Comments

1
I forget, how do I vote multiple times again?

Just say NO! HECK NO!
2
The issue is not using the space for a commercial use. It is nothing to do with open space. It is simply this: Chihuly glass is crap, and we don't want a museum full of it.

If they want to know what to do with the space, send them all on a plane to Copenhagen, and have them visit the Tivoli. Make sure they go at night. Then have them come home and do that here.

Hmm, the Tivoli has rides. What if they put rides in Seattle Center? That would be cool, huh?
3
everyone who votes "don't build it" is part of the problem in seattle.

let's just not build anything ever and see what happens to the infrastructure.... oh wait
4
"Chihuly glass is crap, and we don't want a museum full of it." lol fnarf is a troll now? or has he been hanging around that idiotic fuckup will in seattle too much?
5
Fnarf isn't a troll. And it's true. Chihuly glass is crap, and we don't want a museum full of it.

@3 Fuck off. Chihuly glass is crap, and we don't want a museum full of it. That doesn't mean we hate building stuff. We just prefer stuff that doesn't suck.
6
@1:

Go to whatever folder your cookies are stored and delete the most recent half dozen or so, especially anything with "thestranger" or similar in the address. Keep doing that over and over again, until you're tired of voting.

Oh, I'm sorry. Was that a rhetorical question?
7
Oh, I forgot, we can drive *all* the way to Tacoma. How many crappy glass museums do we need?
8
@3:

Building something just for the sake of building something that doesn't seem to have any other purpose aside from being a huge tax dodge for some wealthy scion of Seattle pseudo-aristocracy, doesn't exactly count as "infrastructure", you know.
9
Let's build it. Heck, we'll probably have room enough to put in a Crate and Barrel next door if we plan it right.
10
Mind you, I'm sure looking forward to baseball practice if they do build it ... HOME RUN! (*smash* *tinkle*)
11
@7 - you can take the Sounder there too.
12
If I wanted to look at lurid yellow and orange blobs, I'd do crayon drawings at home and save a lot of money.
13
NO!
14
Man, I'd never even heard of Ciabatta glass until this stupid museum thing came along.
15
I ran into the mayor this week and shared my horror at the idea of a crap-glass museum at Seattle Center to benefit two rich assholes. I might have used the phrase "horrible pirate".
16
@9

Put in a Cracker Barrel instead and I'm sold.
17
I have no problem with his art, but it is already everywhere.
18
@16, the Cracker Barrel will be next to the Crate and Barrel and across from the Neiman Marcus.
19
Adjacent to the Bowling Ball, Air Rifle and Collectible Large Stones Supply Store.
20
I'm here now. Maybe more of you should come down because in one hour only 2 people to speak haven't had a direct financial motive to support it.
21
Would an open space draw locals to Seattle Center, and if so how would locals be willing to pay? No. Seattle Center is a tourist trap and a business trying to make ends meet.
I do not like the art of Chihuly personally but a new attraction added to the City Pass is welcomed.
Those who live in Seattle have been to Seattle Center, to the top of the Space Needle, toured the Aquarium, the PSC and the Zoo, not to mention a trip on the water and most will agree the Museum of Flight should be taken off the list maybe replaced by the Duck Tour but locals do not do these things often. A new attraction is needed for locals but it is the tourists those people who crowd our streets and stores may actually be interested in this crap. They are the majority who support Seattle Center and they are the ones who may be interested in paying to look at this crap and willing to pay more so they do not have to travel south to see such crap.
I think a museum or pavilion should be built but it should be transitional, one or two artists every month or so not one space dedicated to one person. Seattle is full of amazing artists and Mr. Chihuly being one of them but he is not the only one and this space has the opportunity to showcase some amazing talent around Seattle that many of the tourists would love to see. I would pay to see new local Artists.
22
I'm still holding out for the Nagle museum.
23
No no no HELL NO to this gallery on public land. I would rather have a Tent City set up camp on that space than have Chihuly's insipid art dumb down our city still further. Have you seen the work from the Pilchuck School? They actually have GOOD artists producing interesting work. Chihuly just churns out fanciful glass splotches that rich old white women buy in Fort Lauderdale and then brag to their friends about how they have a "Chihuly".

Seattle Center is actually a really special, unique place. Put an art museum there-- sure! But why not dedicate it to indigenous art or something, you know, actually culturally contributive? Less Madame Toussaud, more Vancouver, BC. Relocate the Burke! Or build a kick ass, world class playground! But not a Chihuly splooge.
24
Just came back from that meeting -- they overflowed the conference room and moved down to center stage. So many people signed up to spout off that they extended the damn thing to 10 PM.

The pro-Chihuly forces outnumbered the anti-Chihuly people about 4 to 1. @20's got it: almost everyone who spoke in favor of the Chihuly museum stood to gain from it financially. In and of itself, that's not a compelling enough reason for me to vote it down.

