State rejects design for courthouse pedestrian bridge

[Fallen Buckeye]

I'm not crazy about the wall in the rendering. Is this courthouse going to have all the barriers around it like around the federal courthouse in Miami?

[Ralph W]

Probably like the White House. All that lawn enclosed by a fence. You can look but not touch. Look up on the parapets for the guys with the sniper rifles protecting Angela's people as they cross the street.

[tufsu1]

Well whether or not the bridge was a good idea, the argument to block it is absurd.  Do they really think that people will "presume" that a very very neo-classic skybridge was always part of the 1932 federal building?  The colors won't even match because the federal building is old stone and the new construction is pearl white.  Whatever...I wish they would just be honest and say they thought the idea of a pedestrian bridge was stupid, then I might agree (I kinda' liked the look, though).

actually, this is quite common for the SHPO....and I'd be willing to bet the decision ws made purely on the design of the bridge

[ChriswUfGator]

Well it's nice SOMEONE managed to save us some money on this dumbass courthouse, even if apparently completely by accident.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

actually, this is quite common for the SHPO....and I'd be willing to bet the decision ws made purely on the design of the bridge

actually it sounds like a quote from the National Parks Service in their preservation rants:  
Them:  We need to replace 3000lf of running trim, but it can only be sourced from >80yro harvested stock.
Us:  I can't find any source for that kind of material.
Them:  We have to have it to maintaini historical accuracy
Us:  The species & profile will be an exact match.
Them:  Today's wood doesn't have the same amount of growth rings
Us:  ??>??>?? WTF are you talking about - you're going to paint it without duplicating the lead content in the paint.

Nutshell - preservationists have their hearts in the right place, it's just ashame that they seem to be sitting on their brain most of the time.

[thelakelander]

When you're attaching or adding on to a historic building, you're not supposed to mimic it.  You should be able to tell the difference between the old and new.







They should be fine by just changing the exterior to something that complements (ex. in terms of scale of openings, floor height, etc.) instead of copying hook, line and sinker with cheaper materials.

[Ocklawaha]

“They said the bridge should look like neither building,” said Schneider. He explained the state was concerned that people not familiar with the project might conclude that the bridge had always been part of the federal building, which could lead to confusion.

And if people are confused???

SHould have built a tunnel.

Can't do that danno, they'd bust into the old tunnels underneath the streets and the media would discover the bootlegging and piracy that earned the well placed families their "old" money around here.

Same reason why the tunnels are just now coming to light (channel 4 is working on a news piece) since MJ broke into one a couple of years ago and plastered the photos all over the web. OH THE HUMANITY!

OCKLAWAHA

[dougskiles]

With things this far along, the fact that not insignificant issues like Monroe Street and the Bridge are still on the table just further demonstrates the degree of poor planning and design that went into this building.  As I have said before, it will be a 50+ year monument to the folly of picking this design over a vertical high rise like the Fed's built for a fraction of the price. 

You have to be pretty bad for the Federal government to be more efficient on a project than you are - but here we are!   

WE AGREE!  I would love to see the people responsible for this mess sit before a public forum and try to explain themselves.  Other than the judges who will sit inside it, is there ANYONE out there who likes this thing?  How did we end up with it?  Serious question - not rhetorical.  Does anyone have a brief synopsis of how we got to this point and the names of the key players?

[simms3]

^^^Do the judges even like the design?  Was it Judge Moran's concept?  I know he in particular seemed to be the person everyone wanted approval from regarding the project.

[urbaknight]

I think they killed because it had the word "pedestrian" in the name of the project.