REVISITING DUBLIN CITY QUAYS LUKE O’NEILL –ASSIGNMENT … · substantially improved bridge, along with the Stone Quay walls, today known as Ormond Quay (Upr. & Lwr.). Which were
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REVISITING DUBLIN CITY QUAYS – LUKE O’NEILL –ASSIGNMENT 1 - 13/10/2016
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REVISITING DUBLIN CITY QUAYS – LUKE O’NEILL – CAPEL STREET c.1980S
Foreword:
The primary critique I have of the projects in the Dublin City Quay’s book is that they are primarily
projects which focus on massive urban developments, potentially tearing through the existing fabric
of the city. I believe the focus of these quays projects could have been geared more towards careful
and considered regeneration of areas, such as Capel Street, which in the late 20th Century had
experienced a rapid increase in derelict buildings and a decline in its existing architectural heritage.
(McDonald, 1992)
I have included a brief history of Capel Street from its inception, to the mid 20th Century to
emphasise its importance in the city. This essay is a visual piece as well as a written piece relating to
the quays in the 1980s and will be frequently referring to images throughout.
I have included a gallery of images, which aren’t included in the text, at the end; compiled from
various online databases and books to help give a sense of the development of life in the area in the
20th Century
Capel Street has maintained much of its original form and, unlike many of Dublin’s mainstreets, has
retained the majority of its original character from the 19th Century. There is of course some damage
to its fabric, particularly in the last 30 years. To prevent this damage, the street was listed as an
Architectural Conservation Area (ACA) [see diagram 1]. This boundary fits almost perfectly on a map
from 1757. (Civic Trust, Dublin. 2010)
I have prepared a Morphological Study of Capel Street on the next page to examine how much it has
changed in the past 3 Centuries. I found it has experienced very little change on the larger scale, and
has instead experienced the majority of damage to its original character at the street level.
‘Despite a number of improvements in recent times, Capel Street still suffers from poor presentation of
many of its shop fronts and buildings. In spite of the many quality shop fronts of the commercial street of the
19th century that were lost in a wave of change in the 20th century’ Image and text extracted from CAPEL
STREET & THE CITY MARKETS; A Way Forward. (Civic Trust, Dublin. 2010)
Cover Page: Dublin City Quays, area map overlayed
with ACA and my study area for this project.
View of Capel Street 1970s, Dublin City Council
Archives, 2016
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z
Historical maps of Dublin up to and including the 1980s. Essex Bridge appears from the earliest map, and Capel Street appears in the 17th
Century Map and from there on. From its very inception following Essex Bridge (located at the current Grattan Bridge) the street itself doesn’t
change significantly from map to map.
Maps sourced from:
(Gallica. 2016) - http://gallica.bnf.fr/html/und/cartes/cartes.
(SDUK, (1836), SDUK Map) - https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/1836_SDUK_map-of-Dublin.jpg
Soviet Military Topographic Mapping. 2016 - https://www.sovietmaps.com/examples
Wilson, Shane 2016 - http://www.swilson.info/maps/
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-
mJOmQr5Aysg/UZ1SD2VdUgI/AAAAAAAAAl8/nVj6nv_SCTk/s1600/A+New+Map+Plan+Of+Dublin.jpg
http://www.majestymaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/bacons-dublin-19131.jpg
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Capel Street in the 1980s:
Historical development of Capel Street: From residential to retail.
Constructed after the Essex Bridge first spanned the Liffey, Capel Street quickly became Dublin’s
most fashionable place to live in the early 1700s - boasting generous plots on Dublin’s newest
thoroughfare into the new Jervis Estate. (Olwyn James, 2001)
Essex Bridge collapsed twice into the Liffey, resulting in the Duke of Ormond commissioning a
substantially improved bridge, along with the Stone Quay walls, today known as Ormond Quay (Upr.
