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Great idea doomed from start
(by Barbara Christian - August 05, 2010)
WINDOW ON MAIN STREET, BY BARBARA CHRISTIAN
Great idea doomed from start
One of the best ideas ever investigated by the powers that be in our town went no place fast, and you have to wonder if it wasn't doomed from the start. I think it was premeditated murder.
Call me paranoid, but I have always been suspicious about why the project failed to launch. This elegantly simple idea was to create a small outdoor performance area in Riverside Park on the grass hill between the Chagrin Falls Library and the Chagrin River. It was to be a few rows of flat stone seats set into the hill with a flat spot below for a "stage."
And its uses were endless. The Chagrin Valley Little Theatre could stage its version of "Shakespeare in the Park." Performers would use it for impromptu presentations. It would be good for concerts too. Its utility extended to the visual arts. What a good place to hold art classes or any class, for that matter, and library story hours. Or even a small wedding.
You get the picture. The grass-hill theater would be an attraction no other town around here has and an appropriate addition to Chagrin Falls' newly minted image as an arts and entertainment district.
Best of all, there was an anonymous donor waiting in the wings to build it. So what happened? Did it fall victim to something so petty as having been guilty by association with the upstart Chagrin Foundation for Arts and Culture?
The prospect was studied, but the hand wringing over silly non-issues was astonishing. Someone suggested that a variance was needed to allow the project to be built close to the river. But variances are there to be granted, like those given early and often to the new condos on West Orange Street.
Another concern was that outdoor stage events might disturb East Orange Street residents. Those folks don't even complain about Blossom Time. Another said the area would be too hard to get to on foot and must be tied to a new library path. It should be pointed out that people have no problem getting to that same part of the park for Art by the Falls or any number of other events.
Concern about conflicts over use of the space was served up as another red herring. How about a first-come, first-served policy with the ability to reserve the space for special events? It's not rocket science.
By the end of 2008, the elegantly simple idea had been tortured into a quarter-million-dollar-plus amphitheater with landscape lighting, sound and lighting options and maybe even a band shell, backdrops and curtains. Was it over-stuffed on purpose to discourage the donor? By early 2009, the idea was DOA when said donor was invited to a meeting to ante up the cash. He never showed, and who could blame him?
In the meantime, two additions to the Riverside Park playground have sailed through the planning process, and guess what! No one complained about variances, disturbing the neighbors or accessibility.
Fact is, the new play area is enjoyed by a very limited, albeit very cute, segment of our population. Wouldn't it be nice if the playground-impassioned funders turned their philanthropy to the hillside theater -- a project which would serve an even larger and more inclusive demographic?
A different village committee needs to step up and resurrect the elegantly simple hillside theater, guide the process and apply for funds. The village's arts commission might be a good place to begin again.
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