Jersey City Rising: The French have landed [Centre Pompidou in Journal Square]

Here’s a press conference announcing that a branch of the Centre Pompidou will be established in Journal Square in Jersey City:

Some years ago I wrote a report: Jersey City: From a Skate Park to the World. It laid out a vision for Jersey City as a cultural center and tourist destination. Here’s the abstract:

Jersey City has an unparalleled opportunity for developing park space and cultural amenities in a two-mile corridor running from the Powerhouse Arts District in the East, along the Sixth Street Embankment to the Palisades, then up the River Line to the Bergen Tunnel, and west through the Erie Cut-Bergen Arches to JFK Boulevard. What is unique about this strategy is that is builds on both abandoned railroad properties and on Jersey City’s status as a center for graffiti art of the highest caliber. By capitalizing on its graffiti heritage, Jersey City can attract tourists from around the world and establish itself as an international center of cutting-edge art.

You can read the report here (if your eyes can take it) or download it from the link below:

Jersey City: From a Skate P... by Bill Benzon

The report has three basic components: 1) a skate park, 2) graffiti, and 3) the Sixth Street Embankment and the Bergen Arches. The skate park opened last year and Jersey City now has a thriving graffiti and mural program. Now is the time to deliver on the Embankment and The Bergen Arches.

Over the years I’ve written a number of posts on the theme, Jersey City Rising.