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Pasadena Weekly, CA
May 9 2013
Location, location, location
There are better places than Old Pasadena to build the Armenian
Genocide Memorial
By Victor Cass 05/08/2013
A s an alumnus of Art Center College of Design, I am thrilled that
one of our own, 26-year-old Catherine Menard, produced the winning
design for the proposed Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial, scheduled
to be completed in Old Pasadena's Memorial Park in 2015, the
centennial of the beginning of the murders of more than 1.5 million
Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks.
As a native of East Washington Village, Pasadena's traditionally
Armenian neighborhood, I'm also glad to see that this memorial, a
timely and fitting remembrance of the 20th century's first genocide,
is finally going to happen.
However, I'm somewhat concerned that the same creativity and
originality that went into the design apparently did not go into the
selection of the location for the memorial's placement. It's not a
stretch to imagine that someone went from Point A to Point B with the
thought: `It's a memorial. We have a park called Memorial Park. Let's
put it there.'
Good idea, except for one thing: Memorial Park is a remembrance space
for US military service personnel, currently those who were killed in
the Vietnam War and those who fought for the Union in the Civil War.
It's not a drop-off center for memorials from any number of groups
from around the world that suffered some historical tragedy. If it
were, or if it were allowed to become one, we would soon have a long
line of `memorialists' clamoring for stone and steel remembrances to
be erected there - from victims of the African slave trade and the
Holocaust to the internment of Japanese Americans in World War II and
the Rwandan massacre.
It's not that those horrific events would be undeserving of their own
memorials. Many already have them, only - and most importantly - they
have been placed in appropriately well-thought out locations. I, for
one, as much as I support the proposed Pasadena Armenian Genocide
Memorial, would like to see Memorial Park remain the sole domain of US
military remembrances.
This brings up my second argument. Memorial Park is small and on the
verge of becoming cluttered, what with the Levitt Pavilion hosting
concerts at the park's amphitheater throughout the summer, a
children's play area, the Pasadena Senior Center, both war memorials
and the old city library ruins. Why would anyone want to place the
large and majestic Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial there anyway?
Would it even fit? Old Pasadena, and for that matter the rest of the
city's west side, is already top-heavy with almost all of Pasadena's
artistic, historical and cultural edifices and institutions.
Are Pasadenans to be convinced that those who came up with the
proposed home of the Armenian Genocide Memorial could not envision a
better location for such a monument in East Washington Village or
somewhere in East Pasadena?
I'm no urban planner, but even I could conceive of a stand-alone park
space built at the intersection of Sierra Madre and Washington
boulevards, or at Eaton Blanche Park, or any other suitable location
in East Pasadena which could be turned into the home of Pasadena's
memorial, maybe one that included a roundabout, a parking area and a
small visitor's center, along with lights to illuminate it at night; a
place where it would be separate, dignified and contemplative, and not
just dropped into a `used' space in Old Pasadena like an afterthought.
Think Washington, DC, or Grand Army Plaza in New York. Come on, be
creative people! Let's spread some of the cultural and historical
wealth out east. Pasadenans and, more importantly, the victims of the
Armenian Genocide, deserve as much.
Victor Cass is a Pasadena police officer, artist, writer and an
occasional contributor to the Pasadena Weekly. He received his
bachelor's degree at Art Center and his master's degree from American
Military University. Follow him on Twitter @Victor_Cass.
http://www.pasadenaweekly.com/cms/story/detail/location_location_location/12109/
May 9 2013
Location, location, location
There are better places than Old Pasadena to build the Armenian
Genocide Memorial
By Victor Cass 05/08/2013
A s an alumnus of Art Center College of Design, I am thrilled that
one of our own, 26-year-old Catherine Menard, produced the winning
design for the proposed Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial, scheduled
to be completed in Old Pasadena's Memorial Park in 2015, the
centennial of the beginning of the murders of more than 1.5 million
Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks.
As a native of East Washington Village, Pasadena's traditionally
Armenian neighborhood, I'm also glad to see that this memorial, a
timely and fitting remembrance of the 20th century's first genocide,
is finally going to happen.
However, I'm somewhat concerned that the same creativity and
originality that went into the design apparently did not go into the
selection of the location for the memorial's placement. It's not a
stretch to imagine that someone went from Point A to Point B with the
thought: `It's a memorial. We have a park called Memorial Park. Let's
put it there.'
Good idea, except for one thing: Memorial Park is a remembrance space
for US military service personnel, currently those who were killed in
the Vietnam War and those who fought for the Union in the Civil War.
It's not a drop-off center for memorials from any number of groups
from around the world that suffered some historical tragedy. If it
were, or if it were allowed to become one, we would soon have a long
line of `memorialists' clamoring for stone and steel remembrances to
be erected there - from victims of the African slave trade and the
Holocaust to the internment of Japanese Americans in World War II and
the Rwandan massacre.
It's not that those horrific events would be undeserving of their own
memorials. Many already have them, only - and most importantly - they
have been placed in appropriately well-thought out locations. I, for
one, as much as I support the proposed Pasadena Armenian Genocide
Memorial, would like to see Memorial Park remain the sole domain of US
military remembrances.
This brings up my second argument. Memorial Park is small and on the
verge of becoming cluttered, what with the Levitt Pavilion hosting
concerts at the park's amphitheater throughout the summer, a
children's play area, the Pasadena Senior Center, both war memorials
and the old city library ruins. Why would anyone want to place the
large and majestic Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial there anyway?
Would it even fit? Old Pasadena, and for that matter the rest of the
city's west side, is already top-heavy with almost all of Pasadena's
artistic, historical and cultural edifices and institutions.
Are Pasadenans to be convinced that those who came up with the
proposed home of the Armenian Genocide Memorial could not envision a
better location for such a monument in East Washington Village or
somewhere in East Pasadena?
I'm no urban planner, but even I could conceive of a stand-alone park
space built at the intersection of Sierra Madre and Washington
boulevards, or at Eaton Blanche Park, or any other suitable location
in East Pasadena which could be turned into the home of Pasadena's
memorial, maybe one that included a roundabout, a parking area and a
small visitor's center, along with lights to illuminate it at night; a
place where it would be separate, dignified and contemplative, and not
just dropped into a `used' space in Old Pasadena like an afterthought.
Think Washington, DC, or Grand Army Plaza in New York. Come on, be
creative people! Let's spread some of the cultural and historical
wealth out east. Pasadenans and, more importantly, the victims of the
Armenian Genocide, deserve as much.
Victor Cass is a Pasadena police officer, artist, writer and an
occasional contributor to the Pasadena Weekly. He received his
bachelor's degree at Art Center and his master's degree from American
Military University. Follow him on Twitter @Victor_Cass.
http://www.pasadenaweekly.com/cms/story/detail/location_location_location/12109/