L-Street

[kaydup]

Club owner has new vision for Lansdowne St.

Proposes sprucing up Fenway area, adding new restaurants

By Thomas C. Palmer Jr., Globe Staff | April 21, 2007

Boston club king Patrick Lyons has told the city and his Lansdowne

Street neighbors he wants to replace two of Boston's most famous

nightclubs with a modern entertainment complex that would include

restaurants, sidewalk seating, and a terrace looking toward Fenway Park.

Taking inspiration from Wrigleyville, the friendly entertainment

district associated with Chicago's Wrigley Field, Lyons said he wants to

turn Avalon and Axis into a cutting-edge facility that would enhance

Lansdowne Street and complement the area's main attraction, Fenway Park.

"Our last significant renovation was 12 years ago," said Lyons. "Our

dream is changing the climate from all the intensity of nightclubs to

more diversity -- restaurants, dining, and dancing."

Lyons said that if city officials and neighbors including the Red Sox

approve, he will spend about $14 million to build a 2,500-capacity club

with a larger stage, better lighting, more amenities -- such as dressing

rooms and showers for the artists -- and a sound system "as good as

we've had" or better.

He is proposing to start construction this summer and finish early next

year. It is tentatively named "Lansdowne Street Music Hall."

Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who has been briefed on the Lyons plan,

yesterday called it "a good idea."

"He's going to remove that old structure in keeping with what the Red

Sox are doing," said Menino. "These buildings are barns. His vision is

to make Fenway a pleasing place to go."

Located in a popular but dingy area dominated by the ballpark, the

buildings have a long, storied history. One was built as a horse barn

over a century ago and used by Boston Globe founder Eben Jordan, who

also owned the Jordan Marsh department store. Later used as warehouses,

the buildings have been music clubs since the late 1960s, with names

including the Boston Tea Party, 15 Lansdowne, Boston Boston, Metro, and

Citi.

Artists including Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, and Carly Simon have played

there, and more recently Taylor Hicks and Fall Out Boy. Elvis Costello

is lined up for May 15.

Lyons commissioned architects Cambridge Seven Associates Inc. to create

a modern venue on the site, next to his two other clubs, The Modern and

Embassy, which would also undergo renovation.

A new, two-story building would be about 20 feet taller than the current

32-foot-high industrial building, Lyons said -- but shorter than the 90

feet or so that the city zoning allows. A second phase, including

function space on the third floor, could come later, he said. He may

retain some of the old buildings' structure, especially the historic

facades on Lansdowne.

Lyons said he would add a 125-seat "popular-priced" restaurant and a

75-seat room for fine dining. Restaurants would extend the periods that

visitors come to the area beyond the current late-night club hours.

"There's virtually never been food on this street," Lyons said. This

week he opened La Verdad Taqueria Mexicana, a takeout and sit-down

restaurant with tacos, fresh tortillas, and margaritas, at 1 Lansdowne

St.

Lyons spoke in his cluttered office above the clubs, stuffed with

memorabilia that includes a 1970s J. Geils "Showtime" album poster, a

1995 photo of Lyons with Aerosmith's Steve Tyler, and an advertisement

for what he said was Boston's first AIDS benefit, in 1984.

Lyons came to the district in 1977 when Avalon was 15 Lansdowne, and now

he owns or co-owns that and several other Boston clubs and restaurants,

including Kings bowling lanes and Jasper White's Summer Shack in the

Back Bay, and Lucky's Lounge in the Fort Point Channel area.

He has been concentrating recently on opening entertainment complexes in

other locations, including Atlantic City and Mohegan Sun, the

Connecticut venue that features gambling.

But he is moving now on Lansdowne Street because the Red Sox have made a

firm commitment to stay at Fenway Park and the city of Boston has

encouraged local property owners to clean up the area. About two years

ago the city and landlords put thousands of dollars into widening the

sidewalks to 12 feet, planting trees, and installing antique-style

streetlights.

"All the owners said, 'Let's change the makeup of the street,' " said

Lyons. "These clubs -- they're part of the fabric of the town."

Lyons said the changes are being made in part because live entertainment

has become increasingly important at clubs since about 1980 and because

2,500 seats is an optimum number for many groups. His two clubs, Avalon

and Axis, hold about 2,100 and 1,100 respectively, but can't currently

be combined.

The new club would also be able to accommodate smaller concerts and

would have more VIP or "opera box" seating, in addition to standing

room.

[Superb]

I thought we had a new weekly coming to Southie.

[kaydup]

Ya L-street will be avalon and Quenchers will be Axis

[nyis4meatheads]

R.I.P. it sick Boston Big Rooms