Washington Monument Scaffolding? (Pittsburgh: educational, transit, mayor)

[UKyank]

Originally Posted by SammyKhalifa

Maybe plop it down in place of that ugly-ass warehouse at the bottom of the duquesne inclince.

Didn't that get demolished?

[SammyKhalifa]

Originally Posted by UKyank

Didn't that get demolished?

Oh yeah. Haaha.

Anyhow, the new Washington Monument should go at that spot at the base of Mt Washington and right underneath the Washington statue.

[BarqCider]

when i think of this i think "hey guys, since we cant afford going to see the real monument...lets go to the north shore!"

maybe copanut will chime in with "what? what about soulless cranberry or up here in the north?"

[SammyKhalifa]

Originally Posted by BarqCider

when i think of this i think "hey guys, since we cant afford going to see the real monument...lets go to the north shore!"

maybe copanut will chime in with "what? what about soulless cranberry or up here in the north?"

Nah, lit up I think it would look pretty sweet.

[BarqCider]

as my friends down in va once joked: "whens bill clintons monument getting the protection off?" guess it might be headed to pittsburgh lol

[Mugatu]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Are there a lot of historical markers to read along the way, too? It seems like whenever I run on the North Shore Trail I always stop to read the signs, even though I've already read them a zillion times before. I really love history, and it would be great to have a different marker to read every few miles as a "landmark" to catch my breath, hydrate, etc. while learning!

There are quite a few, moreso on the C&O Canal Towpath than the GAP. But there are also desolate stretches where you see nothing but mile markers for a looooong time.

I ordered the offical guidebook and it was helpful for the trip. ATA Trail Store
Also, search the internet and you can find several blogs of people who did the trip which give some useful insight on what you might encounter. But I don't know of anyone that RAN the whole way. lol

[greg42]

Originally Posted by Hopes

It just want to point out that it's not going to look as cool lit up without the beige stone background of the monument.

Probably. There may be ways to make it work though, with clever lighting and perhaps some kind of fabric-like material (obviously would have to be tough and weatherproof). During the day it would still look interesting from the natural light even if it were completely open with nothing inside. Although it seems much of the look is actually also from fabric. The scaffolding metal itself appears to be ordinary after all. (See below.)

Originally Posted by SammyKhalifa

It might be cool. It might not, and it might not even be possible. Why rip the guy for asking?

Yep, have to agree. Although what's interesting is this is a reuse of the scaffolding from the earlier restoration. Or at least, a reuse of the design. If it's a reuse of the materials, the NPS may well be keeping it.

Originally Posted by UKyank

As to the monument idea, I wonder how much it was thought through as I'd imagine there's a lot more involved then just re-erecting here, mainly in that you're missing the main structure, that I'm sure was used for support, inside of the scaffolding.

Partly. It does not quite appear to be entirely freestanding from what I have read, although it is designed not to attach to the monument, so maybe it really is supposed to be. Here's an article that mentions it: Washington Monument wears its scaffolding well - Los Angeles Times It's a little bit contradictory. I guess the deal is it doesn't make any sort of significant attachment, but they do brace against the monument at some points with boards. So, the scaffolding could perhaps stand on its own if braced against itself, but would it be possible to erect it in that fashion? Hm.

It was designed by Michael Graves: MICHAEL GRAVES & ASSOCIATES : Portfolio : View Project

Look at the closeup though. The blocky design is made by a wrap of architectural fabric. The actual structure is fairly ordinary-looking scaffolding surprisingly enough (surprising to me because that thing is pretty tall, 555 feet).

So it's probably doable but might need something to brace against. It's also probably easily re-creatable on a smaller scale although it wouldn't have the cachet of being the real scaffolding.

I suspect this won't end up happening, but it's an interesting ploy nonetheless.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by jay5835

Looks better than the original. They should have left it up.

Lots of people feel that way. It sure did look cool. I'm gonna miss it, that's for sure. It would be great to see another city using it as a piece of art, although I wonder how well it would hold up over the years if it was turned into a permanent structure. It was just supposed to be a temporary scaffold, after all.

[MountainDewGuy]

If the trail ends at Point State Park, why not put this there? Here is what I would (possibly) try. Break it into three sections, and place them in the green space of Point State Park with each piece taller than the previous and leading into the city skyline.

The fact that Pediuo asked Obama about this during the meeting, and has already concluded that the location should be the Northside, is interesting.

[WPANative]

For what it's worth, while a few of you think that Peduto is the second coming of Jesus for coming up with this idea, it seems the majority of comments I'm reading on social media seem to feel the way I do.