La Sagrada Familia

[Bazile]

On a visit to the La Sagrada Familia - Barcelona - i had the cheek to suggest to the tour guide , that this monument should have been finished years ago ; after she was telling us of all the work that is going on in order to have it completed .

I recall a very stern facial response from the lady , for making such an insinuation
I was lucky to get out of spain intact - lol

this from wiki

//The construction of this incredible temple started in 1882, when Gaudi agreed to take over a project for a new and magnificent church in Barcelona. It is still not finished. In 2013 about 65% of the temple has been completed. It is expected that the church will be finally finished in 2026, which will be 100 years after Gaudi died. The current chief architect is Jordi Faulí who leads a team of 40 construction workers. He is the ninth generation of architects to lead the building work and it is expected that Faulí will be the final architect, when this magnificent temple is finally finished 144 years after the building work started.//

[237SJ]

My friend who lives in Barcelona said it`s a popular suicide spot.

[atalanta]

So what ? York Minster is supposed to have taken 252 years to complete.

[Bazile]

You obviously don't get it - i could explain , but why bother .

[Zacs-Master]

Please explain as I don't 'get it' either.

[Bazile]

One of the reason ( if not the major reason ) why it's such a big draw for tourists is the fact that it is simply that - unfinished - people are curious to see this unfinished building .

As i recall the guide was giving the impression that the powers that be was keen to have it completed .

My insinuation was that if the authorities really wanted it finished , it could have been done years ago - but that would not be in their interest .
When / if it is finally finished , there will almost certainly be a drop off in the number of tourists visiting .

[Mamyalynne]

A bit like straightening the tower at Pisa.

[Zacs-Master]

Maybe you had to be there?

[jno]

It was unfinished for a very long time; I don't think it changed much between the 50s and 70s. Since then, though, they've really got a move on, and it's much nearer completion than it was when I first saw it about 1980.

But no, I don't think people go to see it simply because it's unfinished (though it is rare to see a slow, long-term project like this being worked on). Gaudi's architecture is a major draw for Barcelona, but I don't think it matters that almost all of it, except this church, is finished. What might matter is that much of the newer stuff doesn't actually look very Gaudi-ish.

[buildersmate]

People still flock to York Minster, even though it is (allegedly) finished.
Maybe the Medieval chaps missed a trick.

Was there a question or merely a random thought it was imperative to share?

[jno]

do you find your work is more popular if you don't finish it, buildersmate?

[piggynose]

well bazile you were poorly informed, the reason why its taking so long to complete, is all the money to complete it, is coming from charity, not government charity, but from the general public. Well that was what i was told on 2 occasions when i visited in 2002 & 2007.

[buildersmate]

Jon. Perhaps I ought to t

[jno]

Gaudi's friends used to run when they saw him coming because they knew he'd be asking them for funds. (True story.) But I think part of the reason work went slowly was because his style had gone out of fashion.

[jno]

lol @buildersmate