1674-17 Gerry Sanchez a
THE MIAMI HERALD August 1, 1987
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Viewpoints •
•
Stand tall! (at Port of Miami) •
AAST-DECO entrepreneur — %� •
Gerry' Sanchez and I Robert 'vi
aren't related,but we may ••,,.•j.,• ,
rbeefloated
kindred souls. Were he Sanchez •
rrtlwted his idea to erect a .-^ ,
statue of Christopher Columbus • �C 1
1
' on Watson Island(or at one of • t 1
two alternative sites).he struck Editorial +� • �`lit.,
' �
a responsive chord.Great idea' Board 4 •/ .'
It's a grand Idea,too.Sanchez a d =¢# .^' -' '-> !1,� •
Wants the statue to stand 306.1 r •It 9,{( •:
feet tall. exactly a root taller ,'- '"•-_
than New York's Statue of 1989's centennial of the Eiffel �-�',,j' -,rIli
. liberty. What could be more Tower, -
• titling than using the Island Granted,the very notion of a • la,
. opposite the Port of Miami as huge monument in Miami
the berth for Miami's one- tempts the Imagination to ,•: •
upmanship? whimsy. What, for instance. _
Skeptics.of course,will call could Columbus appropriately '' •
the whole notion crazy.Maybe hold aloft to protect his height
re,
it is.Perhaps all S moues are advantage over Miss Liberty's _ •
spiritual descendants of Don torch and at the same time ate' t,h. .
Quixote. I submit, however, symbolize Miami? A gun? A . 'VV,R,'r •,1 .
that putting a heroic statue of hand-rolled cigar? A basket- r''
Columbus on Watson Island is' ball? °'' •
no crazier than most of the Or is the base basic to the
proposals that have come forth project's success? Erect a 30•
in the past decade for that story motel as a pedestal,and -
beleaguered isle. To me, a you can get by with a life-size a ,µt •
monument to Columbus makes Columbus. . r, _••• n177:'',': t"• t..
• Serious) Sanchez's proposal : -
a lot more sense there than a Y• D D ,,s, ,, • . ,%;.:;
theme Dark or a performing- is not so farfetched. Certainly sa....`; ',.
Colum-
arts center. Miami has a claim on Colum- t,,.'.,., ''"'-. •
bus. It's the largest city near T' ,.':•'T `�='"'•
Lack of landmark •
the Island where he is believed rr - „
to have made his first landfall +''-'
Moreover, Miami needs a In the New World.And Miami's t +•"•"•'��"" '-'
wort 's Almost all of they melding of o cultures is as ras
world's great cities and many sentative of the New World as Donald De Ll!¢'S statue of Columbus
not-so-great ones have some any city anywhere.
distinctive feature, whether inevitably leads to the topic of this would neatly symbolize -
• natural or man-made,that has 'Stereo'towers? money, which understandably Miami's niche In the world.
become their symbol. makes local movers and shah- much the same way the Juau•
New York, of course, has The timing is right,too.The ars nervous. Many are already position of Florida's old and
Miss Liberty —although New 500th anniversary of Colum- involved with the ambitious new capitols in Tallahassee -
Jersey wants to claim It to go bus's epic voyage would be a Dayside Park monument to the symbolizes the state's past and
with the Giants,the Jets,and fitting time to honor him. 1f Challenger crew, a 100-foot• future.
other loot. 1992 Is too soon for the job to high double helix designed by If symbolism Isn't enough.
St. Louis has the Gateway be finished.It's not too soon to the noted sculptor Isamu Nogu- however. Just think of the -
Arch,San Francisco the Golden break ground. chi. Some fear that another potential such monuments
• Gate Bridge. Los Angeles its Sanchez even has a favored project nearby would detract could have for luring some of
tacky"Hollywood"sign.Even design: the official statue by from that or from the fund•rais• the port's 2.5 million cruise-
Birmingham, Ala.. has a land. sculptor Donald De l.ue of Ing campaign for R. ship passengers to disembark •
mark —a 179-foot-tall mono- Leonardo, N.J., commissioned And yet I see nothing wrong and spend some money ashore.
ment to Vulcan.Roman god of by the National Columbus Day with bracketing Miami's port As for raising money, maybe
lire. Committee. The three•foot•tall with two monuments that give Lee Iacocca would help lead a
Abroad.London has Dig Ben, statue currently resides in, of different expression to the nationwide campaign to honor •
n•+m. j'0 r.o,nant, of empire all °laces Dultalo N.Y, Don't theme of exploration — one Columbus. Ile did It for Miss .
Columbusat or• fro.• .• .••.... . . ...... ..sproposed- • on Beach
By DEIIBfE SONTAG Sanchei,'a contractoY specialising It could become a national center,
.", ,,rr, t. •
..
Herald sealf writer • . in historic preservation, has invested Sanchez said,•.with annual Columbus
Ocean Drive developer Gerry San- S22 million in South Beach in.the past Day•parades culminating in a huge `;'S: �`":-!' i •
chez wants to build a statue to year. His.most recent Purchase,'the party in'1992: ;
•Christopher Columbus on the Miami Amsterdam Palace on Ocean Drive,is a z� '
Beach shore that would be bigger than--•56•year•old replica of Columbus'house ' '' "Miami Beach needs something to r:i'-r:: te' •
the Statue of Liberty. .. . ... .. . . in the Dominican Republic. •.• • ' bring the people in by the bus loads , 7,- J
Ile says he is absolutely serious —, •Acrossfrom the Palace,' which •and. make them say. 'Oh, my God, 4.1'-'4'•'' 2i y '
Columbus' image would rise higher Sanchez.expects to.turn into an inn Iookey.'," he said. �h'r r. -
' than Lady Liberty's 151 feet, and with Nina, Pinta and Sa •
nta Maria City_ .. administrators , seemed is (i.4
weigh in heavier Chari her 225 tons:"---win s,the Colurrlbusirionument'would s. 'Rte' -
g hugeg g perhaps stunned.Said City Manager Rob Par• .. .� J',l:
"It has to be big and because; be a walk-throw h,• statue; P . kins: "I don't want to discourage hfr, =3. Y ,
for whatever reason, monuments turn - housing.�some,,of,.the explorer's re-, Sanchez.because he puts his money +. ;i ,'=f` : `-
people"on.:I`fonurnents have magna mains.t• �`•. `' where his mouth is. Perhaps-we•could ';'"-'14. Yf `
tism," Sanchez said: "Hey, I went to•' ''''"Just an elbow,'Just' a fingernail'' guide his dreams onto a more sensible: ' ' 1
Egypt just to see the Sphinx." will do," Sanchez said,' path." . Sanchez
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