& Lwr.). Which were the original quay walls in this style which continued further East to what is now
Bachelor’s Walk and further. (Niall McCullough, 2007)
These pre 18th Century dwelling plots were divided into smaller plots and the buildings were
replaced by the more typical Georgian terraced housing city plots as can be seen in John Rocque’s
1756 map of Dublin (See Map Compilation above).These plot layouts haven’t changed at all
considerably since 1756. (maps)
Over the 18th Century, dwelling plots made way for retail units and storefronts, rather than typical
recessed facades, began to populate Capel Street’s building line. By the 1800s, it had become one of
Dublin’s commercial centers. (Olwyn James, 2001)
George Semple’s Essex Bridge, 1756
James Malton’s Painting – View from Capel-Street,
Looking over Essex Bridge, Dublin 1797. Notice the two
shopfronts – Capel Street No. 1 & 2.Artchive, 2016
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This fashionable urban centre which had housed some of the wealthiest families in the city (Olwyn
James, 2001) in the late 1700s early 1800s, had lost its original function, but had gained a new
purpose. Today, Capel Street retains this purpose as a cultural and commercial area, however in the
1980s it was in a transitional stage. Because of its somewhat slow transition into a street of shops,
many different architectural styles were still present. Storefronts may have been altered, but the
facades above these didn’t necessarily follow suit. Additionally, the building behind the façade often
would have been developed before the façade, creating an unusual patchwork or collage of building
styles.
Throughout the 20th Century, Capel Street was involved in the Civil War and saw massive change and
transition. As Dublin’s ‘commercial centre’ began to shift East and South, away from Smithfield and
Capel Street, along Moore Street towards the newly popular Sackville or O’Connell street. This shift
was very clear in the 1980s, areas around the Quays were in rapid decline and the low quality
construction around the Liffey fell victim to Decay. (McCullough, Niall, 2007). Plots became derelict
and businesses along the quays began to shut down. The life of the quays was in serious decline by
the end of the 1980s.Capel street, was, however holding on. Buildings were vacated, shops shut
down, as did Dublin’s first Public Library in 1986. There were a small few businesses which held on.
Dereliction & Destruction of the quays, 1991 Jazay, David. 2016)
Getty Images. 2016. Ambush Attack
(Dublin City Council. Archives, 2016 /199)
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Capel Street today is known for its bizarre and eclectic mix of shops. That is what gives it such a rich
character. From the early 1990s through to today, Capel street has been home to all sorts of stores,
from Brazilian Supermarkets, to music stores, to sex shops. (EAST, L., 1999)
This quote is true today, as it was in the 1980s. The character of the street stems from the
businesses that held on. Remnants of a number of these can still be seen today, however, Capel
streets storefront architecture suffered in the 1980s (Olwyn James, 2001). New shops which opened
would disregard the fine storefronts which had appeared in the 19th Century and were replaced with
garish contemporary signage. In fact the limitations to the impact tenants could have on their
buildings did not exist in the late 20th Century. (Civic Trust, Dublin. 2010)
By the 80s it was clear that Capel Street had a mixture of architectural styles spanning 3 centuries.
18th century Dutch Billie-style panelling on the interior walls, finely ornamented Georgian facades
looked down onto the street, which itself was congested with traffic and signage which pushed out
from modern 20th Century storefronts. Today, this mashing of styles is still apparent, and up until it
was granted ACA status, 21st Century developments entered this mix, disregarding any historical or
architectural value of the building in its place.
The best way to describe the Capel Street in the 1980s is to look through documents, photos and
books relating to the street in the 80s, and to see what stood in its place in history.
Capel Street, 2014 Traffic and signage clogging up the thoroughfare- image cut from CAPEL STREET & THE CITY MARKETS; A Way Forward.
(Civic Trust, Dublin. 2010)
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Capel Street: A Collage of North Dublin’s Commercial history.
Playboy, Capel Street, 1985. Capel Street’s
eclectic mix of shops is typified in this image. An
American Sex Shop storefront sits in front of a
building from the 19th Century.
Irish Times Artivle expressing cconcern at the present day nature of shops replacing the vacant lots on capel street, 2000 (anon. 2000. Irish Times)
(Dublin City Council. 2016. Archives)
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An Irish Garda on patrol, Capel
Street, 1985. The Garish storefronts
and road signs and furniture leave
little room for pedestrians. The
intensity of the Retail Street is
obvious from this photograph.
Capel Street, as with many streets in Dublin, suffers from a profusion of clutter, particularly at
its northern end. (Civic Trust,
Dublin, 2010)
(Dublin City Council. 2016. Archives)
Forkins Fashions, 1985 (Dublin City Council. 2016. Archives)
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No. 95, Capel Street:
A range of buildings suffered severe decay, some to the point that they were deemed dangerous and
were up for demolition (McDonald, Frank, 1992 Oct 06.). This left them abandoned and cordoned off
from the street. The dangerous buildings committee was on high alert from the 1960s onwards.
