Shortly after posting about the proposal to replace The Old Man of the Mountain with a glass structure I was contacted by the design's architect, Francis D. Treves. He expressed concern about the way his design was being represented on the web and that the imagery and information that is widely available was not doing his work justice. Of particular concern was that the cropped, low-resolution photographs found on most websites were not giving an accurate depiction of the design - and that little was said about what these photographs were specifically trying to show. In addition, the technical schematics of the plan were largely unpublished.
Mr. Treves has been taking a bit of a beating in public forums over his idea, and the lack of real information about his proposal has not helped. Even while typing up my original article, I had to resist expressing any personal opinions about the plan… I just could not find out enough about it. So I certainly understand his desire to disseminate quality, accurate information. After all, having people reject your idea when they understand it is one thing… having them reject it when their understanding is partial or inaccurate is something else.
After a phone call and several email exchanges, Mr. Treves and I agreed that Towns and Trails would be a good place to present additional images and information about the project.
Copyright Francis D. Treves Architect All Rights Reserved
The schematic above shows a cross-section of the design. In it you can make out the access tunnel to the skywalk, which would allow visitors to walk out into the glass structure and look out over the valley below. You can also see a gallery with a skylight. But one of the more interesting features of this schematic is that it shows how surface water would be redirected into an internal waterfall within the monument.
This is the type of detail that is largely missing from most of the reports available online. For me, it really helps to drive home the scope and vision of the design. This is not some eclectic modern art project, and it is much more than just a glass replica of The Old Man… it is a monument of ambitious proportions.
Copyright Francis D. Treves Architect All Rights Reserved
This photo, which was widely published in news reports (but in poor quality), is a rendition of the mountain as it might look in the spring.
