Sam Stephenson’s Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies building which is now a protected building. To the best of my knowledge the building was completed in 1971 or 1972.
The Burlington hotel was developed on the site of what was formerly the grounds of Wesley College Dublin and included the Victorian houses – Burlington House, Tullamaine Villa and Embury House (formerly Burleigh House). It also encompassed the site of Mespil House, a large notable Georgian house which was demolished in the 1950s. Note: Wesley College Dublin was one of the few schools that CUS, my school, could beat on the rugby pitch.
Completed in 1972 by P.V. Doyle initially as part of Doyle Hotels and named the Burlington Hotel and nicknamed “the Burlo” by Dubliners, the hotel was purchased by property developer Bernard McNamara in 2007 for €288 million.
Following the post-2008 Irish economic downturn, Bank of Scotland (Ireland) took possession of the hotel from McNamara. It was sold in 2012 to The Blackstone Group for €67 million, in what was Ireland’s biggest property transaction since the start of the downturn. The DoubleTree chain assumed management in 2013, and the hotel was rebranded as DoubleTree by Hilton Dublin – Burlington Road. In 2016, Blackstone sold the hotel to the German investment bank DekaBank, and a 25-year lease to operate the hotel was granted to the Dalata Hotel Group, which rebranded it within their Clayton Hotels brand as Clayton Hotel Burlington Road in November 2016.
The hotel’s former nightclub, Club Anabel, gained notoriety in 2000 when the death of Brian Murphy took place during a fight outside the premises.
PHOTOGRAPHED 18 MARCH 2023
I learn something new every day. I thought that this example of paint-a-box street art was located on Nassau Street but it is actually on South Leinster Street which I have been unaware of until today.
JUST BEFORE IT GOT REALLY BUSY
On 20 May 2022, Capel street was made traffic-free, following a campaign by people who wanted to improve the quality of life on the street. It is now the longest traffic-free street in Dublin.
This is my local area and I have always liked Capel Street as it is a unique commercial street in the city centre. It is a great place to shop and it is full of excellent restaurants, I have tried most of them.
Capel Street is named after Arthur Capell, 1st Earl of Essex, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1672–1677. Historically, it was the site of the chapel of St Mary’s Abbey. The street was laid out by Sir Humphrey Jervis in the late 17th century on the Abbey lands he purchased in 1674. He also built Essex Bridge (today Grattan Bridge), and the street was known for its mansions and a royal mint. In the 18th century, it became a commercial hub, with two-bay buildings replacing most of the “Dutch Billy” houses. In the late 1700s, the Italian composer, Tommaso Giordani, performed at a small purpose built theatre on the street. The Capel Street Theatre also stood there in the 18th century.
The Torch Theatre operated on Capel Street from 1935–41. The street declined in the 20th century, before a revival around the 1980s. Today it is known for its variety of restaurants, shops, cafés and pubs; as Panti, the owner of Pantibar put it, “You can buy a lightbulb, sexual lubricant, Brazilian rice, get a pint and go to a trad session”. Louis Copeland’s tailor is another notable business.
54 ARBOUR HILL
When I was young one would would not haven chosen to live in the Arbour Hill area of Dublin but by the 1970s it started to become a very desirable location and over time houses there became expensive so I was a bit surprised to see this large building on the market for Euro 795,000. However, after seeing photographs of the interior I understand the price. The auctioneer describes the property as follows: “No.54 represents an exciting development opportunity in the heart of popular Stoneybatter but comes to the market in need of significant renovation. The property has been stripped back at each level and as such presents as a blank canvas offering the new purchaser a multitude of potential options.”
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