From wikipedia.com:Cloud GateOver twice as much as our skybridge. Half as much as the entire Figge. Think of the outrage. Except for the 2 magic words: Privately funded.SBC Plaza is home to Cloud Gate, a 3-story, 110-ton steel sculpture that has been dubbed by residents as "The Bean". The sculpture is the work of world-renowned artist Anish Kapoor and is the first of his public art in the United States. The piece was privately funded and the total cost was $23 million -- up from the original estimate of $9 million.
Would people around here still be opposed to something like this if no city money was involved? If Davenport hadn't thrown half a million towards the skybridge, would it still be the "Bridge to nowhere?"
6 comments:
Yes it would still be tagged with a nickname that reflects public opinion. Public opinion tagged "the bean" to at least some displeasure of the artist.
It is not just the amount of dollars spent on riverfront observation deck, your city controlled and pushed the project. Also your city is responsible for maintenance and REPAIRS!
All I know is that the giant steel bean would sure be a whole lot more exciting if they followed our lead on Pointless Project Construction and added an evening psychedelic light show.
Skybridge to Nowhere 1
Giant Steel Bean 0
(Though, I gotta say, if Rock Island had a giant steel bean, I'd probably wanna hang out there a lot.)
I saw on channel 6 (kwqc) last night that our "Bridge to the Riverfront" won a design award, beating over 70 other structures. Why to go Davenport!!!
Doohhhhhhh!
The Bean is amazing. The key is to stand underneath it and look up. While the sculpture may have been privately funded, hundreds of millions of public dollars (mostly TIF) went into the park that surrounds it. What's been interesting is the increase in both occupancy and the value of land near Millennium Park. In this case, public investment spurred private investment. Whether the sky-high cost of this elaborate park was worth it is up for debate.
As you can see in my picture, (taken on Saturday) it is pretty popular.
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