A proposal to set up an exhibit space for US glass artist Dale Chihuly to replace Seattle Center“s outdated Fun Forest reopens a ten-year-old debate about how the Center should reinvent itself and st…
A proposal to set up an exhibit space for US glass artist Dale Chihuly to replace Seattle Center“s outdated Fun Forest reopens a ten-year-old debate about how the Center should reinvent itself and still pay its way. According to the Wright family, which built and owns the Space Needle, a partnership with Chihuly and Seattle could attract more than 1,000 visitors a day if the city was willing to lease about an acre of land. If built, said a spokeswoman for Chihuly, the new “glass house“ would be filled with at least USD 50 million worth of Chihuly art. Chihuly no longer blows the glass that bears his name, designing works for others to make, and selects works made by others to put his name on, making him the world“s foremost impresario of glass art. Among Chihuly“s works: the Bridge of Glass in Tacoma and installations in Tacoma“s Union Station, the Seattle Art Museum and Benaroya Hall. The exhibit space, with a height of 43 feet, would include a restaurant with pieces from Chihuly“s collection on show. Early designs also included retail space to sell works, including Chihuly“s paintings and plates. The project“s design was presented to Seattle“s 10-member design commission for review in November, which approved the concept and made recommendations on how it could be improved. The Wright family, which has formed a separate company – Wright Art LLC – to fund the project, said it would need a 30-year lease to build the project, which would require the City Council“s approval. Ron Sevart, CEO at Space Needle, said he hopes construction could begin in September, when the lease on the Fun Forest expires. This would mean that the project could open in the spring of 2011, in time for the 50th anniversary of the 1962 Seattle World“s Fair at the Center. He added that Space Needle officials were negotiating the cost of the lease, but noted that revenue from the exhibit space would be much more than the city receives at present from the Fun Forest.