(photo by toddwickersty via flickr) |
The Grand Opening As 6 p.m. approached, the sidewalk crowd grew much larger, both directly in front of the store and across the street. Normally heavy vehicle traffic ground to a halt as the motorists slowed to gawk at the scene. Two TV news helicopters chattered loudly overhead, adding to the buzz of the moment. Apple's security team extended the barricades for the waiting line closer to the store, making every effort to avoid any inconvenience to the business to the east. As the clock ticker closer to 6 p.m., the crowd stepped in towards the store. Boston Police officers motioned the crowd back towards the street so that passing pedestrians could still pass by, but even they stopped to stare. At the hour, store manager Joe came out and raised his hands over his head, drawing screams and yells from the waiting line crowd who could see him. Yelling to overcome the surrounding noise, he welcomed the crowd and motioned #1 Steve into the store. The first group then went in at a run, heading for the stairs and the line of store employees who line the rails. Security was allowing just 25 persons in at a time, metering the flow for safety reasons so the stairs wouldn't become clogged and visitors wouldn't get tripped up. There were Boston Fire Department officials on-scene to monitor the number of people in the store and to make sure the exits were accessible. Each time another group of 25 persons was admitted to the store, the employee clapping and yelling would begin again. This went on for the entire hour that I was in the store, creating a continuously festive atmosphere. My information is that all the Boston Red Sox players were invited to the event and, like the Fifth Avenue opening, were promised free merchandise. There was no set schedule of their appearance, but rather showed up any time from 6 p.m. to midnight. I know of appearances by at least Jon Lester, Jason Varitek, Coco Crisp, Jonathan Papelbon and Jacoby Ellsbury. Each was led through the store by a chaperone, who displayed products to the player and handled the transaction (we believe they were given Apple gift cards, so Apple could account for the store's inventory). The crowd inside was huge, and it was difficult taking any meaningful photos of the interior design. Even walking around required several "excuse me's." The stairs were also crowded going from one floor to another. A few people immediately yanked their commemorative T-shirts from the box, and discovered they really were a limited edition--they were Green Monster green, with the name of the store in scoreboard-style letters (just as had been used on the glass construction covering). Employees also handed out special edition iPod socks, which were colored Red Sox red. Each sock was wrapped around a small green card with "Opening Day, 051508" in scoreboard-style letters. On the opposite side the card reads, "Thank you for joining us." Even the little white tag on the sock was customize--"Boston 05.15.08" and an Apple logo. It was really difficult to tell if lots of people were actually buying something. I certainly saw lots of people handing over their credit card to employees equipped with handheld computers. But in a store of 400-500 people, it's hard to tell if what I saw was "a lot" of people. While I was on the second floor, I noticed Apple's principal architect, Peter Bohlin (Bohlin, Cywinski, Jackson) at the interior rail along with architectural project manager Karl Backus. They were pointing and examining every detail of the store--still. Several times Bohlin and Backus were just gazing out at the store and stairway and smiling. Not coincidentally, the opening occurred dead-center in this year's American Institute of Architects convention, which returned to Boston after 16 years. The convention was held at the Boston Convention and and Exhibition Center, some distance from the Apple store, instead of the Hynes Convention Center, which is less than 150 yards from the store. Interestingly, Sr.V-P Retail Ron Johnson was nowhere to be seen after being at the store on Tuesday and Wednesday. Perhaps he was called away to other projects which are in-progress, including Sydney (Australia) and Beijing (China). Both are expected to open during June or July. Architecturally, the store is unique, although it draws from features at other stores. It's one of only two three-story stores (14th Street is the other), second with a three-story spiral staircase (again, 14th Street is the other), and according to Apple the largest store in the United States. The exact placement of the staircase in the center of the store is like Fifth Avenue, and the opening to other floors is similar to Ginza (Tokyo). Unlike Fifth Avenue, the core of this staircase does not have an elevator. Like 14th Street, it has a central X-shaped set of glass cross members for support. Like Fifth Avenue, it has a curved stone bench beneath part of the staircase where people can sit. The very front of the store is similar to Regent Street (London), as the floor structure never contacts the storefront structure. Instead, there is a 6-8 foot space that rises unimpeded from the first level floor to the ceiling of the third level. In front of this space hangs the three-story glass wall, providing a spectacular two-way view. From outside the best view of the interior is at night, when the sun's reflections have disappeared. From inside, the view is bright, but only of the Mandarin Oriental across the street--a pretty uninteresting stone finish. The really inside-to-outside view comes as you approach the front edge of the second or third floor. There is a glass "fence" to prevent you from falling off the edge, but nothing to prevent you from a jaw-dropping view down to the ground floor, and out to the street. It's definitely spectacular. The three-story view is equally spectacular looking up from the ground floor. There is the reflective front glass on one side, and a layered effect