By Luke Thomas
February 27, 2009
District 6 Supervisor Chris Daly said today he is open to considering a location in his district for the development of Gap Founder Don Fisher’s contemporary art museum (CAMP).
Fisher, who is committed to erecting his museum in the historic Presidio national park, faces an uphill battle in overcoming a ground swell of resistance from residents and preservation groups.
District 6 includes downtown San Francisco and Civic Center where several museums are located. Like the city of London, San Francisco’s museums are clustered within easy walking distance and are accessible via several mass-transit systems. The Fisher museum could be a valuable source of recurring revenues for the city which faces a $576 million budget deficit.
Though Daly voted against a non-binding resolution in January that expresses support for the museum’s construction within the City and County of San Francisco, he said his personal feelings toward Fisher would not color his considerations.
“I would judge any new proposal on its merits,” Daly said, responding to FCJ inquiry. “With that said I don’t know that a new downtown museum would be ‘worth millions’ to the City given the existing museums.”
Responding, Ground Floor Public Affairs consultant Alex Tourk said: “The Fisher family is completely committed to the Presidio and is pleased with the collaborative process that has led us to this point. The CAMP team looks forward to continued dialogue in the hopes of building consensus amongst the community, key stakeholders and the Board of Directors of the Presidio Trust.”
Luke Thomas
Luke Thomas is a former software developer and computer consultant who proudly hails from London, England. In 2001, Thomas took a yearlong sabbatical to travel and develop a photographic portfolio. Upon his return to the US, Thomas studied photojournalism to pursue a career in journalism. In 2004, Thomas worked for several neighborhood newspapers in San Francisco before accepting a partnership agreement with the SanFranciscoSentinel.com, a news website formerly covering local, state and national politics. In September 2006, Thomas launched FogCityJournal.com. The BBC, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, New York Times, Der Spiegel, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Magazine, 7x7, San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Bay Guardian and the San Francisco Weekly, among other publications and news outlets, have published his work. Thomas is a member of the Freelance Unit of the Pacific Media Workers Guild, TNG-CWA Local 39521 and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
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March 11, 2009 at 1:48 am
The museums are only clustered downtown if you completely ignore the California Academy of Sciences, the deYoung, and the nigh-inaccessible Palace of the Legion of Honor. The only major museums downtown are SFMOMA and the Asian Art Museum with a number of smaller ones clustered around in various places.
March 2, 2009 at 6:58 pm
Perhaps we could erect a statue of Fisher for the homeless to sleep by or maybe pee on.
February 28, 2009 at 2:08 am
The kind rapist loomed from above and whispered most kindly “Stop your complaint. I’ll be but a moment to inconvenience you less.”
February 27, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Campers,
Fisher will give the City nothing. And, most galling of all, he will not allow free public access to the museum (although, who’d want to see his junk I do not know). Think in terms of the Getty museum in Malibu. A private building with a private collection. Carefully screened access by appointment.
Same for the City’s soccer fields. Part of the deal Peskin put together for Donald’s boys was that if they put in their astro-turf on a field, they get to choose who plays on it and when.
h.