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Thursday, April 1, 2010

City Seattle Center Quietly Killed a Proposal for the Fun Forest Site and Then Backed Chihuly Museum

Posted by on Thu, Apr 1, 2010 at 2:41 PM

The Seattle Center killed a proposal to use the Fun Forest site, claiming private enterprise would destroy plans for green space, and then turned around to back plans for a private Chihuly museum on the same site.

John Sutherland, an administrator at the University of Washington, submitted a proposal to Seattle Center director Robert Nellams in 2007. Sutherland proposed demolishing the covered pavilion and creating a greenbelt/picnic area, adding new rides in the kids area, and introducing six new major amusement park rides, including a roller coaster. Sutherland's plan also called for a kid's public playground and a water play area.

When Sutherland was submitting his proposal, the Seattle Center master planning process (formally called the Century 21 Master Plan) was just beginning. He attended "at least 60 different meetings," he says, during which officials and the public made it clear that what the people wanted was more green space. In the end, Sutherland says, Nellams told him that the proposal was not going to happen. "And I thought that was fair," says Sutherland. "Even though my proposal incorporated green space, I thought we lost fair and square. It wasn't what the people wanted."

But following the Seattle Center's logic—that people want lawns, not private enterprise on the site—the people also don't want a Chihuly museum, says Sutherland. "This is a private collection, and private collections belong on private property. This project is not appropriate for the space."

The Seattle Center has worked with the Space Needle for over a year to develop a plan for the space, says Space Needle CEO Ron Sevart. "We've been following the leadership of the Seattle Center through this process," he says.

The Seattle Center recently announced it will begin seeking bids for ways to use public land in Seattle Center in mid-April. This is a welcome transparency to what has been a largely closed process. A request for proposals, as the bid-seeking process is called, essentially allows anyone the opportunity to submit ideas for developing or otherwise using the space.

 

Comments (15) RSS

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1
Of course they did.
Posted by Cedar on April 1, 2010 at 2:58 PM
theophrastus 2
this whole Fun-Forest/Chihuly imbroglio fairly screams for a "-gate" tag. ('glassgate'... nah... hooleygate ... nah)

bring back Jones' Fantastic Museum (calling Mr Pugmire!! Mr Pugmire to the desk!) ...and make the rest a childrens'' puppet theater (doing mashups of star-wars and hamlet)

oh... and a row of open air covered Barrista stands ...yeah.
Posted by theophrastus on April 1, 2010 at 3:01 PM
PTrig 3
Up until last summer I thought that the Fun Forest space was poorly utilized and wouldn't have cared what the city decided to do with it. Then I took my then 4 year old daughter there after a concert at Seattle Center. It was one of the highlights of her summer. What the city has done and is doing to this space is a disgrace. Do we need more family space downtown and in Seattle Center? I guess if we want families to go there we do.

My daughter and I will probably not go to a House of Glass. But we are planning on seeing the Marmaduke movie. Sometimes it pays to see through the eyes of a 5 year old.
Posted by PTrig on April 1, 2010 at 3:23 PM
PTrig 4
Up until last summer I thought that the Fun Forest space was poorly utilized and wouldn't have cared what the city decided to do with it. Then I took my then 4 year old daughter there after a concert at Seattle Center. It was one of the highlights of her summer. What the city has done and is doing to this space is a disgrace. Do we need more family space downtown and in Seattle Center? I guess if we want families to go there we do.

My daughter and I will probably not go to a House of Glass. But we are planning on seeing the Marmaduke movie. Sometimes it pays to see through the eyes of a 5 year old.
Posted by PTrig on April 1, 2010 at 3:24 PM
burgin22 5
Wow this museum really has the Stranger's panties in a twist doesn't it? I look forward to the upcoming hundreds of rage-spittle-encrusted updates!
Posted by burgin22 http://www.zombo.com/ on April 1, 2010 at 3:30 PM
Will in Seattle 6
Which part of

We Said Green Space Not Glass Ripoff

don't they get?
Posted by Will in Seattle http://www.facebook.com/WillSeattle on April 1, 2010 at 3:34 PM
DOUG. 7
FYI: "green space" does not equal "lawns".
Posted by DOUG. http://www.dougsvotersguide.com on April 1, 2010 at 3:47 PM
8
We need something more useful than a glass house that caters to a niche interest. What about a sustainability center that features an urban farm or homestead? It could produce food for the local community and educate citizens about how to live more self-sufficiently and less destructively on the planet. It can generate revenue by offering fresh produce and foods, classes, and exhibits about the organic, local food, slow food, green movement, and all these other things that our area is known for.

Think of the classes it could offer:

- Grow your own organic produce.
- Raise your own eggs or meat.
- Make other foodstuffs and preserve them.
- Cook basic healthy foods.
- Generate your own energy.
- Create usable goods from trash.
- Build on a small scale, furniture, carpentry...
- Make your own clothes (knitting, spinning, sewing).
- Other life skills, like value shopping, basic personal finance, ...

Look at what these folks do with 1/10 of an acre, and then think about what we can do with Seattle Center:

http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/
Posted by SanerLiving on April 1, 2010 at 4:07 PM
9
Um, an important question to ask here would be - was Sutherland's proposal funded? If it wasn't funded than it's not terribly meaningful that the Center ignored it.
Posted by downbythefreeway on April 1, 2010 at 4:46 PM
Todd 10
If they build this there had better be good earthquake insurance.
Posted by Todd on April 1, 2010 at 5:33 PM
Spicy McHaggis 11
If the Chihuly museum gets built everyone should bring their kids no matter their age to get a little culture. If a few glass works get broken well that's the breaks.
Posted by Spicy McHaggis on April 1, 2010 at 7:25 PM
12
@3,

Amen.

Posted by Mr. X on April 1, 2010 at 8:39 PM
13
downbythefreeway - yes, in 2007, the project was funded. The unwillingness of the city to listen had nothing to do with that. But that was 2007 and that same investment group is not available today.
Posted by Seaskiguy on April 1, 2010 at 9:02 PM
14
Forgot to sign my name to comment #13. This is John Sutherland. Also, one correction to the SLOG, I didn't attend 60 meetings myself. John
Posted by Seaskiguy on April 1, 2010 at 9:03 PM
w. h. pugmire, esq. 15
Some of us were hoping to bring back a museum in the tradition of the Jones Fantastic Museum that used to be in the Center House, and I was all set to revive my vampire character, Count Pugsly, to help promote it and work within the space. We even had the current owner of the Man from Mars Machine ready to install that fabulous machine into the new space! But I guess some wonderful aspects of the Seattle Center's past will remain dim and dreamy memories, alas.
Posted by w. h. pugmire, esq. http://www.youtube.com/user/MrWilum on April 23, 2010 at 4:25 PM

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