Readers offer their ideas for Plaza
Many Santa Feans have expressed their thoughts about the Plaza and the Soldiers’ Monument, or the obelisk. Some opinions have been reasonable, but others (artists promoting their own art and, recently, the idea to glue together the smashed pieces and put it back) less so. I have loved and enjoyed the Plaza since I moved to Santa Fe 52 years ago. My office then was only a few steps away. The Plaza is a wonderful social and civic gathering place and the cultural center of our historic city. I especially enjoy the summer music events and dancing in front of the bandstand, a small, crowded area.
Although I am a veteran and proudly served my country, I’ve never liked having a military monument in the Plaza — it was never the right place for it. What I would like the city to do is remove the remaining base, thus enlarging the Plaza’s beautiful central space. Remember, the obelisk was not in the Plaza forever (it was previously a cornfield), and it is not sacred. It is, however, controversial. Let’s say goodbye to it and enjoy more needed open space.
David Grant Noble author, Santa Fe: History of an Ancient City Santa Fe
A modest proposal
To the truth and reconciliation commission (or whatever it will be called): Here’s a modest proposal for the reconstruction of the Plaza obelisk. Leave the wooden box as it is and install four flat-screen TVs. The first screen would have Mayor Alan Webber solemnly intoning that he had absolutely nothing to do with the destruction of the obelisk. The second screen would contain detailed instructions on how to disassemble your car’s mu±er and make the vehicle conform to Santa Feans’ expectations. The third screen would contain an award from columnist Milan Simonich, along with photo, of the New Mexico corrupt politician of the month (or week). The fourth screen would have a rare picture of a working parking meter.
Norman Yoffee Santa Fe
Create beauty
Instead of another bureaucratic department within city government, why not use the next six months to seriously appeal directly to all New Mexican artists and create a contest to submit designs for a Plaza monument? The idea of patching together an outdated obelisk is not the best solution and would only serve to remind us of the irresolvable schisms in our historical and cultural perspectives.
Instead, we should offer up a public work of art, a piece of art that is not political, that transcends the historical and captures what we are as a city — an arts center, a place where many people are engaged in art-making, art appreciation and art collecting from all diverse backgrounds. We need to transcend the historical framework and create a monument that is a piece of art. Why not an abstract sculpture? A representation of the mountains? The Santa Fe River? The water cycle? A central garden? Or, perhaps leave the space open so all the footsteps walking across the Plaza will heal the past. A piece of art, however, would unite us in the recognition of the beauty of this place. Let’s unite behind the idea of an artistic monument to the beauty of this place.
Eslee Kessler Santa Fe
Honor all warriors
The city should use common sense when designing a solution to the controversy surrounding the obelisk on the Plaza. The town fathers who erected the obelisk in 1867-68 and wrote the controversial inscription were from different times. Can we agree to leave it at that and move on? What has not changed over time is the fact that across the nation, town squares have been used as places to erect monuments to local citizens who served their communities, on both sides of conflicts, in times of war. Can we agree they deserve to have their service and sacrifice honored and remembered? Would it not be appropriate to erect an obelisk on a plinth in the Santa Fe Plaza with a modified inscription that celebrates all? Use this wording, “Erected in honor of all warriors and soldiers from Santa Fe” and leave it at that.
Cleveland Gardner Santa Fe