Victory Drive improvements
By: Eric Hofer 12/01/2010
I read the November Camden News article about the major renovation of the Victory Memorial Parkway a day after having visited it in person on a walk during a nice autumn day. The improvements to the flagpole and other parts of the drive are progressing quickly and most of us community members are glad to see the re-building of the major community amenity in Northwest Minneapolis.
That being said, I feel that much of the improvements to the flagpole, plaza and area around the Lincoln statue seem minimal, at best. The flagpole and plaza have stood since the monuments were first constructed in the 1920s. The destruction of the existing flagpole and plaza earlier this year was troubling. Their replacement with a flagpole and plaza of essentially similar design and identical function seems misguided and wasteful. It also seems to reflect the idea that something newer must be better than something older - even though that monument has stood there since Theodore Wirth had the vision to bring about the original over nine decades ago.
Isn't there something unseemly about demolishing a historic monument and replacing it with a newer version of itself? Especially one with no structural problems or any functional reason to justify the multi-million dollar expenditure?
Other parts of the Victory project seem more justifiable and useful, particularly those adding new pedestrian and street lighting to the parkway. But the destruction and replacement of the flagpole and plaza seem more likely to dishonor those servicemen and women honored by the historic original monument. To me, the new flagpole represents a monument to wastefulness and a disregard for the history of the original Victory Memorial Parkway.
Eric Hofer,
Webber-Camden