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Plan for $950 Million Guggenheim Museum in Lower Manhattan Scrapped Because of Bleak Economy
Associated Press ^ | December 30, 2002 | Lukas I. Alpert

Posted on 12/30/2002 6:53:28 PM PST by new cruelty

NEW YORK (AP) - A plan to build another Guggenheim Museum in the city has been scrapped because of economic constraints, the foundation in charge of the museum announced Monday. In an e-mail, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation announced that it, the city and the state's Economic Development Corp. had pulled out of the $950 million project because the economy made it "not realistic at this time."

Unveiled in April 2000, the 40- to 45-story structure on three piers would have overlooked the East River in lower Manhattan.

The design, by Frank Gehry, would have included 575,000 square feet of museum space. Most of the funding would have been raised privately.

The building, which Gehry described as "cloudlike," would have resembled the wispy, twisting titanium and glass structure he designed for the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.

The original Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, a landmark white spiral structure designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, is one of the city's architectural gems. The Guggenheim also opened a small branch in New York's SoHo neighborhood in 1992. The museum has branches in Berlin and Venice, Italy.

The Guggenheim recently closed a branch in Las Vegas and has cut its staff and operating budget over the past year.

---

On the Net:

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum: http://www.guggenheim.org

(Excerpt) Read more at ap.tbo.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Extended News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: architecture; art; cruelandunusual; economy; franklloydwright; guggenheim; money; museum; newyork; nyc; why
Gehry must be devastated. :)
1 posted on 12/30/2002 6:53:28 PM PST by new cruelty
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To: new cruelty
No big loss. Al Qaeda would have flown airplanes into it anyway :)
2 posted on 12/30/2002 7:12:00 PM PST by dennisw
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To: new cruelty
This is the Guggenheim in Spain.
3 posted on 12/30/2002 7:29:41 PM PST by gg188
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To: gg188
"The building, which Gehry described as "cloudlike," would have resembled the wispy, twisting titanium and glass structure he designed for the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain."

Indeed, a miss opportunity to leave a pile of poo on another international city.

4 posted on 12/30/2002 7:35:33 PM PST by new cruelty
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To: new cruelty
Another massive investment for art? While taxes are already so damn high? forget it anyway.
5 posted on 12/30/2002 7:37:32 PM PST by montag813
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To: montag813
ah, but what then of the WTC site?
6 posted on 12/30/2002 7:38:38 PM PST by new cruelty
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To: montag813
Another massive investment for art? While taxes are already so damn high? forget it anyway...

Hear, Hear!!!

7 posted on 12/30/2002 7:54:33 PM PST by RCW2001
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To: gg188
That may very well be the ugliest building in humanity. Thanks heavens they won't be constructing a similar monstrosity in Manhattan...
8 posted on 12/30/2002 8:24:17 PM PST by fieldmarshaldj
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To: new cruelty
"Bilbao"

Translated from the original Basque, meaning town that contains expensive, fugly building.

9 posted on 12/30/2002 8:26:36 PM PST by fieldmarshaldj
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To: fieldmarshaldj
>>That may very well be the ugliest building in humanity..<<

Yeah, right.

Try the EMP in Seattle (http://www.emplive.com/) This is only for the strong of stomach. Like that? You'll love the new Disney Hall (http://www.disneyhall.org/)

Remember, if you throw up, it is because you looked!

10 posted on 12/30/2002 8:31:50 PM PST by freedumb2003
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To: freedumb2003
For all that I hate the style of the EMP, it does look pretty nice when you're on the monorail. Course when you're on the monorail you feel like you're in Disneyland so you let some things slide.
11 posted on 12/30/2002 9:32:40 PM PST by lelio
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To: new cruelty
I don't know about the building itself, but considering that the majority of the interior would probably be filled with sh*tty modern art, this is no great loss.
12 posted on 12/31/2002 3:55:00 AM PST by GATOR NAVY
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