[Photo via savewtcnola.com]
The fate of New Orleans' World Trade Center, er No.2 Canal Street, is still about a month away, and everyone has an opinion. In case the decision of what to do with the building itself isn't enough, the higher-ups at the WTC of New Orleans don't want anyone using their name, claiming it infringes on their "exclusively licensed and legally protected naming rights" so the official No. 2 Canal Street it is, folks.
The "Save The WTC Building" campaign is going strong (yard signs and everything!) and Roberta Brandes Gratz, a contributor to The Lens, has strong feelings about one of the most valuable pieces of property in the city. In reference to the proposal backed by local tourism officials,she says,
· New Orleans isn't the kind of city that needs an "iconic sculpture" at the river.
· Other cities that have tried to re-do their images have failed miserably.
· Demolishing a building the size and quality of the WTC just doesn't make sense to her and she hopes Mayor Mitch Landrieu will think twice.
· "A final point," Brandes Gratz says,"The Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Superdome and the Tourism and Marketing Corporation have no business being developers."
· New Orleans' World Trade Center: Demolish or Renovate? Developers offering differing ideas [nola.com]
· Monumental Mistake: Demolishing World Trade Center to build a tourist attraction [The Lens]