Weallneedhistory

I don't think 50m currently looks hidious, BUT I am giddy to have a look out of the past again. Especially after the all the modern development up on the Mile, I want to see some older restorations again.

Actually I'm thankful for the bump. We forget how much things have changed!

That last picture of the tower in prague freaked me right out!

yes, it was meant to be sarcasm...with the exception of that last sentence. I think this might be a good idea for areas where they have no farmland. But I can't stand all the sprawl moving into the country and then complaining about the smell of the cows, or needing to build every convenience right away. Just like I never understood the need to own an Hummer or an H2 when living in the city. Some of the designs did look pretty cool though.

<----- Is afraid of heights anyway

Aackk! I checked out the slideshow, and well, that is just waaaaayyyy too Sci-Fi/Matrixy for me. The plus side is that finally we can get rid of those yucky farms that are really smelly near my McMansion, and instead put in brand new Condos and maybe even a corner shopping center with a Whole Foods store. Although this might be a great idea for highly over-populated areas.

I do like what they've done with the place, by looking at the pics. I love the looks of that ceiling, and that atmosphere of a different era.

We need to find someone who can figure out how to power Grand Rapids through all the lightning strikes this spire might gather.

Yeah, I guess I'll just have to wait and see it in real life before I give my final judgements. Right now I'm kinda at a loss for words. I'm sure people will say "wow," I just don't know what kind of "wow" it will be.

Civitas, I am going to assume you are a part-time archivist, or otherwise you missed your calling. The historian in me is praying you have all of your info stored digitally too. Great stuff.

I do love seeing our blue bridge lit up at night, especially when flying down I-196. And it is a good idea to have "trendy" stores on the river, or something where people can head towards the river area and be entertained (like all the new proposals I suppose). In reflection, I had a good time a few weeks ago just sitting on the grass in front of the Ford, down near the river. There were 3 of us, and we were all shocked that, apart from the carriage rides, we were the only one's down there, just sitting there, at about 3:00 on a Sunday afternoon, just relaxing. Now Festival was going on, but we thought that more people would have been there b/c of that. It was rather surprising how many people won't leave their air-conditioning anymore to travel outside. Plus side - we saw quite a few families checking out the statues, so that was cool.

I concur that I don't think it's that bad. It could use some cleaning, and it is very frustrating to see some of the boardwalks always closed off (at least when I head down there), and yet GRDad hit it on the head early on when he mentioned how high this river rises at times. I live in Grandville right now, and have quite often seen, not only the natural banks, but good old Butterworth Road covered up as well. And how often have we been downtown in the spring, only to see our beloved Boardwalk underwater? It can be tough to place parks right near the river (Riverside Park) knowing they will be flooded each spring. I personally would like to see more living/condos on the river, and less industry or vacant lots (Front). It is a shame that once we hit near Market or Wealthy, any visibililty to the river comes via a Cessna, until we hit our wonderful wastewater treatment plant.