New Haven Independent

Posted by: Museum Fan | May 8, 2009 9:44 AM

Allan, you need to do some fact checking, Bill Hosley is the Creative Director.

Posted by: norton street | May 8, 2009 10:03 AM

People don't flood to East and West Rock Parks because the majority of the people in the country live in suburbs. They have their own gigantic park of grass in front of in back of their house, some even have streams and forests in their backyards. Why would people travel to New Haven to do something they could do 5 steps from their houses? The other reason , and i agree with you, why people dont go to the parks is because of the lack of investment in them and the lack of anything to do other than hike up to the top then back down. But youre not going to get the numbers of visitors you want if you try to sell people something they already have in abundance. Parks like west rock were meant to be refuge from the city, but due to the housing booms in the suburbs of the last 50-60 years, once incredible parks like this have just become obsolete.

as for the worst piece of crap in new haven aka the knights of columbus museum, why would we want to draw hundreds of thousands of more people who need parking into the city? There is no retail around the knights of columbus, only unwalkable highways, avenues and generally terrible urban space, but thats what modern architecture did, obliterate the human scale and try to establish a universal one. perhaps down the road, in many years, increased foot traffic from the museum would create a need for retail in the area, but the increase in automobiles would cause state street to remain wide or get wider, which ensures that long term residents wont want to shop there. besides, the majority of people do their traveling in the summer, so for the other 3 seasons with no demand for retail in this area, they will only open seasonly, be dead zones, or become a hangout spot.

this is just another symptom of lost urbanism. but since its been 60 or so years, we forget that the only meaningful changes have to be fundamental, long lasting and gigantic. in order to fix the devastation of the 1950's, there must be an opposite and equal (probably greater to make up for the 60 years of wasted time) reaction to it. although $10 million is a ton of money, the amount of change created from it will make it seem like only $10,000.

Posted by: norton street | May 8, 2009 10:41 AM

honestly though, if you have a gigantic plot of land (not used for farming) in the suburbs, do you really think youre paying for it all by yourself? is your family an entire Apache tribe? why do you need that much land?
our government has been subsidizing this lifestyle for 60 years, we're running out of money, so be a patriot and move back to urban centers instead of continuing to consume resources, materials and energy at astronomical rates, the suburban family is destroying american, we can blame illegals, terrorists, gays, abortion all we want but the one fundamental change that will fix almost everything is just beyond your front door.
besides, once we reinhabit cities, meaningful places will emerge and kids will have something to care about other than their new camera phone, and theyll have things to do other than having kids. we are the country of making money above all else, why do you think illegals come here? we've replaced purposeful lifestyles defined by interactions between places and people with consumerism. that feeling our ancestors got from being in good urban places will not be replaced by the feeling we get from buying the latest gadget at best buy, no matter how hard we try. so i ask of you suburbanites, please stop destroying this country, and visit west and east rock parks in your attempts to better yourself.

Posted by: Streever | May 8, 2009 12:29 PM

"suburbanites, please stop destroying this country, and drive your gas-guzzling vehicles to west & east rock parks" sorry!!! Being silly. I can't help myself :). No offense meant, Norton Street, just imagining what would happen if East Rock became full of tourists. Ugh. I kind of like it being a city green space.

I like Bill Hosley & his work--I think there is a lot we can do--but I am a little anxious about turning East Rock into a museum. It's a wonderful park right now!

Posted by: abg | May 8, 2009 4:28 PM

if you build it they will come

Posted by: Bill Hosley | May 11, 2009 11:23 AM

Comments on Comments: Thanks to Norton Street for deep thoughts on matters that pertain. While I have a much more favorable impression of the K of C Museum than he does (and think religious art and history is a distinctive and marketable hook for this City), I don't disagree that East Rock Park may not draw to the degree I imagine. This notion came up as an impromptu response during Q & A. The point wasn't to launch a major intiative at East & West Rock but to point out that we have a lot of undeveloped potential and that its a lot more affordable and sensible to refine what we have than to start from scratch with a mega project. A few more visitor amenities (being able to get up inside the Soldiers Monument, for example) would not spoil the East Rock experience. I pointed to the Skinner State Park in South Hadley (Mount Holyoke) as a comparable experience that does well with no more content and only a few more amenities. The potential for a real learning experience (that appeals to schools too) there is great.

We'd all like to see more people and more tax-payers choosing to live in our cities and enjoy and support what no suburb ever has or ever will match. I see tourism and liveability as reciprocal. People are more inclined to embrace places they like to visit. I'd like to give them more reasons to visit more often and especially to generate a buzz that there is way more to see and do here than most people realize.

Welcome comments pro and con and hope this topic gets the attention it deserves.