Quote:
Originally Posted by BVictor1
Developers need to thing about other things besides lining their pockets.  |
Just playing devil's advocate here, but exactly what is it that
you think about when it comes to
your livelihood?
I understand the basic thrust of the feeling here. A sense of powerlessness as structures you admire are tampered with or even destroyed. And I feel this sometimes too. It hurt when they knocked down the old Merc just so they could do...nothing. But it is not very useful to entertain unrealistic hopes about the intentions of developers. After all, they are businessmen/women who view these projects as a means to obtain money. They are not, nor will they ever be, in the "preservation" business. Chicago has been built up and torn down many times over. And it will be once and twice and three times again. The shape of the skyline is a look at the "tree rings" of the city. What market forces were in play in each era. And so this era will leave its own mark. Mere waves against the sand.
Sorry to wax poetic here, but this is the reality. When we look at the Mona Lisa, we see art. And so does everyone else. But when we look at the old Post Office and see art, we are unhappily in the minority. The Mona Lisa, unlike old inefficient hulks of buildings, does not cost millions of dollars to maintain. Even realizing that, it's quite a bit different when it's your own money.
Honestly, how would any of us feel if after buying an old money-pit type house, we were told by a group of architecture fans that we couldn't repair or modernize or even demolish the thing because it happened to be a nice example of Queen Anne, or it happened to be designed by a protege of Louis Sullivan. Put some of your own money in the deal, and it is truly head-spinning how quickly some of those concerns become simply academic.