This is what Lynn Lashbrook has to say about Memorial Coliseum (full article here):
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Well having worked at the Coliseum as a Utility Worker, i can honestly say that it is time to tear it down. I've walked around, climbed up and down, crawled in and out of every little crevice you can imagine inside of the Coliseum and one thing i can say is that, it is old.
Imagine your trying to get ready for a hockey game and all of a sudden, plywood falls from the rafters because of the heavy rain that is hitting the roof. Or imagine your trying to get ready for the Rose Festival Parade but have to patch up 3 holes on the main floor because the ground itself is so old and cracked, a float rolling over one of the holes might actually sink in. The building is just not worth saving. I think the only ones who are trying to save the Coliseum are the ones that went to shows and concerts there back in the 70's and 80's, or just like the building because of its "all glass" exterior. So again, the building is not worth saving, there are other ways to remember veterans, whether its a baseball stadium, condos, a 35 story tower, whatever it is, theres other ways of doing it, but the Coliseum is not the way to go. |
I don't think this overrated structure is going anywhere anytime soon....
A city spokeswoman said the new council directed staff to break apart the agreement and renegotiate individual operating and renovation pieces for the iconic Rose Quarter structure, home to the Portland Trail Blazers before they moved to what is now Moda Center. ... http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/...next-june.html |
Its the architecture community. They talk a good game, but when push comes to shove to show up and actually do something, they go missing. They pushed hard to keep this building, where are they now? They should be leading the charge. I do feel the structure has merit as an architecture piece, but unless a function can be identified and paid for do we really need to keep it around for form? I kind of feel sometimes architects forget function and get too obsessed with form.
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I find it really curious that there are so many in this community that seem to DESPISE the MC. I don't think it's an iconic structure, but appreciate many of the design elements. it certainly has a use, if properly maintained and cared for. tearing this down would be beyond silly, in my personal view. beyond that, the area available for an MLB stadium is simply not enough in the RQ. it's great to maximize the existing infrastructure (parking and transit primarily) but to attempt to shoehorn a massive structure like this is foolhardy. especially considering the amount of land available across the street at the Blanchard property. that would provide enough room for the stadium and the additional parking that would be needed, while still being able to utilize the RQ facilities and transit options. but the biggest question is whether MLB in PDX would actually fly long term. once the honeymoon is over then it comes down to population, disposable income and corporate spending. we are considerably deficient in all of those areas from a major sports franchise perspective. are we truly a major league city, or are we really, really (really) hoping to be? hope don't pay the bills. |
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Personally, I love the look of the MC and I appreciate it's historic significance. But it's under-used and often not used at all. It isn't prepared to withstand a quake and there certainly isn't money around to fix that, especially since no one has been able to even find a proper use for the thing. And let's not even bother talking about energy efficiency. HA!!!!!!!!!!!1!!!1!!!!!!! Quote:
I'd be glad to see Memorial Coliseum come down and be replaced by a baseball stadium, even if it's minor league. My prediction is that the MC will sit as it is now, under-utilized, mostly empty, for decades. When a major quake hits, it'll be damaged beyond repair. And then, finally, something marvelous will happen on that site. I hope I'm wrong though. It's a gorgeous structure, but I hope it gets leveled, the sooner the better. Quote:
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Isn't that the site they were talking about here?
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Everyone can argue about whether or not MC should be demolished until the cows come home. It's a protected structure and it's not going to be torn down, period. Not even for a giant Salt & Straw with a spinning ice cream cone on top.
