What happened to this Central Square tree? Something had to have hit it.
It must of gotten tired of looking at all of that concrete and run away.
I think this tree was partially dead, anyway. Maybe someone got tired of looking at the tree, and vented their frustration?
How long has it been this way? I remember seeing it, still intact, last week.
I noticed the tree was missing when I attended the Italian Festival. A tent's side wall was over the location of the broken tree.
Question
With all of this cement on Central Square, is a tree able to receive adequate quantities of water to survive?
I looked today, and this is (was) a different tree than the one I thought. I hope this wasn't a healthy tree.
I'm not sure how the tree was destroyed, but we had a cone over it which is why some folks might not have noticed the damage previously (which I'm going to put back over for the time being). Jay: The short answer is "no" - the concrete is hurting. This highlights, again, why the Central Square design is an inferior one and should have included proper civic input. I'm meeting w/ Sharon Letson Friday at 2pm to discuss alternative strategies for these locations (perhpas large planters, etc).
PK
I recall reading something at the time of planning the new Central square and that was that they had only enough funding for a "quick and dirty" (my quotes) job. That is, put in the basics, let's just get it in. The hope was expressed that improvements would be expected in the future.
I think they did a good job with Central Square. I don't particularly care for the trees downtown. There is a place for everything. Downtown is the place for architecture. When I go downtown I want to see the buildings, not a bunch of trees. I would rather see plants that are not as obtrusive as the trees. Maybe shrubs or dwarf trees that don't grow to such large sizes. I tried to point out the John R. Davis building to my wife yesterday but all she could see was a couple of big trees! Gee, I'll bet there is some nice architecture in that jungle, but I'll be darned if I can find it!
The only tree that belongs downtown is the CHRISTMAS tree. Nope, its not a HOLIDAY tree, but a Christmas tree.
I'm continuing to go off-topic.
I disagree that there shouldn't be many trees, or only small trees downtown. When done right, trees help to soften the hard surfaces, and can enhance the architecture. I think some of my favorite photos of downtown have trees in them.
(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/jr221/Picturesque%20Ytown/Sep07CentralSquareG.jpg)
(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/jr221/Picturesque%20Ytown/May06PublicSquare3.jpg)
This one isn't particularly great, but the trees help a lot, IMO.
(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/jr221/05-13-08%20Downtown%20Ytown/DCP_1205.jpg)
This is an example of a poorly placed tree. It's directly in front of the State Theatre's facade.
(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/jr221/Picturesque%20Ytown/StateTheatre.jpg)
The maple trees in this photo, if they are allowed to grow to maturity, would completely block the view of the McCrory building, and possibly obscure the memorial.
(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/jr221/Picturesque%20Ytown/Sep07CentralSquareD.jpg)