Quote:
Originally Posted by bucks native
What city has anything to compare with The Parkway, bookended by a stunning Greek palace on a hill and the world's most opulent city hall?
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Hey, I love Philly too, but you need to get out a little more if you're finding the Parkway and City Hall to be incomparable. That's sort of like my roommate that has never been above the Mason Dixon line saying, "As a pizza connoisseur, nothing beats Papa Johns." Of course this is coming from a guy that saw Baby Momma for the first time last night and only kept watching because of the wonderful MODERN expose of Philadelphia - I wish Rocky would just fade off into the distant past...but I digress lol...
The Parkway could be so much more than the tree-lined highway that it is now, and this museum had a wonderful opportunity to begin the pedestrianization (haha) of the Art Musem, Rodin and now Barnes complex. From this core you could easily connect with the library and the Franklin Institute. These establishments, like so many other places in Philadelphia, fail to engage the pedestrian which, in my opinion, is a major factor in why visitors and tourists largely leave the city with a bad taste in their mouth. You really have to know where to go in Philadelphia to experience it completely, and I think Philadelphians really like it that way. It's such a parochial city (I mean just look at the NIMBYs) which gives Society Hill and other places its charm, but when that attitude spills over into more civic spaces that need to be modernized, it becomes a chastity belt. There are a lot of bold, wonderful ideas that give me hope (the waterfront,
the new rainwater plan , the transformations of Dilworth Plaza, Schuylkill Banks and the art museum) but other ones that make me worry that this city will never change (the casinos, the South Street Bridge design, the waterfront towers, increased taxes on arts patrons, and spending an extra million dollars on installing pipes in a 975 foot office tower that will never be used to appease unions). This museum proposal - largely because of its staging an orientation to the parkway - falls in the latter category for me. If Philly wants to the become "The Next Great American City" it must elevate the profile of its arts through better public relations outside of the city, create a drastically more inviting experience for pedestrian visitors (this can be kick started with lighting, signage, landscaping, and road-width adjustments in key areas), and announce itself more aggressively. It's all about elevating its profile because there are so many gems already in Philadelphia that you and I know intimately because we grew up here, but we fail to notice how hidden they are. If the Parkway wants to succeed, we need to turn this Museum around...as in spun 180 degrees.
But Philadelphia is a place that relishes in being the underdog, the red-headed step child of the NE, like it or not. We like that no one knows about the Curtis Institute of Music, or the castles of the main line, Fairmount Park, or even something as obvious as the INSIDE of the Art Museum. We don't want it to be like NYC or Washington. But based upon the criticism of this museum, maybe we do? That gives me hope. I just wish the rest of the populace in Philadelphia shared similar dissensions with this design. I strongly believe they will not.