Seattle – Page 54 – Willem's Planet

March 28, 2013March 28, 2013

Thursday/ yikes, it’s a landslide

2020655579 — Map of the area on Whidbey Island where there was a massive landslide [Graphic by Mark Nowlin, for the Seattle Times]

Early on Wednesday morning, a 1000-foot-wide section of the hillside on the west side of central Whidbey Island here in the greater Seattle area fell off into Admiralty Bay. Check out the link below from the Seattle Times for a full report and an amazing split-screen before-and-after picture. Only one house was completely destroyed, with thankfully no injuries or loss of life – but 17 others have been evacuated .. and of course there is concern now about the stability of the whole area immediately around the slide site as well.

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2020655560_whidbeylandslidexmlxml.html

2020655261 — Also from the Seattle Times, an aerial view of the landslide. It looks like the ‘end of the world’ said one news reporter on the ground there, looking out toward the newly created ‘cliff’.

March 25, 2013March 25, 2013

Sunday/ new at the Seattle Art Museum

I made my way to Seattle’s downtown late afternoon to enjoy some of the weekend’s sunny weather in the Pike Place Market area. First Ave not far from there was closed for traffic, and filled with people at the Seattle Art Museum. They were there for the unveiling of ‘The Mirror’, a new kaleidoscopic LED panel for the Seattle Art Museum’s sign. The panel was created by artist Doug Aitken. Mayor McGinn spoke a few words, and then the sign was switched on. There is some fancy electronics behind the display that picks up signals from the traffic and the weather and more, and then the system selects displays from a library of images. Very nice, but I have to note that by today’s standards for outdoor LED panels, and by what I’ve seen in China : that panel is not very large! I suspect the space that was available on the side of the building was limited, that’s all.

IMG_8351 sm — The street in front of the Seattle Art Museum’s entrance was filled with people this afternoon.

IMG_8367 sm — Here’s the new mirror sign ‘S A M’ for Seattle Art Museum sign, with bits of it containing parts of the changing LED picture behind it. The LED strips on the side of the building are also lit up and dimmed in line with the main image at the front.

IMG_6117 sm — All of the items that follow are on display and for sale in the SAM’s store. This beautiful and colorful wire basket from South Africa goes for $150.

IMG_6120 sm — This very creative Salad Tree is from the Netherlands. The salad utensils stand upright on their own on the table.

IMG_6121 sm — Salt and pepper shakers from a New York artist .. I did not write down her name. Go easy on the salt! says a new report that says (again) that we all consume way too much salt.

IMG_6115 sm — This is a ‘colonial’ figure carved out of wood from Nigeria or the Ivory Coast. I love this one, but I have eight of these ‘colonials’ already in my house that I bought in South Africa over the years, so I’m not ‘allowed’ to buy any more.

IMG_6125 sm — An inverted Martini glass for you? Impossible to knock over if it is the 3rd or 4th martini !

IMG_6127 sm — Here’s the ‘solar’ Queen of England. Put her in the sun and the solar cell will make her wave her hand in her trademark, royal manner (which is to say she wiggles it).

IMG_6128 sm — And how about a solar corgi? Yes – cannot have the Queen and NO CORGIS!. I’m not sure where the name Elroy comes from, though. Wikipedia says in 2007 the corgis were named Monty, Emma, Linnet, Willow and Holly. Monty died last year, though.

March 23, 2013

Friday/ another one bites the dust

(Even though we do not have a whole lot of dust in Seattle and secondly, I do not mean to say I am unsympathetic to the cute B&O Espresso building’s demise). The B&O Espresso building is making place for a new 6-story mixed-use building after a 37-year run at the corner of Belmont and Olive here in Capitol Hill. The dessert cafe’s owners Majed and Jane Lukatah has relocated to Ballard for now, but intends to open up shop again at this same place in 2014. Was the building historic, and should it have been preserved? I am not sure. I just trust the new building that will take its place will fit in with its surroundings – and will have some architectural character to show, even if it is brand new.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Here’s what the B&O espresso building used to look like .. photo from the blog at http://www.hanamichiflowerpath.com

IMG_6036 sm — And here is what is going on there right now .. it sure did not take long to tear down all of the construction ! Look for the locomotive sign on the fence – indicating that all is not completely lost for the B&O Espresso, that it will come back in the new building, I assume?

March 20, 2013March 20, 2013

Tuesday/ goodbye, winter?

