I sure would like a combo of the NW Native and Open Platform visions. Very functional, great tourist attraction, and you could always put a small KEXP and Chihulhy studio in the corner in a 20'x20' or maybe 30'x30' space, with say 2-3 stories, without impacting the park atmosphere.
The answer is not always either-or, sometimes it's All of the Above.
Plus the batting practice stand for the kid's hardball league - cause I love the sound of breaking glass in the morning.
Though I'd rather KEXP than Chihully, I'm not terribly keen on office space at the SeaCen. I, too, have thought it'd be great if KEXP could use the EMP space. I do, however, like the idea of a nice(r) outdoor venue, and the idea of partnerships and flexibility are also appreciated.
Memorial Stadium is already slated to come down and it would be - during the summer - an outdoor amphitheater for performances. I'll bet they get dinged on that basis on their proposal.
I just discovered the city of Seattle has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in the Very Project. Now the city should subsidize a competing identical project just a few blocks away?
Say what you want about the Chihuly proposal, it is nowhere near as unoriginal, boring, milquetoast, and redundant as the KEXP thingy. Chihuly seems downright subversive in comparison.
I have proposed that EMP take over Seattle Center and turn it into a Classic Rock and Roll Animatronic Disneyesque Fun Fair.
Imagine, being greeted by a live "Elton John" who'll escort you onto the "Purple Haze" Rollercoaster. Or, have some Jam and Scones in "Strawberry Fields".
You get the idea. People could wear the Sly Stone jumpsuit in the museum and put it to good use.
Let's not forget the Native American Heritage Center and the Northwest Mystery Museum also have stages. But it seems with the mural amphitheater and EMP not to mention the stadium, we have too many large stages.
Also, not too impressed with KEXP putting their office in a public park. Can't they entertain the public in their current location?
It's clear that these guys have banded together and worked with their PR firm - Pyramid - to try and "smoke and mirrors" the fact that they have NO MONEY to make any of this happen.
Show me the money - not the Dave Mathews letter.
Agree that KEXP should either go in EMP or next to Vera Project.
KEXP should be on the Seattle Center campus. It's a great idea. An even better idea is to have Chihuly and KEXP there. Yes, KEXP is mostly office space, but their plan is exciting and includes some great interactive elements, important to a medium that is losing 1 million listeners per year. The KEXP plan is a risk, but one that could end up being the future of radio. And with Chihuly at the Center, there could be some money for the Center to support other great ideas like Open Platform. But we do definitely need something that actually has money now to move forward now, because the City will continue to cut budgets at The Center, and without income the Center will start slashing more programming, like what it just did with Winterfest.
On open space. Do we really need more in Seattle? Keep in mind the 13 new acres of open space created by the take down of Memorial Stadium and the rest of the fun forest space, and the massive amount of open space on the waterfront we'll have when the viaduct comes down. The waterfront will truly be our City's central park, not Seattle Center. The Center needs programming and institutions that will draw people beyond what would be mostly unused open space
Cienna, every time you refer to it simply as the "Fun Forest" as opposed to the SOUTH Fun Forest space, you mislead your readers who might not be intimately informed about the situation or familiar with the layout at Seattle Center. This whole hoopla is over the small kiddie-ride area, plus the arcade building. None of these proposals have anything to do with the much larger - and, before it was torn down, more popular - NORTH Fun Forest area that housed the roller coaster, log ride, etc.
Please take into consideration the LONG studied solution, the 2008 Century 21 proposal, which was accepted by the council which removed the building entirely and thereby opened up the Center.
There are plenty of locations for KEXP and "whatever," then not realizing the goals set forth in the 2008 plan to make for a grand entrance to the campus.
The answer is not always either-or, sometimes it's All of the Above.
Plus the batting practice stand for the kid's hardball league - cause I love the sound of breaking glass in the morning.
The EMP, by the way, already has a huge and mostly unused performance space in it. And Vera Project is nearby as well. Boring.
Say what you want about the Chihuly proposal, it is nowhere near as unoriginal, boring, milquetoast, and redundant as the KEXP thingy. Chihuly seems downright subversive in comparison.
I have proposed that EMP take over Seattle Center and turn it into a Classic Rock and Roll Animatronic Disneyesque Fun Fair.
Imagine, being greeted by a live "Elton John" who'll escort you onto the "Purple Haze" Rollercoaster. Or, have some Jam and Scones in "Strawberry Fields".
You get the idea. People could wear the Sly Stone jumpsuit in the museum and put it to good use.
Usually, when we think of Parks we think of Open Space and Greenery and maybe a place for kids to play. Is there something wrong with that thinking?
Also, not too impressed with KEXP putting their office in a public park. Can't they entertain the public in their current location?
Show me the money - not the Dave Mathews letter.
Agree that KEXP should either go in EMP or next to Vera Project.
On open space. Do we really need more in Seattle? Keep in mind the 13 new acres of open space created by the take down of Memorial Stadium and the rest of the fun forest space, and the massive amount of open space on the waterfront we'll have when the viaduct comes down. The waterfront will truly be our City's central park, not Seattle Center. The Center needs programming and institutions that will draw people beyond what would be mostly unused open space
repeat
Seattle Center should not be used for private office space.
Seattle Center should not be used for private office space.
There are plenty of locations for KEXP and "whatever," then not realizing the goals set forth in the 2008 plan to make for a grand entrance to the campus.