Google Barge Scheme Abandoned Without Comment
August 22, 2014
The article on The Portland Press Herald titled Scrap the Mystery: High-tech Vision for Google barge Crumbles in a Heap reports that the mysterious barge that landed in Portland’s harbor on October 10, 2013, has been relegated to the scrap pile. The barge was believed to be intended for an elite showroom for Google’s latest innovations, such as Google Glass. The remaining question is why abandon the project? Google did not comment, but the article states,
“After some digging by reporters on both coasts, Google admitted that it had commissioned the barges to serve as “an interactive space where people can learn about new technology.” When finished, the barge in Portland was to be towed to New York City and opened for an invitation-only crowd of hip and affluent urbanites. Never mind… the structure…was being prepared to leave Portland for an ocean voyage to an undisclosed location….The containers, though, will be disassembled at Turner’s Island and scrapped”
This was a major disappointment for Portland, a disappointment soothed by the half a million dollars in property taxes accumulated on the barge while it sat in the harbor. That money, along with the cost of assembling the containers now headed for use as scrap metal, has many interested parties scratching their heads. Is this a metaphor for the future of Google’s moon shots? A second barge still sitting in San Francisco’s bay might answer that question.
Chelsea Kerwin, August 22, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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