Hey, there! Log in / Register
That's one way to turn Faneuil Hall into a suburban shopping mall
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
Apart from the location
Faneuil Hall has been no different than a suburban shopping mall for at least three decades.
And this proposal only reinforces the need to fire all the mid-1980s business school grads who view everything, however minor or irrelevant, as a profit center.
I'll give it one thing
The eating options are a smidge above your average mall food court. The Market hasn't yet been completely taken over by Sbarro and its ilk, and Durgin Park hasn't yet turned into a Cheesecake Factory.
Yet.
Barely.
About the only good thing regarding
Durgin Park is that it's local. Last time I went there, it made the Hilltop look like a 5 star eatery by comparison.
It was pretty good 40 or so years ago....
... or so I heard.
As was
the Hilltop 40 years ago.
;-}
;-(
OK
But once or twice a year, I feel like some corned beef and cabbage, but not enough to wait all day for it to boil or to have 11 days worth of leftovers.
Fair enough
Then again, I've never been one for corned beef and cabbage.
Durgin-Park isn't local
It was ought by NY-based chain Ark at least 20 years ago, and hasn't had the same rude charm nor decent old-school New England fare since.
Guess that shows how long it's been since
I ate at Durgin Park.
Faneuil and Quincy are a
Faneuil and Quincy are a shame. The Ferry Building in San Francisco is a similar layout, but their options are amazing - a cheese shop, meats, mushrooms, a bakery, olive oil, local produce, neat stores, excellent dining options at reasonable (though SF prices). We could do much better than the fried food we sell (but I guess it sells, so that's that).
Sounds like Chelsea Market in NY
Yes, we could certainly use one of those here.
Wasn't Marty just soliciting ideas for Government Center?
A series of available busker courts with a digital reservation and tipping system, still close to Faneuil Hall, sounds like a good idea.
Here's how it works
My son likes to busk and makes very good money when he does. Performing within the confines of Quincy Market is clearly the most lucrative place play, but only those acts that have been accepted can play there. The 2nd best place is near the Sam Adams statue, between Faneuil Hall and City Hall. However, the spots there, even though they are theoretically open to all, are 100% of the time held by the same performers who come every day. (Namely the group of guys who play loud recorded music and then do kind of urban acrobatics, plus the guy banging on plastic buckets.)
I'm fully against the idea of charging the Quincy Market performers. They are a key element of the allure of that area who provide free entertainment. (Don't get me started on the management saying they have "administrative and security costs." Please!)
Setting up busking stations near city hall isn't a terrible idea. It all depends on whether they are near enough to foot traffic as to whether it will work, but it's worth a shot.
What I'm wondering
I'm wondering if you can get an "if you build it, they will come" effect. There's a natural travel path from Government Center down the stairs to Faneuil/Quincy. The best spots would be near there. The other spots a little further away might attract people too if they have good sight lines to the T station so you see them when you're near the flag pole area and the performers can draw in the crowd.
Free keytar bear
crowdfund keytar bear's license
I spotted Keytar Bear on
I spotted Keytar Bear on Saturday jamming down at the Long Wharf near where the Harbor Cruises come and go. Part of the allure, IMHO, is not knowing where Keytar Bear will be and feeling like you've hit the Boston lottery when you spot him!
I think that's the Long Wharf? Regardless, it was where the BHC boats come and go. :)
I Love Keytar Bear, However,
Word is that there is a contract on his amp system from the occupants of 28, 53, and 60 State Street.
Must be lucrative
That location must be lucrative, however, because I remember there used to be a group of street dancers who came up every day from NYC, pushed out all the other performers from that side of the market, and then spent the day playing the same rap song over, and over, and over again.
On a serious note: I thought that the courts agreed that the space around Faneuil Hall Market was public space, and could not be privately controlled. How is this charging system going to work?
Public vs private
Not sure about the courts, but the way it has always been is that Quincy Market management controls what happens around the market. Back in the 1980's my employer at the time tried to do "intercept" market research interviews of people on the street and we promptly got kicked out (we were outside on the cobblestones, not inside.) Yes the city owns the land, but what goes on there is controlled by the management company.
Faneuil Hall vs Quincy Market
The space in front of Faneuil Hall is public, and is open to any performer who gets there first.
But Quincy Market is privately managed. For many years it has required performers to audition and follow a schedule.
Keytar is what makes this a world class city.
I finally ran into him in Harvard Square. He had the Kiosk area ringing with concentrated essence of something like the Bar Kays..
https://youtu.be/mZyFfRM6Mao
Been rocking Dewey Square in the evenings
Thousands of folks cut through there to get to their trains, and a lot of them drop change as they go.
At least it's not Faneuil Hall
Buskers will still be able to perform outside Faneuil Hall proper (on the City Hall side), just not in the *Faneuil Hall Marketplace*. The Marketplace has always tightly managed the performers through their audition process. I'm glad that the performers are bailing. If there's no entertainment the crowds won't be so fierce in the high season.