Seattle Daily Photo: April 2007

Monday, April 30, 2007

Tall & Short of Downtown

The Seattle skyline is a favorite among American cities. Perhaps because it is compact and involves hilly terrain sloping back from the water front. Here is a view looking southeast that is a bit less usually than most Seattle cityscapes. Something about the proportions of the buildings in this shot makes me think of children's unit blocks on the floor instead of gigantic skyscrapers and lesser buildings in a skyline at sunset. At the bottom you can just see a glimmer of the Purple Haze portion of the EMP at Seattle Center. Best viewed large (to acess All Sizes button, become my Flickr contact from my Flickr profile page. Hope this is helpful to Abe and others who wonder how to access larger images. Thanks!)

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Kiss & View

A view can be inspirational. Seattle is surrounded by the waters of Puget Sound, an inland saltwater sea that gives a richness to the lives of the people in the area. A sail boat motors out of the jetty Happy Sunday everyone!

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Spring Glow

A spring twilight sky with clouds and tree silhouettes illuminated with the suns late glow. This shot was taken on Queen Anne Hill looking west down Highland, toward the Puget Sound. The sky in Seattle is a constant show, often beautiful, always interesting and full of flight and movement. Wishing all of you a lovely and restful Saturday!

Friday, April 27, 2007

Dinner Out

Seattle abounds in wonderful food. The joys of dining out in a small restaurant that has great cooking and attentive service can be encountered in nearly every neighborhood in the city without necessarily having to go downtown Here patrons of Portage on Queen Anne Hill are served. Wishing everyone a lovely Friday!

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Lovers' View

They pulled up in a limo, walked to the edge of the viewpoint, and stood together in the rain for several minutes enjoying the city skyline. They seemed to be in town on business and before catching a ride back to the airport did a bit of sightseeing.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Hearing Bells

I saw many affectionate couples out for evening walks or runs during this beautiful spring sunset. Seattle is an amazingly beautiful place, and their view out over the Sound, the city skyline, the Olympic Sculpture Park, and the waterfront, was apparently pretty inspiring.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Taking No Chances

This cyclist is wearing a helmet as he rolls along the bike path, past Love & Loss and into the setting sun. Cyclists like this are a common scene around Seattle.

Monday, April 23, 2007

Billy's Lilac

I always think of you when the lilac's bloom. For my brother Bill, whose birthday and life I celebrate today. This lilac is in my garden. Wishing everyone a beautiful spring day, full of sun, color, and fragrance.

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Waterfront Foot & Bicycle Paths

Very pleasant weather between rain showers, and people are out and about enjoying the sunshine this weekend. Along the Myrtle Edwards Park/Elliott Bay Bike Trail below the Olympic Sculpture Park they have improved pedestrian and bicycle path system. It's unusual to see a cyclist here in Seattle riding without a helmet, but perhaps this fellow out running his dog feels very confident of his own safety on this long stretch of bike-only smooth surface. An experienced commuter cyclist we know riding in West Seattle this week was glad it is his habit to wear his helmet because he went down, very hard without warning, and seriously broke quite a few bones and cracked his helmet which took the head blow for him. Most cyclists we know have had very close calls or even been hit by cars or gone down with a pretty bad road rash to show for it. Recreational riding like that pictured here is not as prone to accidents, but I think I would always wear my helmet, nonetheless. When we were riding around Paris we noticed very few people using helmets, and the rental place didn't require that we wear them.