IMG_6008 sm Tuesday was the last day of winter -but there’s more snow out east in the Unites States and a rain storm for us here in the Pacific Northwest. Good Morning America’s dramatic weather map makes it look a lot worse than it actually is here in the city of Seattle (this is Wednesday as I write this). The Olympic Peninsula with its mountain makes somewhat of a rain shadow for us here in the city.

March 17, 2013

Saturday/ visit to Fry’s electronic store

IMG_5974 sm — Here’s a friendly-feisty Bruce Lee figure that I was tempted to buy, but didn’t.

I really, really need to replace my circa 2008 desktop computer from Dell and ran out to Fry’s electronic store on Saturday just to check out the merchandise, and see if there are any boxes on display I should also consider. And then all the other options, like go with Apple or Microsoft? (Microsoft. I think I have enough Apple devices with my iPad and iPhone and besides, I want to check out Windows 8). Replace the 21″ flat panel screen with a touch screen? I’m not sure about that for a desktop. Will I really reach out and touch the screen in between typing and using the mouse? I think I will replace the box first, and hang with my dumb screen for a while longer.

IMG_5975 sm — One of the computer screen wall paper options for Windows 8 computers : a combination of Space Needle, Mount Rainier and .. what’s that? a sun? a double sun, reflecting off of the hill top? We have to hang in there in Seattle to get more than a few days of continuous sun here .. it’s not yet time for that.

March 11, 2013March 12, 2013

Sunday/ the new Husky stadium

IMG_5928 sm — The Seattle University’s mascot is a husky. (This little fella looks a little forlorn .. aww).

2008-0132 — The new stadium will have cost $250 mil. when construction is complete. I suppose those $500 season tickets and donations will help pay down the tab. That’s Lake Washington behind the stadium. (Picture from the website http://www.huskystadium.com/vv)

[Correction made to original post .. the husky mascot is from the University of Washington of course – not from Seattle University! thanks Dale!]

The husky dog mascot is from the University Bookstore on University Way in Seattle’s University District (of course). (The University of Washington is one of the top public universities in he country, with a student population of 35,000). The university’s new football stadium is still under construction, its opening some 6 months away. The bookstore is probably mundane for students coming here for textbooks, but for the occasional visitor (me), it is quite a treat to look at the large and varied selection of books (it has much, much more on display than just textbooks).

March 8, 2013

Thursday/ how now, brown cow?

This street art cow is new (I think). I found it by the corner of Madison and 18th Ave here on Capitol Hill when I took a walk just before sunset on Thursday. The rain we had on and off all week had stopped, but it was still a brisk 45 °F (8°C) outside.

March 3, 2013March 3, 2013

Saturday/ the Museum of History and Industry

armory-map — Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry has moved into a new location at the south end of Lake Union into an old shipyard building.

IMG_8189 sm — There are some museum vessels at the marina next to the building as well. This is the Arthur Foss tugboat under a tarp. There was a Saturday ‘work party’ working on the diesel engine and interior, but it was open to the public and we were invited inside. Built in 1889, it is one of the oldest wooden-hulled tugboats afloat in the United States. The hull is made of African mahogany : as impermeable and strong as steel (well, almost), said the tour guide.

IMG_5785 sm — Calking (yes, without a ‘u’ since it is not the caulking one does to a bathtub) was done with hemlock. It involved sealing up the wooden deck slats by driving hemlock with its natural water-repellent oils into the crevices to make for a watertight seal. (The initial work is done with a much larger hammer and chisel tool set. This tool set is for finishing.)

IMG_5792 sm — The original brass engine power control shows the settings available to the skipper.

IMG_8191 sm — The diesel engine still works. It produces 700 hp at 200 rpm, and was one of the strongest tugboats back in its day.

IMG_8190 sm — The Swiftsure is right next to the Arthur Foss. [From Wikipedia] Lightship 83, now called Swiftsure, is a lightship launched in Camden, New Jersey, in 1904. She steamed around the tip of South America to her first station at Blunts Reef in California, where she saved 150 people when their ship ran aground in dense fog. The ship was decommissioned in 1960.

IMG_8181 sm — My friends Tony, Ken and Steve on the steps of the main entrance to the Museum of History and Industry building. The building used to be a Naval Reserve Armory, and it was built in 1941-42.

IMG_8221 sm — A model of the Arthur Foss is on display on the left. The light comes from an 1885 Fresnel Lens from the Smith Island Lighthouse.

IMG_8220 sm — Same picture, taken 10 seconds later, to show what the lens looks like. (The light source inside rotates).

