The saga to save the Louis Kahn-designed floating concert hall, Point Counterpoint II, continues. It all began back in mid-July when Yo-Yo Ma made a plea in The New York Review of Books to salvage the barge facing demolition on account of the fact that the owners—Robert Boudreau, whom doubles as the orchestra's conductor, and wife Kathleen—are ready to retire their duties as the boat's caretakers. 

Both city officials and activists in the Hudson River town of Kingston, New York have expressed interest in acquiring the ship; they were expected to meet with Boudreau on August 4th to discuss the possibility. While the Mayor, Steve Noble, has agreed to offer his support, raising the funds for the purchasing and transport of the $2 million dollar vessel, that might now be going for as much as $4 mill, poses a problem for the city. Further, the competition is apparently stiff as there has been interest expressed in Buffalo, France, and Italy among others. 

One of those places vying for the 195-foot-long watercraft could, and maybe should, be Washington, D.C. The Pulitzer Prize-winning Art and Architecture Critic, Philip Kennicott, recently made his case in the Washington Post as to why the U.S. capital is the perfect home for the performing barge. 

The city of Washington DC has been pouring massive amounts of money into developing the waterfront and areas along the Anacostia River. The 11th street bridge park project expected for completion in 2019 is slated to become the High Line of DC, bringing in new development to the area and ushering in a revival of the river. The recently revived plans to upgrade the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge that include an esplanade and parks along both sides of the bridge are also part of the effort to turn the river into a world-class waterfront. Bringing the Point Counterpoint II to the city would certainly aide in this transformation as Kennicott points out, "it would enliven that part of the city which Washingtonians are rediscovering, its wide, placid, increasingly clean and lovely rivers."