It is Earthday here in the USA, an observance that started back in the early 1970s. Seattle prides itself for innovations in green building practices, its household and commercial recycling efforts, and other environmental endeavors; but, Seattlites would be the first to tell you we've got a long way to go on issues like transportation and the plight of wild Salmon. The Pacific Northwest is a region of the US and Canada that is acutely aware of environmental issues and the struggles to change damaging practices such as clear cutting forests and non-organic agricultural practices. Seattle "Seattle Daily Photo" bicycle "bike path" waterfront "Olympic Sculpture Park" sunset outdoors Earthday helmet" dog people

Saturday, April 21, 2007

A Sense of Place

I don't know who chose the signature red chairs (the same hue of red as predominant Calder sculpture, "Eagle") but it was a brilliant move. When I see photos of the green park chairs from Luxumberg or Tuileries Gardens in Paris, I know immediately where those photos were taken. These chairs will bring that sense of place to shots taken at the Olympic Sculpture Garden. I do hope they will be able to take down the recently added wooden stake and wire low fencing that keeps visitors on the paths and off the newly established groundcovers and lawns. One would hope adopting low wire borders in a geometric shape, like the small curved arches so common on Paris garden paths, could replace the necessary eyesore that mars the design vision once the plantings are well established. Of course controlling people in public places is a bit like herding cats. Some kids are going to start rolling down those hills, some taggers are going to mar the art or walls, some skate boarders are going to find someway to break new territory, some naked people are going to get into the father and son fountain. The red chairs are about the only element people have any liscense with at present. One can move them anywhere. Seattle Seattle+Daily+Photo Olympic+Sculpture+Park chair red+chair outdoor+chair park+chair Calder+red path SAM park art Seattle+Art+Museum

Friday, April 20, 2007

PACCAR Pavilion, Olypmpic Sculpture Park

The new Olympic Sculpture Park along the Elliott Bay Waterfront is a huge hit with Seattlites. On this lovely spring evening a dinner event is taking place within PACCAR Pavilion, and evening walkers are beginning to arrive for their waterfront strolls in the Sculpture Park. The condo complexes of Belltown dominate the skyline beyond. Que up U2 singing "It's a Beautiful Day" in the background and you get a sense for how perfect the moment is. Seattle Seattle+Daily+PhotoPACCAR+Pavillion Olympic+Sculpture+Park Belltown condos SAM Seattle+Art+Museum sunset waterfront architecture exterior people urban

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Not Your Average Architectural Orniment

Fate of Scholars? Guano and moss? This grotesque from the late 1930's by Dudley Pratt is one of 28 that adorn Smith Hall on the Liberal Arts Quadrangle on the campus of the University of Washington. These are really imposing and somewhat humorous to my eye. One student wrote to me that although she'd spent a lot of time in the "Quad" she had never noticed these! Poor students so weighed down with studies that they don't look up. The UW campus is quite lovely with many interesting buildings featuring gargoyles and pictorial ornaments, but these are amazing. Looks like some cleaning of moss will be in order before long on Smith's Grotesques. Seattle Seattle+Daily+Photo University+of+Washington UW Smith+Hall Grotesques Dudley+Pratt Quad Liberal+Arts Quadrangle archetecture archetectural+orniments design building exterior

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Dream Flight

Seattle is one of those US west coast cities that had a lot of mid-century modern era construction. The influences of "the space age," what is now termed "Googie" design, thinkers/designers like Buckminster Fuller, and architectural trends that seemed to experiment with basic geometric shapes brought some amazingly "brave" designs to buildings and structures.

This hospital building on Capitol Hill clearly shows th influences, although I know nothing about the building itself. (For more of a view of thie stucture, click on my More Seattle Stuff page.) When I was framing and focussing this shot, a flock of birds on the roof suddenly took flight and added a dreamy element. This shot is in color (believe it or not). This is how gray our rainy days can be.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

High Rise Reflected in Municipal Tower Lobby Window

This very distinctive building with it's windowed curved roof is the fourth tallest in the city and is visible in most photos of Seattle's skyline. Here is a street level view of the lobby windows reflecting another downtown building. The Seattle Municipal Tower has a freeway on ramp to the I-5 express lanes running right through it, just to the right of where I was standing for this shot. The red key insignia is the logo for Key Bank. The building was called Key Bank Tower prior to 2004. The lobby is quite impressive with these several story high windows, and (what else!) there is a Starbucks tucked just inside the front doors. There are 5 floors below ground level, and 57 above. The facilities include a flower shop, several eateries and a fitness club, complete with 5 lane lap pool. Seattle Seattle+Daily+Photo Seattle+Municipal+Tower Seattle+skyscraper Seattle+highrise Seattle+building buildings architecture exterior lobby reflection Key+Bank+Tower Seattle+skyline cityscape