Thankfully the SADD in 1988 contested this act and awareness was raised of this destructive act’s
sweeping powers. Number 95 was one such building labelled ‘dangerous’ and was therefore at risk
of being demolished. (McDonald, Frank, 1992 Apr 01)
Completed in 1730, No. 95 was finely detailed on the interior and stood 4 stories above the street.
The trend of shop fronts replacing ground floor residential entrances took over this end of Capel
street, and 95 had a shop front constructed above an existing basement with minimal structure, as
was typical of the area. (McDonald, Frank, 1992 Apr 01). The owners sought demolition, not
considering the historical merit of the architecture of the existing Georgian building. Despite this
building being unsafe – it was maintained based on the reasoning of the Domino effect which was
evident around the quays. Knock down one terrace, and the neighbouring buildings will be
destabilised. (McDonald, Frank, 1992 Apr 01) This intelligent and considered approach led ultimately
to the existing recessed Georgian building and its basement to be retained. Perhaps this is how Capel
Street held onto some of its heritage and maintained some level of use through the late 1900s. the
same can’t be said for the surrounding areas. It is clear from these archival photographs that the
storefront was falling into disrepair throughout the 80s, but still held its original character. Today it
has been restored to its former state, a 1730s Georgian terrace. (google maps, 2014)
No. 96, Capel street, Post Demolishion, may 2000. A beautiful Georgian Dublin memoir, destroyed by neglect in the 20
th Century. (Dublin City
Council, 2016, Archives)
(Dublin City Council, 2016, Archives)
(McDonald, Frank, 1922) (Google maps, 2014)
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( James, Olwyn, 2001)
No. 66, Capel Street – A rare example of old Georgian style panelled homes which at one stage were
common on Capel Street. Constructed in the 1720s, the historical merit of this construction was
appreciated and the building lasted through the treacherous attitudes of late 20th Century Dublin. It
is a fine example of 18th century construction (Pearson, 2002) and stood idle through the 1980s.
(Olwyn James, 2001)
(Google maps, 2014)
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No.114-116, Capel Street:
By the 1980s, every remaining building on Capel Street had undergone a number of different repurposing jobs. Lots 114-116 still retained its elaborate façade. At the time of the drawing below, it was under lease to Messrs’ Kerr & Sons (1871). (James, 2001). B.S Lewis Importers & distributors occupied this ornately detailed shop front in 1985. ((Dublin City Council, 2016, Archives). It has been maintained excellently over the 20th Century. At the turn of the century it housed Oman antique galleries, and today it is an auction room for antiques. The impressive façade has all of the original embellishments intact. (Pearson, 2002)
)
No. 88, Capel Street:
In the following images we can see no. 88 in the 1900s - Seemingly in full operation. Then, in 2000,
following illegal demolition, in total disrepair - only the façade remained of the demolished
distinctive building. Clearly it had been left to decay, and, in a similar fashion to No. 95 (above), was
up for demolition. Thankfully the original character was somewhat restored.
(Google maps, 2014)
(James, Olwyn 2001)
(Dublin City Council, 2016, Archives)
(James, Olwyn 2001)
(James, Olwyn 2001)
(Google maps, 2014)
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No. 104-106 - Capel Street Public Library and Neighbouring buildings:
105 Capel Street in the 80s was home to another obscure business which added to the eclectic
mixture of uses which existed on the street. (Dublin City Council, 2016, Archives). Each front held a
new and different type of business. Notice how the adjoining buildings have been demolished in this
photo. The façade has been retained at the ground floor level. Additionally, Capel Street Library next
door which was established in 1884, closed in 1986.
Johnny Eagle’s Tattoo Parlour – 1970s. Located at the top of Capel Street, this tattoo parlour is
another example of the mixture of functions and uses below the Georgian Facades of Capel Street.
Johnny Eagle’s Tattoo Parlour – At the top of Dublin’s ‘fashionable Caple Street’ 1970 (WhatWasThere 2016) (Anonymous 1990)
(Dublin City Council, 2016, Archives)
(Dublin City Council, 2016, Archives)
(Dublin City Council, 2016, Archives)
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162 & 161, Capel Street, 1985
Two shop fronts on Capel Street; A seemingly wacky clothing store which was very common to capel
street in 1985, and a vacant warehouse building, The Capel Warehouse, Wholesale Clothiers. Vacant
lots were also very common at the beginning of the 1980s. Capel Street was rife with clothing stores
and empty buildings waiting for a new purpose. These two newspaper articles from the end of the
20th Century explain how Capel Street was known for its bizarre clothing, and how its new function
was becoming known for its quality furniture stores, but also its vacant properties; reaching 25% in
1986 (Wallace, Arminita. 1986).
