Skip to main content

Save the Amphitheater, Don't Demolish It

1,492 Comments

K
Kathy Singer
11 years ago

Why spend 30 million dollars & oh and don't forget the cost overruns, more like 40 million when finished. What is standing there right this minute has worked fine for years, and years Have the Board of Trustees never heard of the saying if it's not broken don't fix it???

R
Rebecca Bottomley
11 years ago

why destroy something that has been a constant for generations? once gone there is nothing but regrets. Have you ever heard, "Do not fix or change that which is not broken". This historical landmark has worked for 120 years and will continue to work for another 120 years. Newer definitely is not better and regret is never easy to live with.

M
Mandy Brown
11 years ago

Performing in the historic amp has been one of the highlights of my Chautauqua experience. There's a beautiful piece of history that is deeply embedded in the institution. The fact that it is still standing after all of these wonderful years is simply proof that I can stand on its own 2 feet and does not need to be altered so drastically.

M
Megan Combs
11 years ago

Changing the amp would change what I love about Chautauqua. Keep it safe!

D
David Shields
11 years ago

This would destroy the heritage which is irreplaceable. The Chautauqua my great-grandparents knew seems to be in the process of being discarded. Change is not always "progress."

C
Cathleen Donahue
11 years ago

STOP TEARING THINGS DOWN!!!

S
Sandra Hickman
11 years ago

It is a historical gem.

D
Doug Matheny
11 years ago

Where there's a will, there's a way.

M
Mary Travers
11 years ago

What better place to see faux bands than in a brancd new shiny faux amphitheater. Is Chautauqua doomed to become a bright plastic replica of a once thriving intellectually curious community?

B
berta tejada
11 years ago

plan is WRONG

D
Dr. Elaie B. Jett
11 years ago

The Amp is such an icon for Chautauqua, please don't tear it down.

J
john linza
11 years ago

save the amphitheater

L
Lee Zolet
11 years ago

"Leave it alone !!!"

K
Kevin Kennedy
11 years ago

probably the best acoustics i have ever. heard in a public venue

M
mary carter
11 years ago

NO! Leave the ample theater alone. my gosh we have become a nation who is consumed with having everything being modernized. Why cant people appreciate the beauty and the preservation of historical buildings etc.

J
James Dupler
11 years ago

This treasure needs to be saved. It has huge historical significance. Look at how many American Presidents have spoken there. Thus is just ONE reason it should be preserved.

C
Cynthia A. Gedz
11 years ago

Thsi is all of our histories! Save the original amphitheatre as an historic structure! It has a life of it's own, it breathes, it has character that a "new" structure would never come close to! Preserve our history, please!

J
Julie A Hanna
11 years ago

it is wrong on so many levels to even give consideration to a demolition plan. Don't do it

L
Leftcadio K Hern
11 years ago

So if like the Theseus Ship, the entire amphitheater is demolished and rebuilt, is it still the Chautauqua Amphitheater? Can even an exact replica ever be authentic or is it just sham structure for sad re-enactmentors ? Chautuaqua will need to debate this and decide.

L
Leftcadio Hern
11 years ago

The Theseus Paradox - The wandering adventurer of Greek myth, Theseus, has had many an epic voyage in his time, but has decided to call it a day. Among the possessions to be stored away is his magnificent ship, which has seen better days. Theseus asks his followers to repair the ship, and restore it to its former glory by replacing all the planks of wood out of which it is made. So one by one, the old planks are replaced by new planks, and then piled up in a heap. Finally, the work is done, and Theseus’ followers invite him to survey the restored ship. But something is not right; Theseus ponders a while, and then says ‘well, it looks very nice and all, but I don’t really see in what sense this is MY ship at all - for this is an entirely new ship, which has no material in common with my old, beloved vessel.’ The philosophical problem raised by this story is the following: if an object is replaced, part by part, until it is composed of a set of entirely new parts, is it still the same object?