I Loved Valencia's City of Arts and Sciences. Will Everyone Else Eventually Love It Too?

This massive arts complex in Spain is one for the ages. Or *is* it?

For the audio version of this article, read by the author, go here.

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The City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain.

When New York’s Statue of Liberty was dedicated in 1886, it was initially well-received, but then for decades, it was mostly ignored.

When Paris’ Eiffel Tower was unveiled in 1889, it made a splash as the centerpiece of the city’s World’s Fair, but many of Paris’ most prominent citizens hated it, and twenty years later, the structure was almost torn down.

Even the Sydney Opera House was steeped in controversy when it opened in 1973, long delayed and ten times over budget.

Today, of course, these are all incredibly famous and beloved landmarks, any past controversies long forgotten.

But that doesn’t mean that every public project that’s controversial upon opening goes on to find widespread acceptance.

London’s Millennium Dome opened on January 1, 2000 — and had closed by the end of that year. Seven years later, it reopened as the O2 Arena, almost entirely revamped.

And the Great American Pyramid, a sport and music venue that debuted in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1991, was such a flop that today it’s been turned into a Bass Pro Shop megastore.

Brent and I recently spent six weeks in Valencia, Spain, which is home to a massive arts and architectural complex called the City of Arts and Sciences (CoAS), or Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències.

This facility — which includes museums, theaters, and exhibition halls — opened in 1998, and was deliberately designed to put Valencia on the world map. But it ran astronomically over budget and had technical and structural problems almost as soon as it opened.

It won me over the minute I laid eyes on it. The entire facility was designed to be a kind of art exhibit, with fantastical architecture surrounded by plazas and reflecting pools. Not surprisingly, it made my photographer’s heart sing.

And it quickly attracted the interest of Hollywood, standing in for futuristic cities in movies like Tomorrowland (2015) and Suicide Squad (2016), and in TV shows like Westworld and Doctor Who.

The City of Arts and Sciences in Tomorrowland (top row); Westworld (middle row), and Dr. Who (bottom row).

The City of Arts and Sciences consists of the following elements:

• L’Hemisfèric: Inspired by the shape of the human eye, a building with an IMAX cinema, planetarium, and laserium.

• Museum of Science: An interactive museum.

• L’Umbracle: An open-air conservatory featuring Valencia's native plant species.

• Oceanogràfic: The largest aquarium in Europe.

• The Palace of the Arts: An opera house and performing arts center.

• Pont de l’Assut de l’Or: A futuristic bridge.

• Àgora: A versatile space used for sporting events, concerts, conventions, and more.