IMG_8217 sm — A picture from Boeing’s exhibit. No mention of the recent trouble with the Lithium battery that grounded all the Dreamliner 787s .. we all hope that gets resolved soon!

IMG_8222 sm — Here is the view of the main hall from the 4th floor. The airplane is an US Mail airplane, and there’s the red R for the Rainier Brewery exhibit an even the iconic pink ‘toe’ truck (tow truck) that used to be seen around the city.

IMG_5805 sm — Seattle got its start as a city with fish and timber. This tree was 11 feet in diameter and took a week to chop and saw through, said the description. (Today there are few enough of these left, so that we do not do that anymore, right?).

IMG_5801 sm — And here is a steam train that transported the logs. The picture’s description did not mention which year this was.

IMG_8184 sm — This beautiful antique clock is outside the building; very similar to one I saw in the town of Snohomish a few weeks ago.

Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry is not new, but it has recently moved to a new location : from its University of Washington location to South Lake Union, occupying the historic Naval Reserve Armory constructed in 1941-1942. I never did visit the museum at its old location, so the exhibits were all new to me. I also learned that there was a Great Seattle Fire in June 1889 that destroyed 29 city blocks (the story is told in the museum’s exhibit for it by a very cute short film, set to music and animated old pictures).

March 3, 2013

Friday/ Chihuly Garden and Glass

The most recent exhibit or museum that has been added to Seattle Center at the Space Needle is the Chihuly Garden and Glass house. Here is the website http://www.chihulygardenandglass.com/. Dale Chihuly (71) is a native of Tacoma and has made a career and business out of glass art. I went to check out the exhibit with my friend Tony from Portland on Friday.

IMG_8059 sm — The Seattle Center area just north of Seattle’s downtown spans several city blocks. Look for the Space Needle circle; the Chihuly Garden and Glass Exhibit halls are at the foot of the Space Needle. The new Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation building is close by as well, but we ran out of time. I will have to go and look at it another day.

IMG_8069 SM — These glass ‘baskets’ were inspired by woven baskets and are on display in the Northwest room. Colorful versions of these are for sale in the museum store — but they are NOT CHEAP. One small basket I saw there went for $7,500.

IMG_8081 SM — This is the Persian Ceiling, a collection of colorful sea shell and sea anemones arranged on a glass ceiling.

IMG_8088 SM — This is the Mille Fiori* forest. *Italian for a thousand flowers.

IMG_8093 SM — More fantastical flowers and plants in the Mille Fiori forest.

IMG_8107 SM — A wooden boat colorful shapes and spheres, inspired by Ikebana said the description : the Japanese art of arranging flowers.

IMG_8111 SM — This is one of the chandeliers in the Chandelier room.

IMG_8126 sm — This is the Glass House, with glass flowers and a clear ceiling that looks up at the Space Needle.

IMG_8137 SM — The ‘garden’ outside has some out-of-this-world shapes and colors.

IMG_8150 sm — The outside view of the Glass house from the garden.

February 17, 2013

Sunday/ hug the tree

IMG_5537 sm — Protect the tree! says the green sign taped to it. And someone added a little blanket to the tree as well. Yes, we are a bunch of tree huggers in Seattle !

IMG_5539 sm — The Capitol Court apartments right next to the construction site is only a few years old. This is on 19th Ave in Capitol Hill.

It was nice enough today at 46 °F (8 °C) to go for a walk just before the sun set at 5.37 pm, and that’s what I did. My Capitol Hill neighborhood has a lot of apartments due to extensive construction early in the 1900s through the 1950s – and right now several new ones are under construction as well. Average studio apartments here now goes for $1,200 per month, one-bedrooms for $1,500 p.m. and two-bedrooms for $1,950. Not cheap, but hey – we’re not San Francisco or New York City. Check out the New York City apartment map from below from http://www.nakedapartments.com.

February 16, 2013February 16, 2013

Friday/ Seattle’s old Fire Station No. 7

I often walk by the old Fire Station No 7, on 15th Ave in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. It now houses a video rental store. It is usually cloudy and rainy (especially this time of year). So on Friday afternoon when I looked at the doors, I thought ‘Man! Did I know the doors are that violet (and violent!) blue color? I guess I know now!’.

IMG_5490 sm — Old Fire Station No 7, on 15th Ave in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, basking in the sun under a cloudless sky on Friday.

then_firehouse_01 sm — And here is the old No 7 Fire Station as it stood in 1921. Check out the two Ford Model T’s parked on the side street. (Photograph courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives .. but I actually found the picture on a blog called vintageseattle.org).

