"It" is the notion that people will flock to a city with good architecture. It's something New York, London, Chicago, and Paris have known forever. Minneapolis is just now experimenting with it, and it seems to be working. From the article:
QUOTE
The play’s not the only thing at the new Guthrie Theater.
Almost a year after the venerated regional theater opened its shimmering new $125 million complex on the banks of the Mississippi River, the people who run it are celebrating a mostly successful launch — but acknowledging they want and need to draw more people to the complex. “Generally we’re fairly satisfied that making the move from Vineland Place down to here didn’t damage us,” artistic director Joe Dowling said. “Now it’s a question of how we can build.”
Almost a year after the venerated regional theater opened its shimmering new $125 million complex on the banks of the Mississippi River, the people who run it are celebrating a mostly successful launch — but acknowledging they want and need to draw more people to the complex. “Generally we’re fairly satisfied that making the move from Vineland Place down to here didn’t damage us,” artistic director Joe Dowling said. “Now it’s a question of how we can build.”
The Guthrie:
