The Good City is a good addition

Scott Greider and Jon Swerens are the proprietors of a weblog that should spark some very intelligent discussion about the direction of Fort Wayne. They have titled it "The Good City, a Fort Wayne website about city, culture and church".

It is recommended reading.  The following is an abridged version of a September 20th post by Jon Swerens.  In the full post he takes issue with fellow News-Sentinel employee Kevin Leininger.  You may view the post in its entirety here.

4 Reasons to not bust a gaping hole into a historic theater

Forget about building a downtown aquarium. Fort Wayne wants to build a suspended, over-the-street, glass-boxed, out-of-town-visitorium.

In an effort to prevent convention goers from ever having to walk on an actual sidewalk, the folks building Harrison Square downtown want to carve a hole into the west side of the historic Embassy Theatre (actually, that side of the building contains the old Indiana Hotel) and build a pedestrian walkway across a two-lane street.

[ ... ]

Before we rent the reciprocating saws, let’s consider some possible drawbacks to busting a hole in the side of the Embassy:

• You’d be busting a hole in the side of the Embassy. You can’t undo this kind of destruction. Will future generations wonder what kinds of dopes we were for saving such a beautiful structure from destruction, only to ram a makeshift shiv into its side? While we’re at it, should we build a walkway from the Lincoln Tower to the courthouse so the lawyers won’t get wet in the rain?
• You wouldn’t really be helping visitors that much. As visitors walk over two-lane Harrison Street, they’ll be kicking themselves as they realize it would have been faster for them just to use the crosswalk.
• You’d be using the proximity of the historic Embassy for your own downtown goals. The Embassy doesn’t get any real boost for becoming a conventioneers’ bypass — except for some cash, of course.
• You’d be telling visitors that there’s nothing interesting about a Fort Wayne sidewalk. Aren’t there going to be shops along Jefferson Boulevard as a part of Harrison Square? Wouldn’t we like visitors to actually walk past them?

Well written, Mr. Swerens.

Photo credit: The Good City

Comments

[Kody Tinnel]

Well-written indeed.

[Cathy Dee]

January. And February.

[Jeff Pruitt]

But it's a deal-breaker so the city had no choice...

[Zachary Benedict]

There is just something eerily hypocritical to me in having a “catalyst project” (promoted for its ability to reintroduce people to our sidewalks) that is hinged on a “need” to put people 20 feet in the air. In many ways, doesn’t that short circuit the whole point of developments such as these?

[mike hunsche]

With all the money we're throwing around at useless projects like Harrison Square why can't we throw in the money needed to renovate the old Indiana Hotel? Everyone has said it's cost prohibitive to renovate it.. well, we've seen the city attempt to pass a $1B bond/bill/whatever to fix up the schools, and we've all seen what's going on with HS.. why didn't anyone include some funds to fix up the hotel?

[C. Edward Eckert]

How is it a deal-breaker? The City holds all the cards, and when I say cards I mean money, that these developers want. Is a developer going to let a little crosswalk stand in the way of City development dollars?

I think not.

[Mike Michmerhuizen]

I kind of like the idea of a walkway from the Lincoln Tower to the courthouse.

[Alex Jokay]

Considering they've never been able to find a good use for the Indiana Hotel portion of the Embassy building, I don't see what's the problem. They were actually contemplating tearing it down a few years ago until they were told by engineers that it would be structurally impossible.

There was some talk at one time about making it into a Hilton annex, except that the hotel people said the rooms are too small by today's standards and some rooms share bathrooms. Still, I always thought that it might be possible to market it as a "boutique" hotel like they do with the old Bismarck in Chicago, now known as the Hotel Allegro, where people pay top dollar for the tiny, quirky old rooms, which are done up in a most un-hotel-like fartsy décor. Here's where people in Fort Wayne could really use some vision.

As for keeping our out-of-town guests off the street, it's not like the Harrison Square storefronts are going to be occupied beyond the length of the first lease, if they ever have tenants at all.

[Andrew Kaduk]

I was paying $215 per night to stay in a hotel in Boston with rooms that size. The hotel was equally "historic."

That's the thing about moron consumers: all you have to do is sprinkle words like "rustic" or "historic" in your marketing, and idiots will flock to the place. Heck, look at Shipshewana...that place sucks but people infest the whole area in droves just to stare at the old, obsolete bric-a-brac and the backwards lifestyles of the Amish.

Granted, there would be convention-goers (like I was in Boston) who would get a little bent about the small old rooms, but there would be other people who would show up for that attraction specifically.

[Gloria Diaz]

Why not just give everyone Segways so they don't have to walk?

If we get rid of historic buildings, we lose a bit of our past. Why not just pave over Gettysburg and put a Walmart and a waterpark in? I don't care very much about military history, but history deserves to be preserved as much as possible.

Let the people walk out in the elements. They complain so much about wasting money, but they don't want to be uncomfortable. They can't have it both ways.

[Gloria Diaz]

If you can't take two months of cold weather, move your pathetic, whiny butt to a warmer climate. Of course, you'll have to pay $1500 a month for a two-bedroom shack, but at least you'll be warm.

Fort Wayne: Only the strong survive!

[Katie Casey]

Word to Mr. Swerens and his well-written post.

Down here in Indianapolis they're in the middle of building a major addition to the downtown library. They made the new addition modern-looking, but the old library still has the classic facade.

Put the two styles together, and it kind of looks like a Borg spaceship has landed behind the library and has attached itself, virus-like, to the back of the building. It's truly, mind-numbingly hideous. I'm sure the walkway would clash with the Embassy like polka dots and plaid.

However, Ms. Diaz, I don't think the weather is the issue here. A walkway is a trendy, futuristic thing to do, so--other cities have walkways, we need more walkways. Voila.

But it has a realistic component that might actually be worth considering: it keeps people from getting smacked by cars. Fort Wayne drivers hate pedestrians and bicycle riders...maybe it could help convention-goers be a little bit safer while in an unfamiliar city. This would help most importantly in the winter, when there's slick roads and angry drivers who aren't paying attention.