(MCDONALD, FRANK, E.C., 1988, Nov 30)
(Dublin City Council, 2016, Archives)
(Dublin City Council, 2016, Archives)
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No. 41 Capel Street; Louis Copeland:
The original Louis Copeland store in 1985, still in operation to this day and stands out as one of Capel
Streets Upmarket stores. Opened in the late 50s, it is one of few commercial shopfronts which still
boasts its original façade. “It’s classic, it doesn’t have to be changed” – Louis Copeland Jr. He also
referred to Capel Street in the 1970s as a “man’s street”. (DCTV. (2013))
(Dublin City Council, 2016, Archives)
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Capel Street’s Culture and nightlife in the 1980s
Capel Street was not only a unique commercial street, besides the negativity of the contemporary
commercial facades and overall disregard for its history, there were some positive examples of
restorative and considered design. Additionally, Capel Street had a widely regarded pub culture,
which it still maintains today. Restaurants and bars popped up in the vacant shopfronts and
continued to replace one another, but there were a number of pubs which stood the test of time
and were favoured by the locals. (Dublin town, 2014)
Dolly’s Restaurant – 1985 (Dublin City Council, 2016, Archives)
A positive opinion piece about Capel Street’s rich dining
and bar culture in 1990 (FITZGERALD, M., 1990).
(Dublin City Council, 2016, Archives)
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J. McNeill – Traditional Est 1834
– Photographed in the late 20th
Century. (James 2001)
The Kingsway Bar – Capel Street 1960. (above).
Replaced with The Earl Grattan Bar – 1985. (left)
-A brilliant
article
excerpt,
which
captures the
life of Capel
Street
around the
turn of the
century.
(East, L
1999)
(Dublin City Council, 2016, Archives)
(Dublin City Council, 2016, Archives)
(Dublin City Council, 2016, Archives)
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Slattery’s of Capel Street, Pictured in order; 1975, 1990s, unknown – pre 1980s & the business band
playing in slatterys in 1987. Slatterys is one of Capel Streets most renowned bars and has been for
decades.
(Dublin City Council, 2016, Archives)
(The Historical Picture Archive. 2016.)
(The Business Blues Band. 2016) (K. C. Kearns, 2000)
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Conclusion:
None of the projects outlined in the 1980s City Quays book successfully address what is an essential aspect of Dublin’s architectural heritage. The ACA: CAPEL STREET & THE CITY MARKETS; A Way Forward highlights the value and potential benefits of revamping the area “Capel Street is the most significant commercial street in the north west of the city centre and is at the heart of a wider area encompassing the City Markets, Smithfield, the legal quarter centred on the Four Courts, Blackhall Place and Kings Inns, and Dublin Institute of Technology, Bolton Street. While these are all assets of great potential and economic value to the north west city centre, they fail to integrate successfully with one another or to tap into the wider residential areas which surround them. A renewed Capel Street and environs could provide a catalyst for the further regeneration of the north west quarters of the city centre and become a thriving hub for this wider community.” (Civic Trust, Dublin. 2010) This is an obvious move, one which should have been realised in the 1980s before much of the
destruction of Capel Street, and ultimately North Dublin, took place.
Contrary to what Louise East writes, Capel street already had its buzz. It was a ‘busy and truly
eclectic shopping street…the davis gallery, Mcquinlan toolsand numerous sex shops amd army
surplus stores’ (East, L. 1999). The buzz in the area is down to its heritage. The patchwork of shops
which litter the street include 19th Century retail fronts, and at the same time could contain the
newest or most popular pub. It gets its charm from its diversity and its range of styles. No 2 facades
are the same. Its informal and unconventional street level experience is always interesting.
“Trendy design emporiums they ain’t – but then that ain’t so trendy anymore” (East, L. 1999).
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GALLERY:
Capel
Street
<1960S
(Dublin City Council, 2016, Archives)
Bridges of Dublin, Grattan Bridge c.1962 – JFK visit – Bridges of Dublin, 2016
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(Bridges of Dublin, Grattan Bridge 1970s)
(Bridges of Dublin, Grattan Bridge 1973)
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