PL may have expressed it inartfully, but I see hir point.

The city and most of its civic leadership were all for a ballpark in Center City. Unfortunately, the prime site had a powerful opponent in its backyard, and said opponent (acting on behalf of his neighbors) could effectively withhold approval to toss a state-owned parcel of land needed for the park into the package. End of deal.

Even though I still disagree with the laws in question, the provisions in the casino legislation that effectively stripped the City of Philadelphia of any planning or review powers over the two casinos to be located there were inserted because the legislators feared that the locals would tie the projects up in objections. Perhaps they shouldn't have bothered with inserting those provisions, for that's exactly what's happened in spite (or perhaps because) of them -- and it now has that same person who helped sink the Center City ballpark and who played a big role in drafting that casino bill backing and filling -- again, on behalf of his constituents, in whose district both casinos are slated to go.

It does seem as if our (unacknowledged) consensus-driven municipal culture doesn't mesh well with the mechanisms of majoritarian democracy or the Get It Done! impulse.

While I agree with their position, I have little sympathy for the neighbors of the Barnes. They got what they asked for.

Edited to add: Now what all this has to do with where the money shops around here is a mystery to me.

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Sandy Smith, Exile on Market Street, Philadelphia
“Basically I figure guns are like gays: They seem a lot more sinister and threatening until you get to know a few; and once you have one in the house, you can get downright defensive about them.” --Theresa Neilson Hayden

Are you still flustered by that substantial drubbing concerning the slumburb thread?

LMAO!!!


I, for one, an very happy with this development. It is now only a matter of time before the Barnes treasure becomes a part of the Ben Homeless...er, Franklin Parkway. (There PL, its my nod to you.)

Though I will say I'm slightly worried about the blip at the end of today's Inquirer article about the Friends of the Barnes trying to get Historical status on the Latches Lane residence. What's the liklihood they'll be successful in getting that status?

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“Man who run in front of car get tired.”

I have never seen a thread go off topic so quickly.

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"The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him." —George Bush, Washington, D.C., Sept. 13, 2001

n/a

Minor nit: It's not a residence! It's a purpose-built gallery designed by the leading American Beaux-Arts architect of the day, Paul Phillippe Cret.

The fact is that the gallery building and grounds were intended as an integrated whole designed to transmit Barnes' unique philosophy of art. This seems to keep getting lost in the whole argument over where the Barnes belongs.

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Sandy Smith, Exile on Market Street, Philadelphia
“Basically I figure guns are like gays: They seem a lot more sinister and threatening until you get to know a few; and once you have one in the house, you can get downright defensive about them.” --Theresa Neilson Hayden

Phillyblog rule #1

ALL THREAD'S LEAD TO MARKET EAST/RETAIL.

Since Cochise has departed us, PuntLemon has usurped his throne as King of the Douchbags. That's quite a record, considering posters like From Philly and The Adlerian have come & gone.

PuntLemon...do you even live in the city? Why do you even care about our Byzantine state if all you ever do is pass through and have your eyes burned out (apparently) by the proliferate number of gold-plated jewelry shops?

And I say these things only because of your nasty comment to MSE.

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“Man who run in front of car get tired.”

Looks like someone's having a Bad Hair Day on this thread.

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Sandy Smith, Exile on Market Street, Philadelphia
“Basically I figure guns are like gays: They seem a lot more sinister and threatening until you get to know a few; and once you have one in the house, you can get downright defensive about them.” --Theresa Neilson Hayden

Check and mate.

Do you think they'll be successful in getting the status? If so, what're the chances it will all but cement the Barnes' staying exiled in Merion?

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“Man who run in front of car get tired.”

No, and slim to none.

As we discovered with the city's own historic preservation ordinances in the Dream Garden case, a structure and its contents are separate things. Unless the Friends of the Barnes basically argued that the objects within the gallery and their placement are themselves historic, obtaining historic status for the building and grounds would not prevent the Barnes from moving the collection out of it.

In effect, the Friends would be arguing for the reimposition of Dr. Barnes' will via the historic preservation process, and I don't think Judge Ott would buy that, having already given the Barnes the blessing to break that will.

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Sandy Smith, Exile on Market Street, Philadelphia
“Basically I figure guns are like gays: They seem a lot more sinister and threatening until you get to know a few; and once you have one in the house, you can get downright defensive about them.” --Theresa Neilson Hayden