February 12, 2013

Sunday/ Seattle’s stadiums

Sunday was a beautiful blue-sky day. I went with my friends Bryan and Paul to the 50th Seattle RV* show in CenturyLink Field stadium (home of the Seattle Seahawks football team, and also the Seattle Sounders soccer team). Nearby is Safeco Field, home of the Seattle Mariners baseball team. These two stadiums are in SoDo (South of Downtown) and maybe there will be a third one in a few years. The Seattle Sonics basket ball team may come back to the city, and may get a new $490 million stadium even though there is the KeyArena stadium in downtown that they could use. (Pictures of the proposed new basketball stadium here http://bizj.us/dfu85/i/6).

*Recreational Vehicle, also called motor homes sometimes

IMG_5299 sm — We just stepped off the train at the Stadium Station. This is Safeco Field, the Seattle Mariners’ baseball stadium with a retractable roof.

IMG_5303 sm — The Seattle Seahawks’ CenturyLink Field stadium is on the left. The tall black building is Columbia Center, the city’s tallest at 76 floors.

IMG_5354 sm — Here is the King Street train station’s tower again (I posted a picture the other day), with the city’s skyline as seen from the south.

February 9, 2013February 9, 2013

Saturday/ Snohomish antique stores

IMG_7966 sm — The restored Oxford Saloon front in the main street of Snohomish houses a restaurant but is undergoing renovations inside.

Seattle to Snoohmish — The town of Snohomish is about 30 miles north of Seattle.

IMG_7970 sm — One of a dozen or so antique stores in the main street. Antique stores typically have spaces inside for exhibitors (vendors) to set up their own displays.

IMG_5253 sm — The World’s Fair Edition of the Seattle Times (April 8, 1962) had a whopping 380 pages !

IMG_7992 sm — A beautiful mechanical street clock on the main street.

IMG_5259 sm — I love the colors in this Texaco gas sign.

IMG_5250 sm — For the serious collector only : a Victorian age diorama.

IMG_5252 sm — Will this winged cupid lamp post fit somewhere in my house? Should I spend $1,195 on it? (No).

IMG_5238 sm — A set of eight 1962 World’s Fair shot glasses goes for $199.

My friends Bill and Dave and I drove out to the town of Snohomish today to get some lunch and to go check out the antique stores in the historical downtown.

Some of the antique stores are very large, with several floors of spaces for dozens of sellers displaying their wares. Everything from porcelain, crystal, books, art, advertising signs, clocks, collectible cards, figurines, toys and even clothes such as mink coats, is on display.

IMG_5241 sm — You don’t have to spend big bucks to come away with something cute such as this vintage poster for Champion spark plugs.

February 2, 2013February 2, 2013

Friday/ art backdrop at bus stop

There is new artwork up on the partition that separate Seattle City Light’s new substation construction site in South Lake Union from the street. There used to be a bus stop right here, but the sheltered bench and post were removed last year. But for now I see the No 8 bus is stopping there again .. must be because construction is currently scheduled to start only in Jan 2015.

IMG_5091 sm — ‘Buses Stop Here by Request’ says the wall (and they do – standing right there is a request for it to stop!). The street names are all from Seattle’s downtown.

IMG_5089 sm — This vintage bus must be – 50 years old?

January 30, 2013January 30, 2013

Tuesday/ got my new passport

I picked up my squeaky new, squeaky clean passport full of blank visa pages on Tuesday. Since I rarely park my car downtown, and still had some time on the meter afterwards, I took a little walkabout to check out the architecture around Pioneer Square.

IMG_7861 sm — Here is the King Street station just south of downtown Seattle. Construction was completed in 1906, and it is still a station for Amtrak and the ‘Sounder’ commuter trains.

IMG_7870 sm — This Chinese gateway entrance to Seattle’s International District is relatively new .. only completed in 2008. It was privately funded, and two gate experts from Guangdong province in China actually came out to work on the project.

IMG_7874 sm — Fire Station No 10 was also completed in 2008 .. it is 60,000 sq ft and very, very earthquake proof. (It would not do to have the city’s fire station crumble in an earthquake, now would it?).

IMG_7882 sm — That’s Smith Tower in Pioneer Square on the right, completed in 1914. It stands 38 floors tall at 149 m (489 ft), and was only overtaken in 1962 by the Space Needle as the tallest structure on the West Coast. The building on the left is Frye Apartments. It used to be a grand hotel, but was converted to low-income apartments in the 1970s.