What wasn't addressed: the bullshit fact that the Wrights would be charging $14 admission for this fixed display.
25
Firstly, the area everyone is bitching about is not currently completely PUBLIC space. Sure you can walk through fun forest, but you still need to pay to participate in the attractions (rides or games or whatever).
Secondly, GRASS costs cash - like $500 mil to $750 mil to be voter approved by levy. Good luck with that one. Fuck, we could vote for it three times and it might still get derailed (see monorail trainwreck)
Thirdly, Chihuly won't cost us a thing. In fact, it makes us money. The lease payment (twice as much as the Fun Forest pays now), the 5% admissions tax on every ticket sold to Chihuly Land and whatever sales tax gets collected goes towards making Seattle Center 75% self-sustainable as required by the Center itself.
Fourthly, whether you like Chihuly glass shine-e-ness or not, there is no denying that he is a world renowned artist. People of Seattle should be so lucky to have a bright and shiny spot to see his work. And if you don't care, you don't have to go -- just leave that to the cruise ship tourists. There are plenty of them and they all carry at least three credit cards. Either way, the City makes some cash. Last time I checked, the City and making cash were polar opposites.
So, in short, fuck the haters. Let Chihuly do his thing and let's make some dough.
26
I'd rather have Ye Olde Tourist Shop from the waterfront move there.

What do you think would get more tourists inside--that, or a glass museum?

I like his art but it's wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too niche for this.
27
@1 some caring person consider these points:

- Reducing the "footprint" -- NOT increasing it.

- Building up 3 stories, with a basement.

- Locate Gallery on Top floor. 2nd Floor, 1st Floor, Basement, you figure it out.

- Build Bubbleator and Standard elevators.

- Modernist goes well with EMP and Needle.

- A taller building would go well with those and Armory.

- Takes advantage of tremendous views.

-Opens up east/west view corridors at pedestrian level; rather than close view corridors further.

I am so tired of this. Just Build up and dedicate reclaimed ground to park and plaza space. And put in a Bubbleator with that east view of Lake Union, for cryin out loud. It's obvious! Build up! Don't sprawl out any more like a big hideous blob. Build up!

And thanks everyone who gave my work any credit. Circulator Monorail is ideal access downtown. To bad them officials wouldn't review it publicly for YOU.
28
If the Glass Museum is really a good idea, it might be an even better idea if it was a non-city institution that used some of the abundant vacant commercial spaces in Seattle.
29
I have no idea, and could really care less about what a Chihuly is, if you're going to have a glass museum why not have it be about everyone's glass? What makes this guy special?
30
Creating a large open green space in the five acre area left after the rusted out fun forest leaves would be great. It would also be great if people actually used the several acres of open green space already available; as anyone who works at the arts facilities there or the center house will tell you it is very rarely a crowded space.
The Chihuly project would bring green space, plus art to an area that otherwise would be CONCRETE. Not green open space, CONCRETE. ...unless of course anyone can come up with the $700million+ of public money it will cost to create five acres of green open space. The writers of the Century 21 project knew it would take up to 20 years to raise that much in public funds and they support the Chihuly exhibit: it uses private funds to offer the public tax revenue and FREE art and FREE green space. If the public would like to cough up several million dollars and transform concrete into open green space without art, we could do so with the three acres Chihuly would not be using...but I'm not all that stoked about paying extra taxes for more grass.
31
Dale Chihuly is definitely talented, but way overrated. Putting an entire museum in his honor on public land is ridiculous.

The Fun Forest might not be the biggest money maker, but if it isn't profitable, remove it and replace the public property with a well-manicured park or other open green space. Privatizing even more of the Seattle Center for a pay-by-play Pyrex museum is anathema.

I will accept it, however, if they pay me, and the rest of the citizens of Seattle our portion of the rent and profits in cash every month.
32
What makes this guy special, @29, is that the Wrights are willing to give him yet another showcase and the Center wants some revenue. His art--which he doesn't make anymore anyway--is not what makes him special.

The tourists will be the only ones to consume that crap if this goes through, but the really sad thing is that Seattle kids were the ones who enjoyed the Fun Forest. So Seattle as a city of actual residents is losing what it had, and gaining nothing. Seattle merchants are gaining yet another amenity to trumpet about on their visit-Seattle propaganda.

Why don't we just declare Seattle a tourist mall and give up all pretension?
33
@32: Here, here! This city should be for its people and not for whoever comes to visit now and then. We cannot be dependent on highway robbery of the passing traveler via souvenir-spoon-kitschery as a primary economic growth engine.

I know it's easy. Putting up a Chihuly Museum requires much less conceptual creativity than creating the conditions to birth the next Microsoft. But it is, nonetheless, little more than a showy and disgusting waste of money that is better spend on the needs and interests of the People of Seattle.

If nothing else, our money is better spent to make Seattleite children happy than to attract a single tourist who's precious hamburger-and-souvenir dime we hope to lift from his pocket.
34
"I would rather have a Tent City set up camp on that space than have Chihuly's insipid art dumb down "

And you wonder why Seattle has such a huge deficit.

