Re: Real landmark for Dublin

Originally posted by kefu
I doubt visitors will ever come specificially to see the Spike but I think it will become one of Dublin’s defining landmarks

This is my point– there is nothing to do with the spike except look at it. An attraction one could admire on the artistic level but also use as a vantage point and site for various facilities would have tremendous economic potential for a city that badly needs tourist attractions, preferably on the wonder of the world level, apart from the aesthetic needs of the population.
True, the needle is elegant in a simplistic ‘pure’ way, and may look well at night when lit up, but it reminds me of the Skylon at the Festival of Britain in the fifties, re-erected recently– it has no function other than to give an impression of modernity. Very exciting visually in those early days of ‘space’. The spike could recall an ICBM– perhaps as a secular echo of a (painful-looking) spire it has a certain appropriateness. But I don’t think it will increase revenue or prestige to the extent that could have been achieved with more imagination.
Another suggestion– have a mag-lev train running in in a straight line from the airport to a city centre terminal that would also serve tourist airships for a slow luxurious scenic trip round the country. Or rebuild Brunel’s pneumatic railway.
alphasun