What does all this mean to us?

As may be obvious to you, dear reader, we've heard a great deal about labyrinth scholarship in the past few days. While this is all useful information in terms of understanding the labyrinth and its place in history, it also seems to be distracting us from what this whole project is about: the proposed Cincinnati labyrinth. While the words of Stalle, Dedal, Smallencroft, etc. tell us a great deal about the Labyrinth as an entity, they also leave behind the true purpose of our work. I'd like to take this post to examine what a “state of the art” labyrinth is, and what it would mean to the city.

Now, before we start, I feel the need to clarify my definition of "labyrinth." For the purposes of this project, and I'm sure my colleagues would agree, we are subscribing to the classical definition of labyrinth, meaning it is not easily distinguishable from a maze. In more recent years the labyrinth has taken on a different meaning, used more as a means of spiritual meditation. In the modern labyrinth, the participant walks along one path until the end. There are no decisions to be made and it is impossible to become lost within in it. The Cincinnati Labyrinth would not follow the modern, 2D prescription for labyrinths, rather we would like to see a return to the intricate structures, dead ends and tricks that were originally intended to solve King Minos's Minotaur problem.

Initially mentioned in our mission statement, this labyrinth would be "state of the art." If it is truly to become a tourist destination we can't have families becoming forever lost within its cavernous walls. We hope that people would truly attempt to finish their journey, but just in case highly skilled labyrinth technicians would monitor the structure constantly. These are people who have intimate knowledge of the structure and who will be able to direct hopelessly lost maze-walkers in the correct direction should the need arise via ear pieces worn by each attendee and CCTV cameras stationed liberally throughout the labyrinth. In addition to these "Watchers," highly visible panic buttons would be strategically placed at recognized trouble points in the labyrinth.

With these security measures in place, the Cincinnati Labyrinth is poised to become a feather in the cap of the Queen City. No longer will we carry the shame of a sub-par football squad. We need something contained within the walls of Paul Brown Stadium that we can be proud of. Nobody likes taking visitors to see a losing football team. With a labyrinth taking the Bengals place, this problem will become a thing of the past. A labyrinth never loses, never embarrasses a city and certainly cannot be arrested. The only "building years" will be during its construction. After that Paul Brown Stadium will be a house of victory for all of its existence.

In this modern age of constant consumption and fleeting trends there are very few things that are built to last forever. No structure we build in this age will have the ability to stand as long as something like the Coliseum or the Parthenon. This is why building something like this would set us apart from every other city in the United States. The labyrinth says to the world that Cincinnati is not just concerned with its present but also with its lasting legacy. Cincinnati is not just "now," but also for the ages.

As we asked before, please sign the petition. Do it for Cincinnati, for our future, for our reputation and, as always, do it for labyrinths.