
Originally Posted by
Stroika
Agree that this should've gone to Houston (or for that matter even Seattle or Dayton, if Houston didn't have a viable plan for showcasing the shuttle ... which it seemed to do). Any one of those cities attracts a decent number of tourists -- even Dayton, which is quite close to Ohio's other major cities, Indianapolis, and Louisville/Lexington. More importantly, though, they all have a connection to the space program. While I love being able to see the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum, if Lord Elgin were about to take them from Greece today, I'd rather he leave them at the Acropolis. Similarly, I'd rather see this shuttle in a place that has some connection to the space program (be it Mission Control in Houston, via the USAF in Dayton, or Boeing in Seattle). Those cities certainly can benefit more from this sort of tourist draw than New York, where it really does seem like overkill and a sort of misplaced, near-kitsch thing to have.
I'm guessing politics played a large role in this (with the likes of Schumer having more weight among the Dems than, say, Sherrod Brown of Ohio), and that the Intrepid Museum's "plans" and perceived ability to showcase the shuttle were a consideration. Unfortunately, it looks like the Intrepid Museum overplayed its hand a bit ... I'd be happy if it focused on the Intrepid, the sub, and the planes on the Intrepid's flightdeck rather than collecting any and every tsotchke and historic object that has ever flown or floated.
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