Rule #1, don't make business decisions base on the opinions of petulant baristas and their ilk.
35
1. I deny that "he is a world renowned artist." He is a minor artist.

2. Open green space ? why do we always say we want it, but the open green space we have isn't used. Because it's BORING people! And there's nothing to do on it. Successful active parks aren't just open green space, please get a clue.

3. Let's just copy the Tivoli....central park with its sculpted partially concretized outdoor living room type spaces, even a little boat pond and outdoor tabled beer garden or tables as in jardin de luxenburg or lafayette square get a fountian and some benches so there's some people watching going on. THAT's what makes urban outdoor space successful all over the world.

3. Why does everyone say the Seattle Center is a unique special treasure blah blah blah? I have been here decades. Apart from the Needle, Bumbershoot, theater, only one time has a friend said "hey let's go to Seattle Center and just....hang out!"

It's an odd collection of buildings with nothing much going on, and an odd collection of open spaces with nothing much going on, because when you design a world's fair public space and then remove the world's fair, there's nothing to do. Like Myrtle Edwards park, it's green spaces are empty; the walking and jogging path is active. Like Denny Park it's open green spaces are empty. Like Discovery Park -- it's open space is basically empty, the activity is in walking and jogging on the paths and down to the beach.

5. If Chihully is art, put it in the freaking art museum. Very few people are going to pay $14 entry fee, have we learned nothing from EMP? That's failure. This will be a failure too. Everyone can see this art on the freaking internet and face it folks once you've seen about 4 Chihully's in real life, you've seen 'em all. This is a marketing giveaway to him and the wrights. IF it's such a great deal, why don't the proponents offer to share the profits 50-50 with the public, mmmm?
36
Kudos @35.

I would really like to see a natural history museum. DC has an incredible one.

The PSC is nice but far too geared toward children.
37
If you build it please set up a 24/7 webcam.
When the big one hits and Seattle slides into the Pacific we want to see the glass break....
38
PIT BULL MUSEUM!
39
I, personally, would rather have an unfinished hole in the ground than a Chihuly museum. I'm not against a museum on the site, per se, just against one that would be a guaranteed mediocrity. EMPSFM is sad enough. Let Tacoma keep Chihuly for themselves.
40
@37 - besides, you'll be able to see where my hardball team "misses" and accidentally hit the "museum" ...
41
Fnarf - Tivoli - yes! Amusement parks need not be charmless and tawdry, like the Fun Forest. That said, I do miss the Wind Storm.
42
I tend to agree with @25. Let the city make some money. I am almost never down in that area, and I doubt any of you are either. I would prefer to have a museum of "Seattle Glass Artists", with maybe the pirate having a permentant display? But at lease provide rotating space for local artists to get their glass bought by tourists. I mean, come on. We have amazing local talent, and they deserve money. And the city deserves money. So build it, and put green space/a skate park near it.
43
Lots of great ideas. Pit Bull Museum, Tivoli, Monster Waterslides, Jones Museum, or how about a museum dedicated to future disasters like when the big one hits, and Mt. Rainier goes off. I would love to pull the Kalakala up out of the water and post her there. In '62, that ship and the needle were voted the two best things about Seattle.

ALL interesting, but not one of these has funding to make it happen. Neither does the benign trees and grass the LAST plan came up with. SO if you tell Chihuly to Chill, you gain NOTHING but an empty building, and the pavement remains. Congrats on your new "open Space".

Say what you want, but if they are willing to gamble a half million a year guarantee to the city for 5 years, with review every 5 years, I say take the money and run. With the departure of the FUn Forest, you also now have $350,000 a year less to pay for free events at the center, and pay the union staff union wages, and so on.

This plan costs nothing, and if it does not work out, the folks left with the bills will be among the first to say close it and doze it.

That beats the deal with got when the Sonics left.

As to the man's art.. I know folks who think Hendrix was lame. Shall we buldoze the EMP because some think he was not all that good? After all the bitchen and moaning, more than a half MILLION folks paid to see the EMP last year. Even if you didn't, or did but can't admit it.

I say try it.
44
not sure what the question is here - do we want a run down, delapedated asphalt forest which only looses money for the Center or do we want a one of a kind glass museum with green spaces attracting 400,000 visitors each year generating 100 new jobs, millions of dollars in revenues and allowing Seattle to join the ranks of other world class sities with a balance between, culture, arts and natural resources. In addition it will proivde educational outreach programs for our kids, senior citizens and become a beacon of beauty in a dark concrete forrest. As a business owner who struggles to attract talentted emloyee from cities like San Francisco and San Diego, which are also blessed with abundant natural resources, but understand the need for culture and the arts for their professional families.
45
The plans for this space are beautiful. What the Space Needle is proposing is an asset for Seattle. Regardless of your opinions about Chihuly, this is private money making a multi-use space that will make Seattle Center more attractive and bring in more money to Seattle in lease revenue and tax revenue as an attraction. Without taking non-profit funding away from other museums.

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