There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the Pier Selection Committee’s apparent favoring of the design known as Alma. The featured tower that would replace the iconic inverted pyramid is among one of the public’s least favorite designs, according to three separate public surveys.
So, those folks are going to really have fun with this one.
Alma, in Portuguese, means ghost. And it would appear the design team behind the project knew that.
In its original design document presented to the city during the Request for Qualification period, the fourth page describes Alma.
“Alma … soul … spirit,” the headline reads. “The soul of the city.”
Yes, Alma means soul and spirit, but it also means ghost.
“The ghost of the city” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.
I’m not trying to take away from the intended meaning. St. Petersburg residents indicated they wanted an icon for the city in their new Pier; something that represented St. Pete. They wanted, hats off to Alfonso architects here, a soul of their city.
But come on, unintended consequences are an actual thing and ghost is, in fact, an alternative meaning for Alma. So, in the spirit (also a translation of alma) of Pier bickering, let’s have a little fun with Alma as ghost as opposed to soul, spirit, essence or heart.
“Welcome to ghost town!”
That doesn’t work. Isn’t a ghost town what the city is trying to get away from?
“Come see the ghost!”
Nope. Too scary.
“Build the ghost!”
Would that require homicide?
“Kill the ghost!”
Sorry guys, Buffy only slays vampires.
“Come see the ghost!”
Welcome to St. Pete, ghost hunters.
This may seem petty, but someone had to point it out and, isn’t it fun?
The take away here may very well be that if you are going to get creative with a translated word, you should probably double check to make sure any alternative translations won’t railroad your original intention.
Way to think outside the box, though, guys.
