Breakthrough reported on interstate bridge design
Last week, Portland's mayor complained bitterly about the lackluster designs that had been produced so far in the controversial Columbia River Crossing project:
"I've stated from the very beginning, I wouldn't be bought off with great lighting or mosaics and gargoyles," Adams said. "I need to see an overall bridge that is something to show the world."Word from inside City Hall today, however, indicates that the engineers and architects have come up with a plan that mayoral staffers say is likely to meet with Adams's approval. The revised sketch is here.
| Posted at 7:37 PM | Permalink |
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Comments (12)
No, no, no. This is all wrong! You need ONE of the towers in the center of the bridge and some - eh - artfully rounded shrubberies on either side.
The landscape architect must be gentle.
Posted by NW Portlander | April 21, 2009 8:25 PM
And I understand the next water tower to be built in Portland will also be designed to pick up on the same architectural theme.
Posted by john rettig | April 21, 2009 8:27 PM
Jack, I thought you would photo shop the old Sauvie Island Bridge that Sam thought was "something to show the world". Sustainability you know.
Posted by lw | April 21, 2009 8:42 PM
Hey, I like phallic art! ;-) And I'm not even Mayor McPervy...
Posted by Tehanu | April 21, 2009 9:18 PM
Ah, more linchpins.
Posted by Alan DeWitt | April 21, 2009 9:43 PM
Those towers - or gargoyles - very aptly symbolize what Mayor Adams is doing to Portland and its finances. The only change I'd suggest is make the figures look like Beau Breedlove.
Posted by The Crank | April 22, 2009 7:40 AM
Are those 18 year old or 17 year old phallics?
Posted by Ben | April 22, 2009 8:09 AM
Humor aside, one of the reasons for the massive cost overrun on the tram was Vera's insistence that it be "pretty". Hence they used five times as much steel as was required, just when steel prices were through the roof.
Posted by Dave Lister | April 22, 2009 9:20 AM
"I need to see an overall bridge that is something to show the world."
Good grief, he is so obsessed with how everyone else sees what he does...or Portland does. That man is completely off his rocker.
Maybe his new name should be Narcissus.
Posted by Jon | April 22, 2009 10:40 AM
OZYMANDIAS (a better moniker)
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read,
Which yet survive stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
.And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my works. Ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
-- Shelley
Posted by NW Portlander | April 22, 2009 11:43 AM
""I wouldn't be bought off with great lighting or mosaics and gargoyles...""
But unmarked bills will do in a pinch.
Posted by Dave | April 22, 2009 12:23 PM
Tehanu, have you attended this Japanese festival to which I've never been:
http://www.2camels.com/photos/hounen-penis-fertility-festival.php
Perhaps Mr Adams is planning a Pacific Rim celebration. Japan can use every help stimulating exports for its sagging economy.
Posted by Gardiner Menefree | April 22, 2009 3:53 PM