Could San Francisco's Folly Be Denver's Gain?

I love San Francisco and the Bay Area. Its an amazing region full of incredible people and extraordinary places and its where I lived for more than ten years. However, its also a place where the parochial interests of the few all too frequently trump the broad interests of the many. Case in point, the recent furor over the Fisher family's generous offer to build an art museum in the Presidio to house their world class collection of contemporary art and sculpture.

To make a long story short, it looks like its not going to happen and the city where the collection will be housed could be up for grabs.

Winning this collection would be a unique opportunity to pursue Mayor Hickenlooper's vision for making Denver a cultural hub for the west. Given the Denver Art Museum's recent expansion, the Museum of Contemporary Art's new building and the upcoming opening of the Clyfford Still Museum, Denver has made great progress. Capturing the Fisher Collection would be a cap stone.

However, winning the Fisher Collection will take grand strategy, superior salespersonship, dexterity and speed plus a healthy dose of luck. San Francisco is still not out of the running and many other cities are licking their collective chops. This is an opportunity the Denver Region's political and civic leadership should pursue vigorously.

Photo above of the proposed Museum in the Presidio in San Francisco which would have housed the Fisher Collection by WRNS Studio.