Re-envision Seattle Center

Once upon a time, Seattle had a central civic space that anchored the city and imbued it with a distinct, forward-looking identity. I am referring, of course, to Seattle Center, which came into existence as the site of the 1962 World's Fair. But time marches on. What once was new and exciting has ossified, and, to a noticeable extent, stagnated.

The center still bills itself as "the nation's best gathering place" and "the cultural and community heart of the city." If only that were true. At best, the center has become a set of valuable, albeit self-enclosed, spaces devoted to local sports, arts and culture, lacking in overall coherence and devoid of the urban vitality that does justice to all the changes Seattle has experienced in recent decades. At worst, the center sometimes feels like little more than a supersized, underutilized, government-owned tourist trap, and is a sustained financial drain to boot.

We can do better, if we are willing to unleash the power of our imagination. Currently, we are engaged in a narrow debate about whether to renovate KeyArena to keep the Sonics in Seattle. But whether the team stays or goes, we should embark on a holistic rethinking of how to revitalize the center in its entirety. The city of Seattle has already initiated this process; a panel convened by the mayor is expected to deliver a report in upcoming weeks. Its recommendations should provide a useful starting point for public debate.

Moreover, we have a potential revenue source to pay for improvements without raising taxes: Simply extending the restaurant and hotel taxes currently used to pay off Safeco bonds — a bill to do just that was recently introduced in Olympia — would create a civic-amenities fund that could help pay for the Seattle Center of our dreams.

Remember, the Seattle of today bears little resemblance to our city of more than 40 years ago. In 1962, Seattle was a sleepy, provincial town tucked away on the far edge of the known universe (or so it seemed). In the intervening years, that town has been transformed, one latte and operating system at a time, into a powerful cultural-intellectual engine with an influence that spans our increasingly interconnected world.

Unfortunately, Seattle Center has not kept pace. A space that once embodied the future has, perhaps inevitably, become a monument to the past. That isn't necessarily a bad thing: the Space Needle remains an icon, an instantly recognizable reference point and defining urban symbol on a par with St. Louis' Gateway Arch or the Washington Monument. The International Fountain and its surrounding plaza remain an important gathering place for the people of the city. They must remain.

Other areas of the center, however, are clearly long past their prime. Too much of Seattle Center remains like a relic from the '60s: a beloved but worn-out eight-track tape playing a dated, low-fi tune in an iPod world.

The aging Fun Forest is no longer fun (ask any teenager) and the Center House is ill-suited to host the kinds of shows that attract visitors. It started as an armory, and despite improvements added over the years, it still looks like one. The concrete and sterile Memorial Stadium is almost 60 years old, and only rarely hosts the school sporting events it was designed to showcase. I watched two of my sons play football there over the years, and it always felt as though they were being penalized by having to play in such a cold, outmoded venue.

Imagine an alternative center. Imagine if the 74-acre campus were actually designed to accommodate major social gatherings like Bumbershoot and Folklife. What if we created a large outdoor amphitheater on the site? And imagine a campus that included broad pedestrian thoroughfares lined with cafés, museums, work-force housing, artist lofts, theaters and more, replacing today's plethora of unwelcoming parking lots and underutilized structures. Such a space would herald the rejuvenation of our civic life in a manner that reflects our increasingly rich cultural and artistic heritage.

A reimagined and transformed Seattle Center would energize the city in a manner not unlike New York's Lincoln Center, London's Trafalgar Square or the Ramblas of Barcelona; spaces known around the world as magnets for talent and as symbols of international stature.

Why not bring the best minds in planning, architecture, the environment, culture and the arts together with civic leaders and commercial interests? Let's engage in a public/private partnership to talk about what we as a community want a 21st-century Seattle Center to become, and to explore the ways to get there. We can create an alliance between city and county that will foster stronger regional bonds of cooperation.

Let's talk about a dynamic new relationship between government, business and the arts; one that deeply reflects our values and creates the kind of environment that individuals and families from all walks will flock to with anticipation, and with their dollars.

I know that this is an ambitious vision, but I also know that if we put our collective minds to the task, we can realize it. I often hear Seattle Center referred to as our civic "living room." Let us give that idea substance. Let us move boldly and fearlessly into the 21st century. It is time to let go of the past as we dare to imagine a better vision of the future.