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Thursday, April 30, 2009

News / Politics Coliseum Fight Gets International Coverage

Posted by Matt Davis on Thu, Apr 30, 2009 at 12:33 PM

Matthew Freedman writes an editorial from London in World Architecture News:

In 1965, along with 20,000 others, Allen Ginsberg saw the Beatles play Skidmore Owings and Merrill’s Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon, and then he wrote a poem about it: “the million children / … / become one animal / in the New World Auditorium”.

I didn't know Ginsberg wrote a poem about the place, did you?! Still, Freedman's piece balances the coliseum's historic character with a pragmatism about the likelihood of its destruction.
Of course, there is no inherent reason why a bunch of disparate cultural and historical factors should ensure the preservation of anything. The Beatles played here at the height of their fame; a towering American poet commemorated it in a poem; it’s a significant mid-twentieth century work in the canon of a respected architectural practice; it contains a major war memorial — this is the Veterans Memorial Coliseum, to use its full name. But none of these, even the last, should guarantee automatic survival.

Freedman also compares the likely demolition of the Coliseum to the planned demolition of Slough's early modernist town hall in England. Slough is the setting for the British version of The Office, to give you some idea. "Issues vary hugely from locality to locality, of course," he writes. "Let alone across the vast physical, cultural and sociological distances separating Slough and Portland."

News of the Coliseum fight has also reached the Historic Preservation Magazine, for those keen to catch up on their reading.

 

Comments (8) RSS

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1
Matt, you should investigate the motives and tactics of the Paulsons. The Oregonian just quotes Merritt Paulson and lets him write his own opinion pieces. I bet there is a lot of dirt underneath if you look.
Posted by Portland Lover on April 30, 2009 at 1:07 PM · Report
2
Matt's idea of investigation is to pull half baked links from Bojack.
Posted by Steady on April 30, 2009 at 1:18 PM · Report
3
I don't understand the desire to destroy our cultural heritage. I also don't understand the willingness to let someone else do so for their own monetary profit. It's awful.
Posted by Will Radik on April 30, 2009 at 2:50 PM · Report
4
"I don't understand the desire to destroy our cultural heritage. I also don't understand the willingness to let someone else do so for their own monetary profit. It's awful."

1. Nobody wants to book an event there.
2. Nobody wants to see an event there.
Posted by dozeit on April 30, 2009 at 2:59 PM · Report
5
Obama bookd an event There.

It was packed.

I like what Portland Lover has said, but this may be less nefarious and born more out of a cultural disconnect. Who knows?

Either way, I doubt one person or small group can get to the bottom of it alone.

I appreciate the Mercury's calls to get more organized.
Posted by Lt. Billiam Esquire III on April 30, 2009 at 4:04 PM · Report
6
There are events there, that's the easy part.

The hard part is coming up with an event that takes place there that couldn't take place anywhere else (like, the Rose Garden) if it was destroyed.

Bueller? Bueller?


Beauty is in the eye of beholder of course. I guess architect must have very strange eyes. Explains a lot.
Posted by Stu on April 30, 2009 at 4:25 PM · Report
7
Here's a comment on willamette week that
might just be at the root of the problem of Portland's future...


MENTAL HEALTH ALERT! MENTAL HEALTH ALERT!

The following just in from the letters page to the Mercury, from no other than the “mayor”:
“I aim to make Portland the wow-iest town in the entire world. To accomplish this, I plan to: repaint the Portland Building with chalkboard paint and invite the community to leave public comment. Build a commuter zipline across the Columbia River. Build a Major League Roller Derby stadium. Reinforce our sustainability rep by dyeing the Willamette River green. Select one person to serve as “the voice of the public” and invite him to task force meetings, etc. I nominate myself. Attract Cat Fanciers’ Association annual meetings, by building a pet hotel next door to the convention center. Put a neon “We heart Estacada” sign—with a blinking heart—on top of Big Pink.”

That’s right, penned by none other than Sam “where-is-my-lithium” Adams.
Posted by gonetorio on April 30, 2009 at 5:47 PM · Report
8
A commuter zipline and a big neon heart on top of Big Pink would be pretty cool. Too bad he's not doing that instead of all this other crap.
Posted by Will Radik on May 1, 2009 at 10:21 AM · Report

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