In Silicon Valley, plans for a monument to Silicon Valley

Paris has the Eiffel Tower. St. Louis is inseparable from the Gateway Arch. Seattle boasts the Space Needle. Washington has its Monument.

Silicon Valley wants its own universally recognized landmark, something that symbolizes its power and reach. If the San Jose City Council approves the project this month, an international design competition will be announced this spring. The winning entry could be built on a city park as soon as 2021.

Capturing the tech world in one sculpture or structure or art installation will be a difficult job. The devices and platforms that made Silicon Valley famous were created in low-slung office parks of limited architectural distinction by entrepreneurs who risked their investors’ capital, not their lives. It’s not really an underdog story nor — as many filmmakers have found out — a particularly visual one.