on the other--stainless steel, glass and open space, followed by the same series again for the upper level. On the third floor, your view to the front of the store is dominated by the white, back-lit Apple logo in the middle of the open space. It's centered left-right, of course, but also top to bottom, lending a symmetry that attracts you to come closer. It's lit to be visible from both inside and outside. The storefront itself on the ground floor is all glass, but it doesn't include displays that might block the view to the inside. I checked the interior of the store, and found that it doesn't have the usual channels set in the floor to accomodate Apple's standard display cable system. This must mean the store will never have window displays. By the way, the top of the building is split level--the two-thirds of the building is roof-top garden surrounding the rectangular skylight. I understand that the greenery there now is temporary grass sod, to later be replaced with the permanent vegetation, which will be green, but not biologically "grass." The roof is not accessible to the public in any way. The back one-third of the roof is a full fourth level, and contains the buildings mechanical equipment, including electrical and AC equipment. The grand opening received "A" level coverage by Apple: extensive inside and outside photography, both formal and informal; time-lapse from various points across the street and on the sidewalk; and motion picture film by the same crew from WSFilms who created the Fifth Avenue grand opening movie.[Tech types: the WSFilms crew seemed to be using an Aaton film camera that uses the Super16 format.] As I left at 6:45 p.m. the line stretched back to Newbury Street, but the security team and police had compressed the waiting line more compactly that earlier in the day. By 8 p.m. the line was holding steading at just around the corner onto Fairfield Street. According to a volunteer observer, about 2,000 persons had crossed into the store by that time. Thanks to everyone who made this trip the best ever! I talked to so many interesting people along the way, who helped me make it through the event. A special thanks to Michael Oh and the Tech Superpower staff, Apple store manager Joe, the front line crew: #1 Steve, Devin, Monte and Matt, Apple's security team, the store employees who saved me at the third-floor steps, and all the locals who helped us feel like we belonged in Boston. More Reading If you'd like to do more reading, try these links:
Opening Morning - May 15, 2008 The eastern sky began to turn a light blue around 4:30 a.m, but as it became lighter it was obvious that the sky was overcast, not clear. There was a constant breeze from the southwest, which turned the 60 temperatures into the "chilly" range of those waiting in front of the store. The overnight cleaning turned into morning cleaning, and it also brought changes to the waiting line. The overnight group had camped on the sidewalk directly in front of the store, but were moved around 6:30 a.m. to the east, in front of a space under construction. Then about 7 a.m. the police department delivered bicycle barricades to the sidewalk, which were then lifted into place east of the store to create a holding pen area, where the waiting line was directed. About 7 a.m. Ben Pender-Cudlip of Tech Superpowers came by the waiting line to take breakfast burrito orders from the first 20 in the waiting line. When another 10 persons arrived within a couple of hours, he returned to take their orders, too. The line grew very slowly from dawn to noon. Overnighter there were just 10 persons, and by 11:30 a.m. just another 11 were added At about the same time, workers who had finished using the two scissor lifts drove them out to the corner of Boylston and Fairfield, where a truck driver picked them up and drove them away. Meanwhile, at the back of the building in Public Alley 442, a Fed-Ex truck delivered pallets of materials wrapped in orange security banding material. It's the same type of shipment that Apple stores received when the iPhone was introduced in 2007. Tech Superpowers hosted a pizza and drink lunch for those at the very front of the waiting line, which was very much appreciated. Someone brought coffee to the those at the front of the line two or three times. The weather wavered all day, until by 3 p.m. the heaviest clouds seemed to have passed and the sun seemed to shine slightly more through overcast, making it warmer along the waiting line. The number of pedestrians seemed to increase as worries about the rain dissipated, but the number of questions increased from passersby. The bicycle fencing was eight fee apart for about 400 feet along the west side Fairfield Street towards Commonwealth St. But even with good weather, at 1 p.m. there were just 40 persons in line. That 40 turned into 48 around 2 p.m., as the overcast seemed to thin out, allowing more sun to warm up the waiting line. Another hour and the line turned in 60, and then around 4 p.m. the line continued to increase more rapidly as the threat of rain dissipated completely. By 5:10 p.m. I hand-counted 470 persons in the waiting line, stretching north across Newbury Street, and half-way to Commonwealth Street. During the last hour, #1 Steve was hounded by Boston's newspaper, TV and radio stations for interviews. We counted at least nine separate reporters approaching him just before the opening, including one whose interview was cut short by the opening itself. At one point there was a slight miscommunication between a radio and TV reporter over who was actually next for any interview, but it was quickly resolved. Overnight After the early evening friends and family reception, Apple held a "builders and architects" reception, drawing a wide range of visitors. A worker with a broom and dustbin patrolled the front sidewalk to keep it extra clean, and workers huddled outside ready to tackle the job of putting the store into shape once the party was