Letters to the editor
Link (JG)
Casino will help with development
"Voters expressed their anger about non-representation at the polls over the Harrison Square project. I am proposing that we have a referendum to decide whether we should get a casino. It makes no sense that we not have a casino if we want one. Plus, if a “Little Turtle Casino” is built, the hotels, shops, river walks, restaurants, bars, river taxis and other resort businesses are built, maybe people will wander over to Harrison Square and watch a baseball game. Well, maybe."
Don’t deface historic building
"Ramming a crosswalk into the west façade of the Indiana Hotel building is like slashing a beautiful painting. Decent people just don’t do it. The architect, an artist, designed the building as a whole. The windows and terra cotta decoration are meant to be a unit. The windows, which are symmetrical, offer a rhythm of design, almost like ribbons, which enhance the terra cotta on the corner. Viewed as a whole, the effect is very pleasing. Viewed from Jefferson Boulevard, it is an inspiring sight.
To introduce any obstacle that would interfere with this whole is to destroy the architect’s intent. Architects and painters die, but if we value their work, we will respect what they have done and not alter it. (That is what we are teaching our children, who will respond to what we have done.)
When I chaired the fund drive to buy the Embassy Theatre, I learned that many thousands of people loved the building for multiple reasons: the theater, the restaurant, the meeting place for soldiers and families during World War II. This building is part of Fort Wayne’s history, and as such, it must be respected. It is part of the soul of the city.
I would encourage all who are involved in the Harrison Square project to recognize the importance of protecting the integrity of the Indiana Hotel building, especially the west façade, and to resist the demands of a national franchise to destroy a valuable part of out historic heritage."
3 comments:
My question is, where was this person when St. Paul's Catholic Church was torn down? Hasn't this person learned that American's have no respect for what is old. We taire beautiful buildings down all the time because American's don't recognize the value in something that is old and beautiful, just because it is harder to develop.
I think the need for a walkway and it being a deal breaker, shows the lack of confidence this administration has in their own project. It should never have been offered in the first place. I would like to know why the city thought they needed this walkway in the first place.
Scott B. - I don't recall any public funding in regard to St. Paul's Catolic Church - so I don't see the direct connection in your comment. And am I hearing a different lean to your comment - I thought you were a big supporter of the HS project ? John B. Kalb
John,
Just because I support something doesn't mean that I cannot watch it with a critical eye.
You also misunderstood my comment. Funding does not matter. I was responding to the guy that said not to deface the Indiana Hotel. I agree with that. But I wonder why no one expressed outrage when St. Paul was torn down.
My comment about no confidence, is not related to the overall success of the project, but in luring of a hotel. The walkway was not in the original proposal. So why now? Did White Lodging request it or were they going to pull out and the city used it to sweeten the pot? I do not know, but I would like an answer to that. Again, I think the walkway was ridiculous and not needed.
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