Replacing New Hampshire's Old Man of the Mountain

Holdstrong writes "New Hampshire's iconic natural rock formation, the Old Man of the Mountain, fell from its mountain-side perch back in 2003. Award-winning architect Francis D. Treves is proposing a monument to replace it. His idea would feature a replica of the Old Man made out of 250 suspended glass panels and would allow visitors to enter the structure in order to gain views of the valley below. The design has received harsh criticism from the public, in part, Mr. Treves believes, due to the fact that quality images and accurate information about his design have been hard to come by. Replacing a beloved natural monument with a man-made one is sure to bring out emotions. Will a clearer understanding of the design help sway public opinion?"

Comments

Just what I was looking for

[sokoban]

You know, I was trying to come up with something about which I could be completely ambivalent and not care about one way or the other in the slightest.

Then I found this on slashdot.

Slashdot: News for New Hampshire. Stuff that doesn't matter at all.

Re:Just what I was looking for

[Anonymous Coward]

I have to admit that I've never been to New Hampshire, where the most interesting thing that state has/had going for it is the formation of a cliff that kind of looked like the face of an old man when viewed from a certain angle. New Hampshire is so boring that they literally put this arbitrary geological formation on their state coin. The "face" finally collapsed in 2003, causing many to be so distressed that they literally cried.

WHERE'S YOUR OLD MAN NOW? New Hampshire's Tourism Industry: 0, Me: 1. To be fair, having a rock that sort of looks like a face as your state symbol is like diving into a tub full of tits when compared to Idaho, where there's so little going on that they proudly proclaim how famous their potatoes are on their license plates. Are you kidding me? Celebrities are famous. Landmarks are famous. The starchy, underground stems of plants that are used for deep frying side dishes are not. Wow, your state vegetable is a tuber. SNORE.

Re:Just what I was looking for

[tedgyz]

Hey I'm Plymouth, New Hampshire you insensitive clod.

Me too. Live free and die!

Re:Just what I was looking for

[FredFredrickson]

Geez, I've spent all this time thinking it was "Live, freeze, and die."

*grumble grumble*

Re:Just what I was looking for

[cab_codespring]

I live in NH too and I have glimpsed the unremarkable almost face driving by and was prfoundly unimpressed. Why don't they put up a stone face of an old man that REALLY looks like a stone face of an old man, a la Easter Island. People will drive by and say "OMG loko at THAT! is that NATURAL? Amazing! They could even put robotics in it so that the mouth could move and boom out "LIVE FREE OR DIE" to passing motorists, and maybe a winking eye too. now THAT would be worthy of coins and license plates.

Man-made is not the problem

[BadAnalogyGuy]

Humans have an uncanny knack for finding faces in randomness. It's been said that this is an evolutionary feature. This explains why we sometimes think we see ghosts or Virgin Maries or even Jesus on the asses of dogs. But in reality, it's nothing more than our brain cleverly interpreting the random patterns into something we can easily comprehend.

So when the Old Man of the Mountain crumbled, we didn't just lose a pile of rocks. We lost one of our conceptual markers. Like the mountain in South Dakota that bears an uncanny resemblance to former presidents, this natural monument symbolizes a very dear slice of our history. To have lost it to nature is a blow to not only New Hampshire but our own national pride as Americans.

However simply replacing it with a glass structure is not necessarily the right thing to do. One key aspect of the monument was its permanence and impenetratibility. By replicating the shape in glass, the monument loses both aspects. It would be, in other words, better to have simply left the rubble alone.

I would encourage you to write your congressmen and representatives to stop this wrong-headed "artistic" solution. In Afghanistan, where the Taliban destroyed centuries-old statues, they are rebuilding them in stone. So too should the majesty of the stone face be returned in stone form.

Re:Man-made is not the problem

[Zontar The Mindless]

Like the mountain in South Dakota that bears an uncanny resemblance to former presidents...

You wouldn't by any chance be referring to Mount Rushmore, would you?

Yep, they carve up a mountain to look like a bunch of former US Presidents, and the mountain winds up looking like a bunch of former US Presidents. Who'd've thunk such a thing?

Re:Man-made is not the problem

[eclectro]

So too should the majesty of the stone face be returned in stone form.

Maybe a compromise could be reached. They could rebuild the face in stone but put windows in where the eyes are. Then at night they could turn on the red lights.

That's right. New Hampshire would suddenly become the most kick-ass state in the union.

Re:Man-made is not the problem

[Zontar The Mindless]

Whoosh yourself. :)

Re:Man-made is not the problem

[mlush]

Like the mountain in South Dakota that bears an uncanny resemblance to former presidents...

You wouldn't by any chance be referring to Mount Rushmore, would you?

No, he's talking about Mount Tushmore, easy mistake to make its not on many tourist maps

Re:Man-made is not the problem

[AliasMarlowe]

If the Old Man of the Mountain finally fell down, then perhaps he should stay down where he fell.

Agree completely. Its appeal was that it was natural, not artificial.
Now, if something is to be built as a replacement tourist attraction in Franconia Crotch^WNotch, let's make it the "Young hottie of the mountain". This would obviously be politically correct, as it's a female replacing a male. It would also be acceptable to most males, provided the hottie is done artistically (i.e. featuring the naughty bits).

If the stone one fell...

[Anonymous Coward]

The old man fell when he was made of stone! Now you want to remake him with glass?!

Great plan...

Set from the next Austin Powers?

[Shivetya]

Because all I get from this obnoxious idea is some evil villains lair.

Honestly, does the guy not get it, that the original feature was created by nature is what made it special. Otherwise it would have been just another rock outcropping.

The only thing missing from his idea is the ability to sprout legs and arms and go marauding across the countryside.

Re:|You wouldn't know it was gone...

[PhilHibbs]

There were quite a few other idiots there pointing at the empty space where the Old Man used to be.

Fixed.

Mountain Misnomer

[happy_place]

I always think it's funny when anyone mentions "Mountains" in any state east of Colorado. Buwahahaha.

I've got an idea

[elrous0]

How about they build a giant monument to the concept of Pareidolia and the public fascination with seeing old men in rock formations, Elvis in potato chips, and the Virgin Mary in highway overpass stains?