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The Fisher Museum at the Presidio is a no-go
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The Fisher Museum is a no-go for the Presidio. I wrote at the time:
Even if the Fisher Museum is built, will it be able to generate enough revenue to support the itself or will it be a money sink? Very few museums are profitable; they live off their endowments, grants and any other revenue producing properties that they may own. Furthermore, what impact will the construction of all these buildings have? How many building projects have been built on time and within the budget? What about cost overruns? Construction boondoggles? I do not trust the powers that be and perhaps that’s the bottom line. If the door is opened a crack, how much wider will it be forced open? Can we be really looking at a dozen more super-towers of luxury apartments lining up along the bay? We can’t see it now but it’s a real mistake to assume that everybody is honest, ethical and eco-friendly where there’s money to be made.
CM Nevis thinks is a classic case of “not in my backyard” but dismisses the very real issues involved. While the collection may be first class, the choice of site was inappropriate. This wasn’t simply a NIMBBY issue; it was a serious problem involving an inaccessible site without public transportation and a building that would have negatively impacted the park. The footprint would have been huge and while the Fisher’s claim that they would donate the money to build it, what about financing, staffing and future upkeep – and who will ultimately own the complex? Reading through the 521 comments at SF Gate was a depressing exercise. Obviously the park and environmental activists have not done a good job in educating the public because most of the comments were largely hostile and uninformed. This wasn’t a free gift but a 21st century version of a land grab with the addition of a 119-room hotel, meeting space, a restaurant and a bar; two new theaters and the creation of a heritage center. The editorial is severely one-sided since Nevius overlooks the fact that building the museum there would violate the terms of the Presidio Trust. Furthermore, the final decision was made by federal authorities, not San Francisco.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/04/BAKU18ICI7.DTL
The good thing about this is the possibility that the collection (or part of it) might go to enrich SFMOMA, a far more accessible space. If Mr. Fisher wants acknowledgement, maybe they can rename the museum the Don Fisher/San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and put his name in big letters over the entrance?
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/03/MNJI18IEQM.DTL
image from the SF Chronicle Website
E-mail Nancy Ewart at namastenancy@hotmail.com
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