Monday, April 16, 2007

Penthouse View

Uber typical shot, I know, but check out the sweet floor-to-cieling glass penthouse in te lower right of the shot, and imagine yourself relaxing there as the evening settles in after a long day.. . The lights are coming up in the high rises, and the Sapce Needle is illuminated as the sun sets.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Sunrise, Peek-a-Boo #5

I took this shot one day at sunrise and loved the burnished hues the rising sun brought to the east face of architect Frank Gehry's steel shingled Experience Music Project. I'm playing with the Space Needle again in what has unintentionally become a series where it seems to be peeking out from different places and things. So, here is a sunrise Peek a Boo. Compare the colors of this shot with Sunset Peek a Boo #6, taken at sunset from about the same POV. Visitors with any bent at all toward mid-to-late-20th century popular music will want to dedicate the better part of a day to this truly wonderful interactive museum (which just dropped its admission price, which includes admission to the Science Fiction Museum. And each first Thursday evening of the month admission is free!).

I'm curious to know if any other City Daily Photo blogger's have a Gehry-designed building nearby that they have photographed. The EMP here in Seattle, with its undulating mix of colorful elements, is a very striking and fun complex. Frank+Gehry architecture EMP Experience+Music+Project Science+Fiction+Museum Space+Needle Seattle+Center interactive+museum Peek+A+Boo abstract sunrise Seattle Seattle+Daily+Photo

Saturday, April 14, 2007

1927 Apartment Building To Make Way for Condo Complex

We used to live in a 1908 vintage 3rd floor walk up in San Francisco, so I have a soft place for charm over convenience in living spaces. Construction of vintage apartment buildings in Seattle differs in details from SF, but doesn't lack its own charm. The brick and terra cotta facade apartment building on the far left of this photo is loaded with charm, although its not ornate or upscale. It's major appeal comes from period details and a convenient, attractive location on the south slope of Queen Anne Hill. It is directly across the street from where tour vans and wedding party limos let people out at Kerry Park to enjoy the unobstructed postcard-perfect views of Elliott Bay, the Space Needle and Downtown. If I'm not mistaken, doesn't the main character from TV's "Grey's Anatomy" supposedly live on Queen Anne?

I took this shot during a lovely sunset when these buildings seemed to be glowing with warmth. When I had finished taking some shots a woman who had lived in the far left building 40 years ago struck up a conversation with me about it's appointed demise. The lot to its left had been suddenly cleared of a beautiful old home last year, and neighbors became concerned about plans for a proposed high rise condo building. Click here for full details. And click my More Seattle Stuff page for a close-up view of the building's entrance details, taken in the rain the day before this shot. Seattle, taking the lead of Vancouver, BC before it, is embracing the value of density in urban planning. The city is awash in cranes and construction sites. This will become one of those, and in its place will come new units to house new generations of Seattlites. I wonder what a new building will look like in sunset light like this? Seattle Seattle+Daily+Photo Victoria+Apartments brick+&+terra+cotta 1927 "apartment building"view obstruction neighbors concerns historic+landmark Greys+Anatomy condos condominiums high+rise density Queen+Anne+Hill debate concern

Friday, April 13, 2007

45 Millionth Space Needle Visitor to Go to Paris!

It's 45 X 45! To celebrate its 45th anniversary this month, the Space Needle will be awarding its 45 millionth visitor a 5 day trip to Paris for two, featuring dinner at the Jules Verne Restaurant in the Tour Eiffel. Visitors to Seattle always love to go up to the top of this 1962 World's Fair icon and enjoy the 360 degree vista of beautiful Seattle and the surrounding Puget Sound and mountain ranges. Even if you can't try to be the 45 millionth person to ride the elevators to the top, you can take a guess at when that visitor will come and still win a prize (click here). And you can save the $14 to go to the top and visit the Space Needle Web Cam for free at any time. It's controls allow you to see the view in any direction on the compass (really fun).

