The Slippery Slope Of Public Space Memorials

2 June 2006 - 7:00am

Fearing that one memorial may lead to many more in the wake of the Big Dig, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino is not supporting the placement of an Armenian-American memorial on the yet to be completed Rose Kennedy Greenway.

"Placing a memorial donated by the Armenian-American community on the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway would open the door to other groups with causes and is 'a dangerous precedent to start,' said Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

Menino has joined a chorus of influential public officials and others who don't have a direct say in what gets built on the Greenway -- the city's rainbow at the end of 15 years of urban disruption -- but have weighed in against the memorial.

Other opponents include Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy board members, who have questioned whether the park corridor is an appropriate location for a memorial."

Source: The Boston Globe, May 30, 2006
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The salient historical question is, of course, what made some cities fail while others succeeded?