over. At about 9:45 p.m. the doors were finally closed to visitors, and the cleaning crew went to work with diligence. The wipe, buff, shine crew tackled the furniture, fixtures and handrails. Meanwhile a larger crew moved scissor lifts into place to thoroughly clean the front glass. Once lift was oh-so-carefully maneuvered inside the store's front door, and then into a position very close to the front glass. The group of 10 persons in the waiting line watched closely as the lift went up, carefully positioned between the glass and upper floors. Once the lift reached the third floor, workers put up two ladders with padded ends against the front glass wall, and a worker climbed up to the very top corner to start cleaning the right section of glass panes. Meanwhile, a similar crew was outside the store cleaning the outside of the glass, and we understand that a group of construction workers was in the basement of the building doing some last minute work they couldn't finish during the day. The window cleaning process continued for four hours, not including a 30-minute break. Finally, they finished, and then moved the lift over to the center section--and started all over again. Outside, there was plenty of foot traffic from local bars and restaurants until about 1:30 a.m., when it became quiet. Lots of people stopped to ask us, "What are they giving away?" or similar questions. Most of them wished us, "Have fun!" as they left. One visitor had connections with Annhauser-Busch and promised to deliver some of their "180" energy drink project in the morning. A voice from a passing car yelled out, "The future store!" and then sped down Boylston Street. I heard several people noting that this was the "largest store in the world," with one person calling it an "iPod store." The Walgreen's just four doors west is open 24 hours, so we were able to rotate through there to keep warm in the chilly temperatures. The security guards were low key, and the Boston PD officer on-duty sitting in his car, in the left traffic lane of one-way Boylston Street, took a hands-off approach. Even a sergeant who came by at 2 a.m. was only interested in future parking restrictions, not people. It wasn't until about 4 a.m. that #11 arrived in the waiting line, and the sky began to grow slightly brighter. Another 30 minutes later and it was bright enough to see that it was slightly overcast, but didn't look like rain. Two TV stations arrived to do live broadcasts, including WBZ-TV. Apple has positioned a time-lapse camera in the unfinished Mandarin Oriental Hotel across the street. There has been other still photography going on, including some photos pre-sunrise of the store with a blue sky. Oddly, a huge white truck arrived around 4 a.m. on Boylston St., but then pulled around to Fairfield St., and backed into the alley serving the Apple store back door. On the side of the truck was the lettering, "Panther Expedited Services." Hmmm. I thought Leopard was released last year. By the way, the three-story staircase is like the 14th Street (NYC) store: ascending-left spiral, not Fifth Avenue, which is ascending-right. It's only the second three-story glass staircase, and the only staircase set in the middle of a store and under a huge skylight. Definitely unique. If you examine the structure of the front glass, you'll notice that the entire box-like section seems to hang out over the lower, street-level window glass panes. In fact, the upper glass is entirely support by the lower glass sections, we're told. It's still hard to believe that it's hanging up there safely. The front of the line is being kindly taken care of by Tech Superpowers, who has provided lots of hospitality for our visit. Wednesday - May 14, 2008 It was a beautiful, sunny morning in Boston, the perfect setting for the press event in the morning, and continued work to get the store ready for Thursday evening's grand opening. The press briefing was well attended, drawing questions and stares from passersby, including a large number of construction workers who came out for their noon lunch break. The store is divided by floor for products and services: ground floor for computers, second level for smaller products including iPods and iPhones, and the third level for the Genius Bar, training and other services. Apple is making the claim that this store is the largest in the United States, and Sr. V-P Retail Ron Johnson told the press that the city had been selected for a store in 2000, but it took this long to find and procure the perfect space, and then construct the store. The store continues to crawl with cleaners--glass, handrails, floors, furniture, etc. There were workers on the roof, where a huge skylight is bounded by green garden, and on the roof on the adjacent roof-top mechanical building. I've given out two of the four Flip Video cameras, and the correspondents are ready to help document tomorrow's events. People have flown and driven in from other cities to attend tomorrow's opening, but... at least one security guard says Boston PD won't allow a waiting line until 6 a.m. Apple establishes a very elaborate security badge system for its retail stores, and it was obvious during our stay on the sidewalk. The system keeps inventory inside the store, and people who might cause problems outside the store. First, everyone who should have access to the store must have a plastic name badge. Next, the badges are color coded to indicate the level of access they are granted. And thirdly, the badges separate people into groups: I saw "Vendor" and "Contractor" most often, although there might have been other categories. The construction workers also wore name tags, but they were more obviously identified by their T-shirts. The builder of the store is Shawmut Design and Construction, and they had several colors and versions of T-shirts being worn around the building. Interestingly, Shawmut is headquartered in Boston, so there were lots of representatives at the store. I