Mind you, I'd love to see it creatively re-purposed and even significantly altered for the right project. High speed rail station? Contemporary art museum? Portland isn't even close to that kind of game, though. Too timid, too poor, too provincial. Either way, it would continue our ugly history of cultural shortsightedness if we simply wiped it off the map. Also, it may indeed come down in a massive earthquake (from what I've read, more likely all the glass will come off). That will be the least of our worries, seeing as just about every un-reinforced masonry structure will be toast, probably killing thousands of people and completely altering the Portland we know forever. At that point --all the vintage bridges down, what's left of historic Portland gone, thousands of people dead, massive population loss-- I'm not sure if I'd care what, if anything, gets built in its place. |
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@ 2oh1: a better analysis of the MC situation is here:
http://pamplinmedia.com/pt/9-news/15...ssal-conundrum my understanding is that the Opsis plans (thanks maccoinnich) were supposedly completed late last year, which is where the $31.5m figure came from, but I'm not 100% certain of that. bottom line is that the MC is currently being used, but the clusterfucky bureaucracy that is part and parcel of this city is making it extraordinarily difficult to KNOW anything about what's possible or probable. I believe that the MC has a place due to it's size and location for a variety of events, just as it is now. with upgrades it will be an even more attractive draw for similar events. can it be profitable? ask an economist. or better yet, ask the City to do a better job of due diligence for the MC and the RQ. I've heard wildly divergent estimates on cost, ROI, etc. throughout this 'debate', and put little faith in them since the two sides of this question (MC or not to MC) are as polarized and vitriolic as MSNBC and Fox. check out the latest planning efforts for the area by the City here: http://www.portlandoregon.gov/bps/article/415852 pg. 26 has some graphics showing the potential for the RQ and vicinity that is consistent with the majority of the latest thinking about the types and layout of uses. |
When the architecture community makes the case to save this building, it somehow became the cities problem to figure out a business venture? This is the problem. Fine, its an architecture jewel decreed by the architects, let them find a business model that is profitable. Instead they force the hand of the city and hand them a white elephant with a built in excuse when it fails. Oh it was the clusterfucky bureaucracy that did it in. BS, it was the private architect firms that didn't have a workable business plan other than "its a beautiful glass jewel box, save it" They didn't find any private partners or business that made sense, did they?. I'm so tired of the government blame game. No private entity has stepped up to save this beast. If you are going force the hand of government to save it, than deal with the public process.
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And it's a similar problem in cities with these old arenas. In many cases, there simply isn't a use for them and resources are being wasted in trying to figure out what to do with them. This problem isn't unique to Portland. And to say the MC is being used isn't just laughable. It's insulting. The MC's main use is assemblies, and the city loses money every year on the thing. It's a beautiful structure without a purpose, and it gets in the way of every plan to rejuvenate the Rose Quarter. |
Memorial Coliseum hosting 400,000 to 450,000 visitors/year is hardly a "useless" or unused building. I do not understand the rhetoric on this forum regarding the MC, when I read comments that are against any demolition of historic brick buildings downtown, regardless of how significant they are, but call for the demolition of one of our most iconic buildings in the city. I have been to several events this past year at the MC alone. It does need a renovation; any building 50+ years old needs one!!
Mayor Hales really needs to foot the bill for the renovation. Buildings continuously degrade and fall apart the moment they are built. They are all money pits - and their upkeep must be funded, otherwise you will end up like Detroit. You know the old saying? "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Sustainability wise, its a no-brainer to spend the effort and actually get it renovated and programmed properly. Stop with the idiotic rhetoric, FUD and pipe dreams; this building can function very well as part of our entertainment venue area known as the Rose Quarter. Note that MLB or baseball does not appear once in the draft NNE Quadrant Plan document. More importantly, the original plan for MLB by HOK & Fosler was for it to be built to the north of the RQ & Broadway bridge (Blanchard Property), where there was more room. Anyway, last time I heard it may be 10-20 years before MLB had a team open to moving. Why would they move to Portland? An unproven market without a viable site? I suggest re-reading Brian Libby's coverage of the stories from his archives: http://chatterbox.typepad.com/portla...rial-coliseum/ And the MLB stadium plan: http://www.oregonstadiumcampaign.com...um_concept.htm Opsis MC page: http://www.opsisarch.com/blog/projec...ial-coliseum/# Quote:
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Aaaaanyways, the latest news on the MC:
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400-450,000 people annually, you can't be serious. I would say that number is closer to 200,000 visitors annually. The only major events there are FrightTown, the comic book show and the OSAA events. Maybe that's just a little over 100,000 visitors combined. Those numbers haven't changed since I started working there in 2002.
This building needs to get bulldozed and made way for something new, different and exciting. |
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