The
Millennium Spike is an
Irish monument built on
O'Connell Street in the heart of
Dublin city. The spike is built from
steel with a 7m
bronze ring around the base and stands 120m tall, making it the
tallest structure in the
city. It will be floodlit at night by surrounding buildings and lights at the base of the spike.
The spike, which was built on the site where Nelson's Column used to stand before it was blown up in the 60's, aims to become the new focal point of the city centre.
New urban planning will also be brought into place to try and return O'Connell St. to it's former glory of the 50's and 60's. Presently, the street is littered with cheapshit cafes, pound(euro) shops, rundown cinemas and seedy gambling arcades. It can also be a very dangerous place to be at night due to the amount of dodgy pubs and clubs that litter the side streets. It's also a place where many heroin addicts go to score.
Many residents from the north side of Dublin city initially objected to the spike as many believed that it's needle-like structure would further enhance the north side's image as an area with an out of contol drug problem and the monument would be a constant reminder of this.
Update: Dublin City Council has done extensive work around this part of O'Connell St. They have repaved it and it looks really well. They've also planted loads of new trees and have nice big tubs of shubbery scattered about the place. The McDonalds, Burger King and Supermacs still remain, unfortunately.