Monday, November 20, 2006

Seattle Safety Patrol (not Bike Messenger)


Photo & Text Copyright 2006 Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved, including reproduction or republishing.

Errata: I have kindly been informed that the gentleman pictured above is not a bike messenger at all , but a Seattle safety patrol officer. . . -K. 12/9/06. Nathalie mentioned bike couriers, and we have them here, too. This one is standing outside of the Seattle downtown YMCA reviewing some document. The YMCA is a completely refurbished building (2000) with some lovely interior period details from the 1930s left for show (like a bank of wooden telephone booths). The Gates Foundation helped with the project, and you can see some details by clicking my More Seattle Stuff page.

I liked the way the horizontal and vertical rows of brick echoed each other from this corner vantage point. Does the brickwork pattern on the building across the street remind you of anyplace in Paris?

7 comments:

Olivier said...

Je les trouve impressionnant, j'en ais pas beaucoup vu à Paris, mais quand je suis à New York, ils me bluffent totalement. c'est des vrais kamikazes.

I find them impressive, I in board not seen much in Paris, but when I am in New York, they leave me without voice. they is truths kamikazes.

Cheltenhamdailyphoto said...

Great blog. Could i put in a request for Kurt Cobain's house by any chance?

Meg said...

Lovely building. Glad to see the world's purchases of Microsoft stuff gets put into good use!

photowannabe said...

Nice shot. There are so many couriers in San Francisco. They flit in and out of traffic at break-neck speed. I really don't know how they do it on the hills. They're so steep.
Oh yes, I like the brick horizontal lines too. it adds interest.

Kim said...

Olivier, Kamakazi is right!:-)

Lynn, I'm sorry that it is impossible to photograph Cobain's house as Love had it torn down due to bad memories and so many bereived fans coming around to try to find it. The property still has a building, but it is private and not viewable without tresspass. As you can imagine, that residential neighborhood near Lake Washinton has had it's share of tourists looking for the place. I will try to get a shot of the park up the hill nearby where I understand a lot of Nervana fans do go without disturbing folks who live in thea area, if I can. I think you can Google for photos of the house taken before the demolition. Thanks for the suggestion! Maybe I can get a lead on a house in which he grew up or some other place he frequented. I'll keep my eyes open.

Thanks, Meg! And, yes, the Gates and Allen foundations have certainly contributed generously to the community.

Photowannabe, sheesh, don't I know it! I frequently would note in the mirror a messenger holding onto our vehicle in SF (a cargo van at that time) for a tow. It was amazing how ingenious they could be. Very stealth! It would be cool if Manu could capture a shot of that!
-Kim

Jing said...

:P
nice colours in this photo!
and also can be seen lots of bike couriers in shanghai.
but...look different from this guy!
jing

Anonymous said...

oh dear. that's NOT a bike messenger/courier. it's one of the downtown safety ambassadors - aka rent-a-cops on bicycles! trust me, i've worked downtown for four years. if you want to photograph actual messengers, try monorail espresso. good luck getting a picture, though.