The Chihuly Casino?

More on the Chihuly Gallery

Once upon a time the uber wealthy ENDOWED museums to glorify their taste in art. Some of these remain today as tributes to the artists and the patrons .. think Medicis, MOMA, the Fullers and SAM, ....

Now the idea seems to be to invest the minimum you can . Worse, the generous skin flint patron then claims the right to control what is shown in the museum!

In this case the Wright family is generous enough to donate 16 million dollars to build a gallery cum catering hall next to the Space needle. The gallery will show the work of Dale Chihuly .. an entrepreneur in his own right who has made glass a widely recognized object of art. He runs what might be called an atelier, a workshop where employees turn out works under his supervision.

Neither Chihuly or the Wrights plan to donate anything to the new museum. The Chihuly works will be chosen and loaned to the site by Chihuly. After five years he can sell them for whatever they will then be worth. In the meantime, the Wrights expect to recoup their tax deduction by using the Chihuly museum as a private catering hall and by selling Chihuly-esque trinkets to the tourists.

Even that might not be bad if the Wrights had great taste. Do the Wrights have great taste? Read the devastating review by the Stranger' of their Chihuly decorated Space Needle restaurant.

Is that gut hole in the sky the Wrights' idea of "success?"

I have a better idea. Casinos make money! If the Wrights want to push the Center as a tourist trap, why not cut a deal with the Duwamish folk to build the Chief Seattle Casino at Seattle Center?

The Wrights can cater the buffet and big winners can choose Chihuly stuff as their ultimate reward and a unique way of remembering their visit to this wonderful city.