Some in this Virginia History forum might possibly want to see the Virginia-history-based comment following the dashed line below. I distributed the comment widely this morning among people involved in, or observing, the planning for post-Army Fort Monroe. Thanks. Steve Corneliussen Poquoson, Virginia P.S.: One national activist wrote back: "What an original idea. Maybe Hampton can use the Pirates of the Caribbean theme! Oh, wait -- that's already been done .... http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/magic-kingdom/attractions/pirates-of-the-caribbean/ " - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - With the city of Hampton newly re-empowered to steer Fort Monroe’s post-Army future, advocates of a Grand Public Place built on the foundation of a substantial Fort Monroe National Park -- and on a foundation of Hampton’s responsible stewardship -- may want to ponder the new historic-tourism vision that the city is considering for itself: Hampton as a “national pirate destination.” Following are excerpts from the article (http://www.dailypress.com/news/hampton/dp-nws-cp-downtown-pirates-20110602,0,4170291.story) dominating today’s front page in the Newport News Daily Press: QUOTE Plans are afoot to ... establish downtown Hampton as a national pirate destination, with the buccaneer concept emerging as a key strand in a consultant's plan ... . The “economy of piracy” was cited in a recent speech by Yaromir Steiner, the [Ohio] consultant hired to find a new vision ... . “Using virtual reality experiences and an interior recreation of a ship, I think that the historic courthouse could work to initiate a pirate museum,” [local historian John] Quarstein said. ... While [the consultant] mentions strengths such as Phoebus, Fort Monroe and the Virginia Air & Space Center, [his] report cites critical problems with downtown. ... The consultant said, “A city can go nowhere if it's an in-between place … you have to be a place in your own right.” ... [The consultant] said the pirate idea could be treated in a “very scientific way.” UNQUOTE Would glorifying and romanticizing barbarian sea criminals help Hampton become a destination city? Would virtual reality allow vivid recreations of beheadings, other murders, and rapes? The federal base-closure law perpetrates a serious mistake. It considers any abandoned base to need “redevelopment” by the nearest municipality. It treats any base -- even a national treasure with international significance -- as the equivalent of a humdrum Fort Drab in a cornfield. So here’s a question for all who have nurtured, and left unquestioned, that national error in Fort Monroe’s case: Does today’s story renew your confidence in the wisdom of leaving so much of the deciding to any one city? Thanks. Steven T. Corneliussen ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html