Quote:
Originally Posted by lonewolf
I am very upset with the footprint of the long center. i think it's an outrageous use of space in an area desperately in need of more transit routes
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The first problem with the Long Center was the decision to re-purpose Palmer Auditorium, an obsolete building of dubious architectural merit. Palmer should have been demolished allowing for a clean slate. The second problem is that fundraising for construction of the Long Center virtually came to a halt during the economic slowdown around 2000. That's when the Intel building stopped construction, just to refresh memories of that era. There was great disappointment at the prospect of a long delay in building the new concert hall and the other venues planned for it an elaborate renovation and addition to Palmer Auditorium. As a result, it was decided (not without controversy) to eliminate one of the new performance venues and proceed with a much less lavish construction budget. The original cost estimates were around $110 million, but the decision was made to proceed with an approximately $60 million project, which was the amount of money raised or pledged as of 2003. Sometimes you get what you pay for.