Bless architecture critic Edwin Slipek Jr. for focusing attention on that ungodly nuclear furnace that glares mercilessly each night from atop the new MeadWestvaco building downtown (“The Three Faces of Mead,” Arts and Culture, Jan. 20).
As a downtown resident, I applaud and support any business or company which chooses to locate in central Richmond; but once here, one is obliged to consider and cooperate with fellow city dwellers, and generally try to be a good neighbor.
At dusk, the soft, subtle and changing hues of our beautiful city skyline are now impertinently blasted away each evening by this blazing monstrosity. The light doesn’t fit! The color is wrong. The intensity is wrong. It doesn’t blend in. The entire nighttime skyline vista has been disrupted.
Welcome to the city, MeadWestvaco, but please be considerate of your neighbors and our urban environment, conserve some energy and turn the light off — or at least turn it down. … way, way down.
Saturday, February 06, 2010 10:14:07 PM by Sam Carstairs
Typical American corporation. Look at me! Look at me! I can do anything I want now I can even run political ads to get my friends elected! You are nothing compared to me!
God knows what this particular monster in the sky actually does. But one thing's certain. You are powerless against it.
Thursday, February 04, 2010 5:05:21 PM by Anonymous
"It doesn't blend in". That pretty much describes Richmond's fascination with tradition, sameness and status quo. We need some boldness - brightness-newness. We need to do more than "disrupt" the skyline, figuratively speaking.
If we constantly reject the new because it looks...well, NEW - THEN we have a big problem. Thank you MWV for putting a bold new symbol in our City.
Thursday, February 04, 2010 10:54:07 AM by Muel
I like the idea, execution could have been better. Agreed it can be a little overwhelming but I do like it more as time passes. Lights and downtown are synonymous, if it’s an eye sore lets deal with the Batman style spot light that adorns our city skyline to attract attention to a strip club. Then deal with the fortune 500 companies attempt to add something new to the city skyline. I feel like the colors have changed at times so there may be other options from the stark white I’ve seen most recently. Thoughts?
