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Alas, Phoenix laser wasn't such a bright idea Once-ballyhooed attraction being torn down by Michael Clancy - Aug. 2, 2008 12:00 AM The Arizona Republic Work to dismantle downtown Phoenix's laser begins today, with hardly a soul to lament its demise. When the steel spider of a structure was built in 1986, it was billed as Phoenix's answer to the Eiffel Tower. It operated for less than a year before its lasers were turned off for good. Now, the laser and Patriots Square, where it was situated, are being torn down to make room for CityScape, a huge, mixed-use project stretching from First Avenue to Second Street between Washington and Jefferson streets. Dismantling the structure will take three weeks. "I am not shedding any tears over it," said Attorney General Terry Goddard, who was mayor at the time the laser was installed. "The concept was noble, but frankly, it never worked." The laser was the brainchild of architect Ted Alexander, and it captured the imagination of at least some people at the beginning, in the mid-'80s. Patriots Square was being rebuilt to include underground parking, and a contract for design of the park went to Alexander. In an early story in The Phoenix Gazette, Alexander said the laser would give the city "a town square that is unequaled anywhere in the country." The laser was just the centerpiece. The amphitheater underneath the laser structure promised night after night of entertainment, fountains were supposed to keep everyone cool, vendors would keep everyone fed, and twinkling lights would illuminate the trees. "The laser display is in perfect keeping with Phoenix's standing as a center of high technology and its aspirations to become even more so," The Arizona Republic said in an editorial. "It would have been only half a park without the lasers," County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox said at the time, when she was serving as vice mayor. "Now, it's really going to shine." It all was planned to open by fall 1987, with donations of lasers from Phoenix Newspapers Inc. and money from Valley National Bank, which subsequently became Chase Bank. But park costs escalated, and it took years to open, mainly because of leakage into the garage below. The laser did not illuminate the night sky until December 1990. The public was underwhelmed, and in short order, the mood changed. Less than four months after its gala unveiling, the laser was targeted in a city budget cut. Operation and repair costs were higher than expected. Sometime in the summer of 1991, the laser had its last show, dying not with a bang but a whimper. Alexander, in an interview in 2004, said the decision to shut down the lasers was "tragic." But he added that if that was what the city wanted, "That's fine with me." Wilcox said most people "thought the laser would be more dynamic." "We didn't really get what we wanted," she added. The park itself received a more proper sendoff in the form of loud protests against turning it over to the developers of the CityScape development. CityScape opponents, although agreeing the park was not all it could be, lost their argument that the city should redevelop the park, not give it away. Now, the block and two others to the east are under construction. Besides office and hotel towers, the developers promise the project will incorporate open space, more than Patriots Square offered. Wilcox said cities ought to try new things, even if they don't end up functioning as expected. "I think it's sad the laser never worked out right," she said. "At least the area will remain a central gathering place." Goddard is not convinced. "I'm not sure turning it over to a private developer was the right thing to do," he said. "As far as the open space goes, I will be sorry to see it go." |