This is a shot I took of the reflection in the exterior Observation Deck window at the top of the Space Needle--a little different orientation since everything is reversed! In the panorama one can see the blue waters of Lake Union surrounded by the neighborhoods of South Lake Union, West Lake, and East Lake, Wallingford and University District at the top of the lake, and the snow capped Cascade range in the distance. Seattle Seattle+Daily+Photo Space+Needle Observation+Deck 45+X+45 45th+Anniversary 45+millionth+visitor Seattle+Center 1962+World's+Fair Paris Tour+Eiffel Eifflel+Tower contest prize

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Crows Defending Nest From Young Bald Eagle

Best viewed large. Two big crows boldly dive-bombed a young bald eagle that was eying something they had in a madrona tree on the Magnolia neighborhood's north shore. I'm guessing it was their nest of eggs, but didn't see it from my vantage point. We were out for our evening walk on Tuesday and noticed all this up-close bird action in a madrona tree in the parkway that overlooks the bluff. This was just after we had watched a Cooper's hawk circling on the evening wind. For those of you who are birders, during our two evening walks through the Magnolia neighborhood this week we saw two mature bald eagles, two young bald eagles, a Cooper's hawk, a spotted towhee, black capped chickadees, crows, gulls, and sparrows (you can see their photos at my Flickr page). I've been on the lookout to show you a great blue heron, Seattle's official city bird, but haven't had a camera when I've seen them. Seattle Seattle+Daily+Photo Bald+Eagle crows birds madrona Magnolia nature Plants+&+Animals

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

City View From Magnolia

The Seattle city and waterfront skyline as viewed from the Magnolia neighborhood, a penninsula between Uptown and Ballard, just west of Queen Anne Hill and Interbay. This view is from the northern edge of Magnolia looking east-southeast. The tree in the far right foreground is a lovely old Madrona. Seattle Seattle+Daily+Photo Magnolia skyline cityscape view waterfront Space+Needle Amaz+Building Amazon.com Smith+Tower WaMu+Building Municipal+Building

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Bald Eagle Over Magnolia Bluff

While out walking on the north side of the Magnolia neighborhood at sunset I saw a pair of eagles circling overhead. This one with a full white head, the other all brown mottled, which I think was a youngster. Kind of thrilling for me. I'd only seen wild bald eagles from the vantage point of a boat before, standing on beaches in the San Jaun Islands close to their nests or diving into the waves to catch some dinner. To see them soaring high on the evening wind was exciting. Seattle Seattle+Daily+Photo eagle bald+eagle Magnolia sunset animals birds bird birds+of+prey flight soaring

Monday, April 09, 2007

Over, Under, Around, Through

Surface streets, freeway off ramps and the I-5 make a prepositional noodle work through downtown Seattle. The I-5 splits the city in half length-wise, making cross town traffic challenging at peak travel times. Diamond lanes for carpools of 2 or more people are incorporated, and there are express lanes that can run north or south to help ease long-range travellers through the downtown areas. There are no toll roads in the system, and even bridges are toll free.

Sunday, April 08, 2007

Joy!

