VPSN was out to lunch too!

Right smack in the middle of SF’s civic square is a grove of Pleached trees that look good but inhibit the space . . .

BTW Zocalo, en España Mexicano, refers to a statue podium stand . . . although Plaza de la Constitución en La Ciudad de Mexico, among others, has acquired the nick-name!

You want lively? Wow . . . visit La Zocalo Cinco de Mayo . . .

What you describes sound pretty much like what is “Place des Arts” in Montreal
Toronto city Hall
or “Parvis de la Defense” in Paris.

“busy” is not synonym of “lively”…

That said, I agree Vancouver misses a public plaza acting as a “Zocalo”: do it need to be massive is another question?

los angeles is a hell hole, and generalizing from that to the sf’s civic center, to lincoln center (!) is definitely unwarranted, in my opinion.

And –

“It is said by those who have the problem of raising money for large cultural enterprises , that rich people will contribute much more readily and heavily for large, decontaminated islands of monuments than for single cultural buildings set in a city’s matrix. This was one of the rationalizations which resulted in the plans for New York’s Lincoln Centre for the Performing Arts. Whether this is true about fundraising I do not know; it would not be surprising however, since the well-off who are also enlightened have been informed by experts for years that project building is the only worthwhile city building.”

Unlikely she would have characterized the neighbourhood that was bulldozed to make way for Lincoln Centre as a “gang-infested ghetto.”

I disagree with Frances’ assessment of Lincoln Center. I spent a great deal of time there over the years – overseeing load-ins of visiting orchestras and ballet companies, attending rehearsals, taking care of artists and conductors, and seeing some of the most memorable performances of my life – Horowitz’ last recital at the Met for one.

Lincoln Center is a remarkable success story. It helped transform the Upper West Side of NYC from the gang-infested ghetto that inspired Bernstein’s West Side Story into one of the most desirable, mixed-income neighbourhoods in the city. It attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year and is a focal point of the city’s arts life.

And all of that foot traffic has enlivened the business area and the hundreds of restaurants that surround Lincoln Center. On any reasonably warm day the plaza is packed with tourists and locals swarming the iconic newly upgraded fountain, looking at the Chagal paintings that grace the front of the Met or the Henry Moore out front of the Vivian Beaumont, or buying tickets to the opera, symphony, ballet, theatre, circus or recital that night. There are authors conducting research in the arts library, gifted proteges studying music and dance at Juilliard and great artists rehearsing and giving a dizzying number of performances every day and every night of the week.

It is a dynamic hub of artistic and creative energy.

I’m not arguing that Vancouver needs a cultural precinct, although our award-winning arts institutions are clearly hampered by the lack of adequate infrastructure as much as by the lack of sustainable funding. But we would be extremely lucky to have any center that energized our city as much as Lincoln Center has New York.

PS . . . and the Rattenbury masques Saint Arthur of Chunks’ chunk from Georgia view . . .

So award it the freedom of the city for valiant civic service . . .

Wrong blog . . .

http://www.theyorkshirelad.ca/10alligatorreports/13anthromuseo/anthro.museo.htm