In these hard economic times, there's one area where we can't afford to skimp on funding. I'm not talking about police or fire departments, and I'm not talking about schools. I'm talking about Tryon Palace.

$60M history center helps Tryon Palace begin new life

Quote :

"With the opening next weekend of the historic site's new $60 million, 60,000-square-foot N.C. History Center adjacent to the palace, visitors will be able to use technology to craft a different experience of early American life each time they come. They can play different roles in raucous interactive games, and choose whom they want to narrate their tour of the grounds from eight characters on a handheld computer. They can watch puppet shows and musical performances. They can have their pictures made and added to the electronic Tryon Palace Family Album. ... As the concept bloomed, so did the cost. Including money for the 6-acre site, the state has paid about $42 million of the total cost of the project. The city of New Bern gave $1.5 million, and Craven County, $1.3 million. Foundations gave $4.8 million, and Tryon Palace board members contributed nearly $4 million. PepsiCo, whose signature soft drink was invented in a pharmacy in New Bern, gave $1 million to build the Pepsi Family Center, the children's interactive section of the new museum. Throughout the building, donors could acquire naming rights for everything from chairs in the 200-seat performing arts hall to the museum gift shop."

http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/10/17/745071/tryon-palace-begins-new-life.html#ixzz13ZWLTi1y

Last night, a girl I know (who works in catering) was telling me about her recent trip to New Bern. I had heard her mention it, and I was born there, so I asked her what had been going on. She explained that she was catering on Friday for some kind of "grand opening" of the renovated Tryon Palace. She described the lavish party that took place. There was all kinds of expensive food and drinks, with actors dressed up in Victorian-style outfits and make-up. I decided to look into this morning, and this is what I found out.

So, next time we're arguing whether we should cut UI, education, or police, let us always remember that those are the areas that must be cut first.

10/27/2010 11:12:19 AM

Well I think it should be kept in perspective: This is about 0.3% of the total budget?


I could see how someone could make the argument that it will serve an educational purpose for the schoolkids in the surrounding area that will no doubt visit.

also from the article

Quote :

" It also has the potential to turn a roadside stop for travelers on their way to the beach into a must-see tourist destination that forecasters say will generate nearly $18 million in tourism spending for Eastern North Carolina each year. Economic studies on the project suggest it will more than double attendance at the palace, to about 200,000 people each year, and will add a night to the average hotel stay in the area. "

it could be a big help for a struggling part of the state

[Edited on October 27, 2010 at 11:31 AM. Reason : .]

10/27/2010 11:28:37 AM

Quote :

"Now, contrast this to what governments do in the same situation. Their first response, of course, is to do something I could not do – compel more revenue for themselves by increasing taxes. Those of us who make our living by the free decision making of others don’t have this dictatorial option. The second thing that governments do is cut their MOST important, MOST valuable operations. In Seattle, it was always fire and ambulance services that would be cut. Because the whole game was to find the cuts that would most upset the public to try to avoid the necessity of having to make cuts at all. Its an incredibly disingenuous process. Any staffer of a private company that made cost savings prioritization decisions like government officials would be fired in about 2 minutes. The third thing that governments do if forced to actually, really cut costs (meaning that every other stalling tactic, taxation method, and accounting trick has been exhausted) is to cut field staff who actually do the work rather than high-paid, bloated administrative staffs. This means teachers get cut but not vice-principals."

http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2010/01/cutting-the-right-expenses.html

10/27/2010 11:28:49 AM

in all fairness, a project this size (budget and design conception) was likely started 4-5 years ago

[Edited on October 27, 2010 at 12:56 PM. Reason : ..]

10/27/2010 12:56:15 PM

Instead of dropping $60 million on fixing the place up we should just drop a few thousand on kerosene and matches and then act like New Bern never happened.

10/27/2010 1:32:02 PM

I did the whole new bern/tryon palace thing this year. What really disappointed me was that almost none of the historic buildings are originals. They all fricking burnt down and then were rebuilt. One of the historic homes we toured was actually moved twice! That kind of ruins the whole experience for me. What's the point in spending millions of dollars building a new building where an old one stood and acting like it's somehow significant?

10/27/2010 2:00:06 PM

It's a government-run theme park?

10/27/2010 8:07:21 PM

^^^^

That's $60M in jobs that North Carolinians sorely need

10/27/2010 8:16:51 PM

42 million in public funding, and they don't even let you take pictures there...

10/27/2010 10:05:00 PM

Quote :

"It also has the potential to turn a roadside stop for travelers on their way to the beach into a must-see tourist destination that forecasters say will generate nearly $18 million in tourism spending for Eastern North Carolina each year."

Any time I read something like this, I just assume it is complete and utter bullshit. If such things really did have an ROI of 3 years, private investors would be building the hell out of them and tapping the vertical structure related to all the spending this thing generates.

Complete bullshit.

10/27/2010 10:10:17 PM

I just realized i'm confusing this place with Biltmore Estates.

^ well, they just convinced the gov. to spend 42 million, probably all of which went to private contractors in the area. They are very happy now, i'm sure.

[Edited on October 28, 2010 at 12:04 AM. Reason : ]

10/28/2010 12:03:08 AM

Quote :

"In these hard economic times, there's one area where we can't afford to skimp on funding. I'm not talking about police or fire departments, and I'm not talking about schools. I'm talking about Tryon Palace."

Look up the Green Square project (New DENR building, parking deck, and Museum) here in Raleigh. I bet it costs more than the Tryon Palace.


The building costs so much more than normal because of a few things:
Foundations - The thing is on piles that go like 80+ feet deep
Super-structure - The building was beefed up due to lateral loads from seismic and wind(Cat 5 hurricanes).
LEED - The project is LEED Gold.
Time - It needed to be completed before New Bern's Tricentennial. (Which probably explains the lavish party.)

[Edited on October 28, 2010 at 1:09 AM. Reason : bold]

10/28/2010 1:05:51 AM

Its not much of a palace, but this is a lot to spend on a museum/historical replica.

10/28/2010 1:06:26 AM

^ See ^^

10/28/2010 1:09:07 AM

Quote :

"Instead of dropping $60 million on fixing the place up we should just drop a few thousand hundred on kerosene and matches and then act like New Bern the Tryon Palace never happened."

Fixed it for you. Why spend thousands of dollars on burning the whole town down when a few hundred would suffice for the palace.


[Edited on October 28, 2010 at 12:48 PM. Reason : .]

10/28/2010 12:47:04 PM

Quote :

"drop a few thousand on kerosene and matches and then act like New Bern never happened."

Why the hate? I mean, I grew up there and as a result have plenty of reasons to hate the place I'm just curious about yours.

10/28/2010 6:52:39 PM

I also think it was built on a superfund site.

11/12/2010 11:21:41 PM

Quote :

"Its not much of a palace, but this is a lot to spend on a museum/historical replica. "

It's pretty nice inside, and it's comparable to other American historical buildings. America's historical shit isn't really that classy, anyway.

11/13/2010 5:51:30 AM