A very happy Easter and Pesach to everyone in the City Daily Photo Family. In a week rich in family celebrations and the loveliness of the emerging spring, may each of us remember we are as beautiful and loved as this laughing child being pursued by her mother. Have a wonderful Sunday! Seattle Seattle+Daily+Photo Easter Passover Pesach child running joy moms play chase tag freedom abandon spring City+Daily+Photo

Saturday, April 07, 2007

Reflective

The gilded tile inlay cross of Seattle's First Pres on First Hill seen against the reflective glass of a downtown high rise catching the cloudscape, on a gray Lenten evening. Rain predicted all week; won't the school children love that for their spring break! Well, at least Friday was warm, clear, and glorious. . .a true spring day!

Friday, April 06, 2007

Sanctuary Doors

Good Friday observances for Christians go on all over Seattle today, with many sanctuaries open for prayer and observances from daybreak until the the candle lit wee small hours. There are also concerts of sacred music, like Schuetz' "The Passion According to St. John" being performed at this church in the evening. These red doors of Trinity Episcopal Parish on First Hill near Seattle's downtown district could serve as a symbol or meditation of the day's significance for Christian practitioners. This Seattle Episcopal community formed in 1865. All the doors on it's campus are bright red.

Thursday, April 05, 2007

Trio Plus Backup Singers

It was some sort of non-fashion statement. . .about 20 nude mannequins and their shadows strutted their stuff in the New York Fashion Academy windows along Ballard Avenue. We all get like this at times, that Emperor's New Clothes realization that we are wearing only illusions about ourselves and are as naked as these mannequins in a storefront window. Artists can hold up that mirror for us, even very young ones wearing pink and green hair, Amelie bangs, a thrift store shift, striped leggings and Doc Martins, carrying bolts of pastel moire and some mid-century-modern birch bark cloth print down Ballard Avenue in the dark. Seattle Seattle+Daily+Photo New+York+Fashion+Academy Ballard Ballard+Avenue manikins clothing nude naked shopfront storefront window+display design fashion illusion Emperor's+New+Clothes

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

The Little Statue

There was no one in sight when I came upon this. Someone had placed this very small statue on the corner of the ledge at Kerry Park, and then forgotten it or left it purposefully. It had not been there a couple days before. It was raining. She was covered in mud and grass bits. Perhaps someone had cleared the grass on the hillside below, found this and just set it on the ledge. . .?

Since this is Holy Week in the Christian tradition, I thought I would share this simple found statue of a small figure in prayer during a somber Lenten rainfall. Seattle Seattle+Daily+Photo Space+Needle Seattle+skyline Kerry+Park view statue prayer Holy+Week Lent rain urban park

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

University of Washington Quad Cherry Trees

Students leaving Monday afternoon classes on the UW campus and walk through the Quad (Liberal Arts Quadrangle), famous for its 30 mature Yoshino cherry trees in full bloom. These trees were transplanted from the Seattle Arboretum 40 years ago this year, when a freeway project threatened them. When the breeze stirs, a shower of delicate pink petals rains down, creating absolute magic. Click here for the full story of these beloved trees and a Cherry Blossom Web Cam set up to help visitors know when the blooms are at their peak. See my Flickr page for more photos. There were tons of photographers there today! How strange and sad that on this lovely campus just six hours earlier a murder-suicide had occurred in the school of architecture building. April does seem to be the cruelest month, when such beauty and horror coexist. Seattle Seattle+Daily+Photo University+of+Washington quad cherry+trees cherry+blossoms UW people students building architecture Seattle+Universities+&+Colleges Liberal+Arts+Quadrangle arboritum

Monday, April 02, 2007

Houseboat Cat

Hanging out in the morning light on the back deck. Mr. Blacky knows where his energy source is and stores up the sunlight to power his day. There are hundreds of houseboats and live-aboards on Seattle's Lake Union. It is a lifestyle brought to the attention of many non-Seattlite's through the Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan/Nora Ephron romantic comedy of a number of years ago, Sleepless in Seattle. If you come to Seattle, a fun way to see these floating home communities along the edges of Lake Union without intruding on their residents is to take a little cruise on one of the small, fun inexpensive boats and ferries. The Sunday Ice Cream Cruise out of Fremont can give you a great introduction. Seattle Seattle+Daily+Photo houseboats floating+home housboat+communities Lake+Union cat boat live+aboard Fremont Sunday+Ice+Cream+Cruise Sleepless+In+Seattle deck

