Jump to content

Creston Neighborhood

arcturus

By arcturus
in Grand Rapids

 Share

Recommended Posts


  • Replies 560
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

Plainfielder
Plainfielder

I took this photo the other day on our walk, moving up to the 2nd story.

GR_Urbanist
GR_Urbanist

Photo from 2 days ago.   Context with its neighbors.

Winston1206
Winston1206

As someone who loves coffee and loves within walking distance of Kingma's it's certainly a quality of life improvement for me.  RBJ has had Mad Grub pizza "coming soon" since we'll before COVID.

Posted Images

RegalTDP Burg

RegalTDP

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, GRLaker said:

So wait...This forum is only for critiquing architecture? 

Actually, we have a thread for restaurant reviews in the Coffee House: https://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/topic/17702-restaurant-review/?page=46

Used to be a really active thread, but now one's posted there in a long time.  After all, it does kind of harken back to the days before Yelper culture was a thing.

However, not to single you out, but I do think we should be careful when making broad pronouncements like:

On 8/30/2016 at 6:35 AM, GRLaker said:

20 minutes? 45 minutes? I would rage. Based on that alone, I doubt I'll be going there. I'll stick to the places that actually make you feel like they have a vested interest in your satisfaction. 

I mean, come on, at least try the place before you knock it. :)  FWIW it's still on the top of my list of things to check out next time in I'm in town.

Lots of restaurants have kinks to work out when they open, especially when there's been a high level of publicity surrounding it.  I remember when Cory DeMint came on this forum to defend Electric Cheetah against critics when it first opened in 2009.  They certainly pulled it together eventually. :thumbsup:

Edited by RegalTDP
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
x99 Burg

x99

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 8/30/2016 at 8:22 AM, GRDadof3 said:

Checked it out yesterday, it definitely adds a lot of life to that corner and the beer is pretty good. Now if they could just work on their lousy service. :rofl:  ie just because your wait staff has worked at 5 different places in GR doesn't mean they couldn't stand to be "trained." 

Here's an image of "Quimby Corners" going in across the street. They're seeking approval for metal panels on the backs and sides. Lott3Metz is the architect.

 

Quimby Corner.JPG

Meh.  Largely inoffensive, at least, although the lack of brick on the far edge is a little disappointing.  Instead of trying to generate visual interest that way, it would be nice to see better brick and cornice work.  I can't imagine that would add all that much expense in something this size.  But, you know, I don't want to harsh on this too much.  If PAE or Integrated had done it, it would probably have like 8 different colors of metal panels and some concrete blocks all weirdly glommed together like square, melted Skittles that would inevitably look like a bad joke once the allure (if it ever existed) of that "style" wears off.  So, um, niceish if vanilla building if its the brick with a recessed black metal as it appears.  If architectural tastes ever shift toward the more ornate and interesting, you could juice this up and make it really nice pretty easily.

Edited by x99
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Veloise City

Veloise

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, x99 said:

Meh.  Largely inoffensive, at least, although the lack of brick on the far edge is a little disappointing.  Instead of trying to generate visual interest that way, it would be nice to see better brick and cornice work.  I can't imagine that would add all that much expense in something this size.  But, you know, I don't want to harsh on this too much.  If PAE or Integrated had done it, it would probably have like 8 different colors of metal panels and some concrete blocks all weirdly glommed together like square, melted Skittles that would inevitably look like a bad joke once the allure (if it ever existed) of that "style" wears off.  So, um, niceish if vanilla building if its the brick with a recessed black metal as it appears.  If architectural tastes ever shift toward the more ornate and interesting, you could juice this up and make it really nice pretty easily.

I don't understand why comments like these have so many detractors on this forum.
Seriously, I enjoy reading x99's screeds. Pithy, clever, lotsa adjectives, minimal use of "awesome!" and "awesomely awesome!!" Plus I learn new architectural terms and exactly why x doesn't like something, along with how it could be improved.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Allison Slater Town

Allison Slater

Posted
Posted

Agreed completely.  X is clearly very passionate about architecture, and that's something that should always be valued.  However, I am biased in that I tend to enjoy the same general architectural styles as X.

