Replacing The Pier

This picture was taken during the Thanksgiving weekend and is the Pier, an inverted pyramid that is the mecca for tourist activities here in St. Pete.  It was constructed in the 60's and has been a focal point for the downtown area.  It has been decided by the city fathers that it must be razed and replaced.  Old age has taken its toll on the footings and the cost of renovation makes it easier to tear down than maintain.  The city held auditions for architects worldwide a few months ago and their task was to come up with a replacement.  Three finalists were selected and their designs follow.  50 million dollars was allocated.  

The first design, and incidentally my favorite, is called the Wave.  I like its totally unique look. Inside the wave would be a restaurant, a wave room, a bubble room and various other features.  Its iconic, aint nothing else like it.

Next up is this jellyfish looking pavilion.  Boring. Called the Eye. 

Gee, you have to stick a high-flying pelican in the corner to add interest in this artist rendition.  First, boring is boring regardless of artistic license.  Secondly pelicans skim the sea, sometimes dipping their wing tips in the water, and rarely do they fly higher than 50 feet.  Good Lord, that bird is like 5000 feet high.

Third is this interesting double-helix like walkway out to a display celebrating the city's marine heritage.  This is called the Lens. This would be my second choice, and I like it a lot, but it lacks the instantaneous recognition factor. 

The next step is a forum to gather public response, then the city will award the work to one of the firms.  The mayor just announced that the pier will close around October and work will begin.  The committee is deciding within a couple of weeks which design will be utilized.  I say go big, go different, and go iconic. like the Arch in St. Louis.  However, and this is a big however, 50 million won't get it done, by a long shot.  The respective design companies are backtracking and trying to shave expenses such as making walkway to building shorter, then you lose some of the majesty.  One company is now saying in order to save money on the project that dumping old building along the bay instead of the gulf would be best.  It will be interesting to see what St. Pete comes up with, but for my money, it's best to spend more than you have in order to get a viable, world-wide-recognizeable landmark that will bring in future tourists and their dollars.  

And guess what?  You won't have to wait long to find out which design wins.  Tomorrow, I'll let you know.