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Theme Day: Public Mailbox--Seattle Style

The lobby of Seattle's 1914 Smith Tower is full of wonderful period details, including this fully functional ornate brass US Mail Box. The two shoots at the top go all the way up the building and allow people on the 35 office floors above to drop letters to go to the post office into the box on the first floor. As you can see, there is also a Starbuck's adjacent to the lobby.

Today over 66 Daily City Photo Blog sites around the globe want to show you what mial boxes look like in their cities. Start your trip around the world here, noting time zone differences may affect if a photo is posted yet or not. Do leave a comment wherever you visit.

1 (London (UK) ) -2 (Grenoble (France) ) -3 (Rotterdam (Netherlands) ) -4 (Greenville SC (USA) ) -5 (Hyde (UK) ) -6 (Villigen (Switzerland) ) -7 (Albuquerque NM (USA) ) -8 (Mazatlan (Mexico) ) -9 (Montréal (Canada) ) -10 (Stayton OR (USA) ) -11 (Shanghai (China) -Jing ) -12 (Arradon (France) ) -13 (Sequim WA (USA) ) -14 (Newcastle upon Tyne (England) ) -15 (Seattle WA (USA) -Kim ) -16 (Bastia (Corse) ) -17 (Minneapolis MN (USA) ) -18 (Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) ) -19 (Joplin MO (USA) ) -20 (Sharon, CT (USA) ) -21 (Cottage Grove MN [USA] ) -22 (Houston, TX (USA) -Candice & Megan ) -23 (Singapore - by Keropokman. ) -24 (Guelph, ON (Canada) ) -25 (Menton (France) ) -26 (Monte Carlo, Monaco ) -27 (Naples, FL (USA) ) -28 (Kyoto (Japan) ) -29 (Tokyo (Japan) ) -30 (Aliso Viejo, CA (USA) ) -31 (Cape Town (South Africa) ) -32 ( Jakarta (Indonesia) ) -33 (Kitakami (Japan) ) -34 (Tel Aviv (Israel) ) -35 (Vantaa(Finland) ) -36 (Guadalajara (Mexico) ) -37 (Auckland (New Zealand) ) -38 (Nelson (New Zealand) ) -39 (Tuzla (B&H) ) -40 (Brussels (Belgium) ) -41 (Anderson, SC (USA) ) -42 (Lubbock, TX (USA) ) -43 (John, Melbourne, (Australia) ) -44 (Stavanger (Norway) ) -45 (Tenerife (Spain) ) -46 (Stockholm (Sweden) ) -47 (Boston, MA (USA) ) -48 (Not Strictly Seattle, Susan ) -49 (New York City, (USA), Ming the Merciless ) -50 (Paris [Eric], (France) ) -51 (Ampang (Selangor) ) -52 (Sydney (Nathalie) Australia ) -53 (ailea , HI (USA) ) -54 (Manila (Philippines) ) -55 (Sydney (Sally) Australia ) -56 (Cork (Ireland) ) -57 (Saarbrücken (Germany) ) -58 (Saint Paul MN (USA) by Carol ) -59 (San Diego, CA (USA) ) -60 (Mexico [POLY], (Mexico) ) -61 (Budapest (Hungary) ) -62 (Singapore (Singapore by Zannnie) ) -63 (Madrid [Dsole] (Spain) ) -64 (Nottingham (England) ) -65 (Bandung (Indonesia) ) -66 (London - Jonemo (UK)) -

(I apologize for the template background difficulties that have gone unresolved by Blogger. I've changed some text colors so things are readable until I can remedy it. Meanwhile go all the way to the bottom of the page for the sidebar items such as links and visitor countries. Thanks!)

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