January 27, 2013January 27, 2013

Saturday/ 47 ºF (9 ºC) and rain is A-OK

IMG_5012 sm2 — The Amante Pizza parlor’s sign at the corner of Olive Way and Denny in Seattle’s Capitol Hill on Saturday afternoon shows a temperature of 47 ºF (9 ºC).

It was 47 ºF (9 ºC) and rainy in Seattle on Saturday, but not bad weather at all, considering that snow-and-ice storm Luna* is hitting the Midwest and Chicago area this weekend.

*The Weather Channel’s name. They explain that their goal with naming storms is to better communicate the threat and the timing of the significant impacts that accompany these events.

January 25, 2013January 26, 2013

Friday/ Seattle’s 5th Avenue

I took the bus downtown to 5th Ave to hand in my passport for an expedited replacement. I was almost late (you make an appointment), since the office moved 6 blocks and I did not know that beforehand. And inside the Department of Homeland Security does an airport-like security screening, but with guards with guns and dogs and all. Pretty intimidating, even though they were very friendly. Weird that these measures ‘protecting our freedom’ actually makes it feel as if you do not have any in there. Anyway, up on the 6th floor the agent – paging through my fully stamped passport with two sets of added pages – was impressed with all my business travel, and said ‘Wow. Do you not feel like retiring yet?’. ‘Oh, of course I do’, I replied, but I have to work at least ten more years’.

IMG_4967 sm — My OneBusAway app shows up-to-the-minute information about buses in Seattle. My bus is No 43, and it is 2 minutes late to the stop. NOW means you have to run (‘Run Forrest Run!’*) since the bus is approaching the stop, or already there. *A reference to Forrest Gump the movie

IMG_4968 sm — And here it comes. I WOULD have gotten a perfect shot, had the stupid tree not jumped in front of me at the last second ! : )

IMG_4989 sm — Making my way down 5th Ave, with the obligatory shot of the Seattle Library on the right.

IMG_4987 sm — The YWCA building is at 1118 Fifth Ave is 100 years old ! (completed in 1913).

IMG_4993 sm — The King County Administration building with its hexagaonal honeycomb theme in its walls and windows was built in 1971.

IMG_4997 sm — Still on 5th Ave, but I’m now making my way back from Yesler Way where the passport offices are. That’s the Mars Hill church in the foreground. (The sun is making a spirited attempt to break through the clouds, its light reflecting off the buildings).

IMG_4996 sm — These copper leaves in the sidewalk are part of the Homeless Remembrance Project of Seattle to remember people who have died while homeless in King County. This is outside the Seattle Municipal Court on 5th Ave.

January 7, 2013

Sunday/ the 12th man

12th Man Flag Space Needle — The 12th Man Flag on top of the Space Needle shows support for the Seattle Seahawks football team. [Picture from seahawks.com website]

There was some football fan frenziness going on in Seattle on Sunday with a Seahawks play-off game against the Washington Redskins. The Seahawks rallied to a 24-14 win, after being down at 0-14. The picture shows the ’12th Man’ flag on the newly painted Space Needle dome (those are pine trees). And what does 12th man mean? It’s a term for the fans in the stadium during a game. Several American football used it at one point, then Texas A&M registered it as a trademark, and in 2006 filed a trademark lawsuit against the Seahawks. The lawsuit was settled out of court, and the Seahawks continue to use it. (For the life of me, I don’t quite understand why — were we not creative enough to come up with something different?)

November 25, 2012

Sunday/ to Salt Lake City

IMG_3947 sm — Sasquatch (also known as Bigfoot) in the bookstore at Seattle-Tacoma airport’s South terminal, helping to market some merchandise. Sasquatch is a mythical man-ape creature that is said to roam the forests here in the Pacific Northwest.

I am at Seattle-Tacoma airport for my flight out to Salt Lake City. I thought it would be busy here because of many Thanksgiving travelers that return home, but no : there are very few travelers out here and the airport is actually very quiet. It’s only 4.30pm, so maybe the crush will come later.

November 22, 2012

Wednesday/ Jimi Hendrix posters

IMG_3792 sm2 — The partition is by the South Lake Union construction site for the new substation.

These Jimi Hendrix posters that are getting touched up lend a little color to the plywood partition that they are pasted on (and to the drab grey environment). Seattle’s ‘Experience Music Project’ museum has a large collection of Jimi Hendrix artifacts.

Jimi Hendrix is widely considered to be one of the best electric guitar players ever. He was just 27 when he died of drug-related asphyxiation in Kensington, London in 1970.