Personally I like the section of no brick on the end.  It acts as a nice book-end of sorts to the building without standing out like a sore thumb.  I do agree a mild cornice would do it well, even if just a small line along the top made of the same material of the grey on the rest of the building.  Looking at the picture again, it looks like there might actually be one but the fuzziness overlay on the picture makes it difficult to discern.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
x99 Burg

x99

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, tSlater said:

Personally I like the section of no brick on the end.  It acts as a nice book-end of sorts to the building without standing out like a sore thumb.  I do agree a mild cornice would do it well, even if just a small line along the top made of the same material of the grey on the rest of the building.  Looking at the picture again, it looks like there might actually be one but the fuzziness overlay on the picture makes it difficult to discern.

The end of the building isn't the end of the world.  It just strikes me as trying too hard to be cool.  And to be clear--this is far and away better than most architects in town would have done.  It's a nice blend of a traditional building with a somewhat modern aesthetic which takes quite a few cues from Chicago School buildings.  The window design is a rather clever twist, and I sort of like how it moves from a vertical profile in front and then moves to a horizontal profile.  Still, adding some almost art deco or craftsman-style elements in precast concrete could really make the whole building sparkle.  

As far as having a cornice, while some would call this a cornice, I would characterize it as more of a metal wall cap, since it is missing most the traditional elements of a cornice which would include either more ornamentation on a flat cornice (like this), or a greater vertical projection on a more traditional cornice.  This just strikes me as a modern metal equivalent of the clay tiles they used to use on the top of the wall to keep the water out.

I'm such a big fan of having detail elements on buildings because ultimately, we would like to have a walkable and pedestrian city.  Treating buildings as works of art was historically a big part of that, and still is a precept of quite a few strains of new urbanist design.  The whole streamlined look was meant for an age when buildings would be viewed at 30 miles an hour.  We've moved away from that being a good idea in cities, but the buildings we are placing them still seem to be stuck in that era, to an extent.  When you're walking down the street, it's nice to have some pretty stuff on the buildings to look at.  That's a concept thousands of years old, and if we're trying to move cities more toward their historic nature, I think it makes good sense for the architecture to follow suit.  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...
GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

Posted
Posted

Went back to Creston Brewery to give it another try.   Ummmmm. They did have a floor manager, which was an improvement, but their systems are totally screwed up. Again sat for almost 20 minutes before being served water or beer. At.a.brewery. Our server seemed to be running quite a bit and yet we were still there for almost 2 hours. And it's really loud. Sorry, not going back. 

Moving on. 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
GRLaker Hamlet

GRLaker

Posted
Posted
On 9/19/2016 at 8:41 AM, GRDadof3 said:

Went back to Creston Brewery to give it another try.   Ummmmm. They did have a floor manager, which was an improvement, but their systems are totally screwed up. Again sat for almost 20 minutes before being served water or beer. At.a.brewery. Our server seemed to be running quite a bit and yet we were still there for almost 2 hours. And it's really loud. Sorry, not going back. 

Moving on. 

 

Definitely a shame. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 4 weeks later...
Pattmost20 Hamlet

Pattmost20

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

From the planning commission meeting, looks like the Lee family (Winchester, Donkey) are planning a tiki inspired restaurant on Plainfield, in Cheshire Village (used to be a Karate facility). 

Joe

Patio space plus tiki drinks, that is a big win in my book. Ever since Bar Fly announced they were abandoning plans for their tiki bar downtown I have been waiting for a new one to be announced. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
ctpgr34 Hamlet

ctpgr34

Posted
Posted

Just on the edge of the Creston Business District so I figured I'd put it here.  The Flying Bridge will be missed!  I've heard one of the usual suspects has bought the building.  Will interesting to see what happens with it.  Minimal parking, but looks to be a cool building beyond the 2 facades. http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2016/10/flying_bridge_fish_market_a_cl.html#incart_2box_news_grand-rapids

Screen Shot 2016-10-28 at 10.46.24 AM.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...
ctpgr34 Hamlet

ctpgr34

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 10/28/2016 at 10:47 AM, ctpgr34 said:

Just on the edge of the Creston Business District so I figured I'd put it here.  The Flying Bridge will be missed!  I've heard one of the usual suspects has bought the building.  Will interesting to see what happens with it.  Minimal parking, but looks to be a cool building beyond the 2 facades. http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2016/10/flying_bridge_fish_market_a_cl.html#incart_2box_news_grand-rapids

Screen Shot 2016-10-28 at 10.46.24 AM.png

A source told me 616 Realty (not to be confused with 616 Lofts/616 Dev) bought and will be renovating/moving in here.  Updated pic, sorry for quality.  At least something 616 will be moving to the North Quarter/Creston neighborhood:rolleyes:

20170125_123911.jpg

Edited by ctpgr34
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.