Mackenzie Finklea

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Moody Pavilions

The new gateway to my happy place is... disjointed.

Dark. Harsh. Hard.

Are you sure it’s done?

I thought that I wanted a new pavilion.

I thought that I wanted a formal check in, a gift shop, a place to rest and snack...

This is not what I had in mind.

It feels too modern. Too consumerist.

Where’s the grass? Where’s the nature? 

There’s no Mediterranean, mid-century charm.

Instead it’s got an instagramable tiny café and a ceramics store for overpriced housewares and touristy “crazy cat lady” keychains. 

Can I get a magnet, a postcard, a map?

The contemporary. I guess it makes sense? I mean, it matches the one downtown.

This feels so out of place.

As I walk the grounds, I decompress. One with nature. Listening to the birds, the leaves, the wind, the water. I watch seeds fall around me like spring snow. Bliss.

Only to come back, to the humble reminder... that museums are a tourist spot. 

It was the thing the museum needed to be a formal museum for a growing city.

But this pavilion doesn’t belong here.

Laguna Gloria: a serene, escape from the city.

The Moody Pavilions at Laguna Gloria: a necessary evil.