Posted 10:49 AM by Gene

Yesterday, passing the Broad Street Quonset Hut, I noticed the windows of what used to be its gift shop were plastered over with advertising for future events. As with pictures of server farms in old department stores that is a sure sign of very-long-term vacancy. Yesterday's Sunday editions of the StinkyInky assured us a RENDELI's going in there -- by December. This was part of a message that yes, the Quonset is alive and at least fitfully well. But they've paid off their debts! says our cri-TIC. (Suing the STARCHITECT didn't hurt.) Though he wouldn't say it we'd guess the Quonset runs up big operational deficits -- how could it not with the Orchestra in trouble? And its grand courtyard remains as inviting as a well-lit back alley, and they're spending millions fixing the rooftop pavilion because it's too hot or too cold, and they're STILL tweaking the acoustics in the Verizon box, and...and EDDIES still believe this is "AN ECONOMIC ENGINE". The people who'd say that don't give a damn that our city has no factory jobs anymore; for them it's just a way of getting free tickets. This takes Marie Antoinette's cake: "A Kimmel-commissioned study has determined that the center has become a major contributor to the city's economy, Ewers said, though she declined to provide the study or even an executive summary." (Emphasis added.) How many people willingly squirm through a three-hour symphonic concert? To paraphrase Jerry Herman the patrons are between sixty and death. This ECONOMIC ENGINE is JACK BENNY'S MAXWELL'S. Face it, the Quonset is a WHITE ELEPHANT, and we're stuck with paying its bills until the last concertgoer has died off, which may not be that long from now.