toured Tech Superpowers, the reseller who has hosted the year-long Webcam that has documented the construction of the Apple store. Located on Newbury Street just across the alley from the Apple store, they have a busy basement-level Internet café with Mac mini and iMac computers. They have a repair area on the same level, and two other floors of administrative, repair and programming space. I visited the window where the Webcam was originally located, and then went up to the roof deck, where the Webcam is currently located. Naturally, the view isn't as interesting now from the camera, although in-person it's a nice view of the surrounding neighborhood. I met the staff of Tech Superpowers, who are excited at being so close to an Apple store. They're ready to meet the challenges that such close proximity might create, and seem to have a customer base that will stick with them. There are scores of restaurants and bars in the nearby area, today drawing lots of diners at sidewalk tables. Offices in the area also generate lots of passing traffic. I can't imagine a better place to put an Apple store just based on the traffic. Videographers: Upload your videos of the pre-opening (and later the opening) to YouTube at this special link. Enter the username AppleBostonOpening, and the password iloveapplecomputer. Tuesday Night - May 13, 2008 I've arrived in Boston to find the weather is clear and in the upper 50s--I can live with that if it stays this way for the next two days. After checking in at the hotel, I cabbed over to the store, and got out a block away from the Boylston Street store. For some reason, the Walgreen's drug store just west of the Apple store was permitted to build a structure that extends into the very wide north sidewalk. Therefore, coming up to the store from the west is not exciting at all--you can't see the Apple store from that approach. But once you clear the Walgreen's projection, the store looms up. It's very much wider that I had thought, and the completely open, glass façade makes the building seem much taller. At night the light blazes out, a condition that city planners objected to back when Apple first submitted its designs. But along this portion of Boylston Street, the light really isn't overwhelming. The store is essentially three floors, covered at the front by a glass box constructed like the glass Cube at the Fifth Avenue (NYC) store. At the third level is a suspended white, back-lit Apple logo. Strangely a glass "fin" support bisects the logo, so even from the very front of the store the logo is not quite as distinct as it would have been with the support to one side or another. The sidewalk in front of the store has been completely re-done. It appears that three new trees have been planted in the sidewalk, with metal gratings surrounding them. A brand-new set of pedestrian traffic signals are also in front of the store, allowing foot traffic across one-way Boylston Street. There is also a street light pole in front of the store. All those poles make for a somewhat cluttered look for the front of the store--pretty uncharacteristic for Apple. Then again, photos of the store will probably not show the poles after some Photoshop work. There were 40-50 workers visible cleaning the inside of the store, including a team using a rope ladder to clean the inside of the spiral glass staircase. Upstairs I could see the store team meeting on the third-floor...in the theater? Out back, in Public Alley 442, there were security guards watching over the movement of boxes. Along the sidewalk, even at 10 p.m., there were lots of passersby taking cellular photos of the store. Boylston Street and, one block over, Newbury Street are filled with restaurants, bars and shops. The nightlife here is active. I can only imagine what the daytime traffic will be. Apple is apparently rating this the largest United States stores, and second only to the Regent Street store in London. I'm not sure what floor space they're counting, since city parcel records show the lot is just 6,384 square-feet. A three-story building on the entire lot (impossible since you have to put up walls, etc.) would give you just 19,152 s.f. Are they counting the green roof, too?
The city is amazing, the location is perfect, the weather should be mostly dry and the crowd promises to be enthusiastic. What more could you ask for to hold the grand opening of Apple's Boylston Street (Boston) retail store some time in May? The three-story, glass-front store will probably open on a Friday evening, allowing plenty of time for passersby to walk by the address (#815) for several days, and to then spot persons lined up on Friday. The opening time also gives maximum exposure for the press, since it allows the noon, evening and late-night news telecasts to provide full-crew coverage of the before, during and after-opening activities. The Boston Red Sox are in town May 16th through 23rd, playing Milwaukee and Kansas City. There are enough restaurants in the city to keep you occupied for a lifetime. The Freedom Trail offers just one path through a city that was designed and constructed for foot travel. There are enough historic places to delight a history buff, and too many architecturally-significant buildings to see in a lifetime. The next nearest Apple store is Cambridgeside across the Charles River in the town of Cambridge, also home to Harvard University, another great walk-around destination. Make your plans now to attend the grand opening.
Other Points of Interest U.S.S. Constitution - one of the six original U.S. Navy frigates commissioned in 1794 Old North Church - one if by land, two if by sea... Granary Burial Ground - resting place for three Declaration of Independence signatories Faneuil Hall - historic meeting hall and now a bustling marketplace Boston Pops - in town May 13th-18th, 20th-24th Boston Common - besides being historic, it's one of America's great urban parks
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