Seattle Daily Photo: March 2011

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Signs of Spring

Don't let the blue sky deceive you, it has been mostly gray and drippy here. There have been sunny moments though. The daffodils and plum and cherry blossoms are shouting, "It's spring!" everywhere. The Wallingford neighborhood boasts dozens of colorful banners, among them this harbinger of spring, a robin tugging at a worm. Has your community installed something similar to cheer up it's streetscapes?

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation New Campus

Two thirds of the campus of the Gates Foundation is very near completion. The finish work to the interiors and final details to the exterior hardscape and landscape are going on now. This is one of two multistory boomerang-shaped office buildings, with a third to be built later on. There is also a multistory parking structure and a central visitor's center completed. As you can see in the lower window, the construction company about to wrap up this phase of their work is Sellen. About this new campus that will be home to over 1000 employees TB&MGF states: "Above all, our new campus will reflect our values and mission: to reduce inequity, promote health and opportunity, and ensure that every person, regardless of his or her life circumstances, can live up to his or her true potential"

Take a look at these new space, inside and out, through the awesome video below or, if it doesn't load properly, at the bottom of this link!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

So Long Fun Forest

So long Fun Forest Amusements, hello new Chihuley permanent exhibit at the Needle come 2012. Kids and teens will miss your cheap thrills. Gone for good are photographer's chances of nabbing an iconic shot of the spinning Ferris wheel or carousel with the Space Needle in the background. There are so few places for Seattle kids to hang out that are safe, fun and cheap. Now there are fewer, and none with that cheesy kind of charm that is any closer than, say, the Puyallup Fair in spring and fall. Ah, well.
I met out of town friends at Seattle Center last week and noticed the remains of the south part of the Fun Forrest rides, like this one, the Tornado, were being removed and trucked away. The Ferris wheel and carousel, long faves with photographers, were already history. The building housing the bumper cars and indoor kiddie rides didn't appear to have been touched yet. For information on what plans are afoot for this south area of Seattle Center, look here.
Big Doings Coming Soon: The larger rides like the roller coaster in the north area had already been sold a year ago. The entire old Fun Forest area will get a major face lift for Seattle Center's 50th anniversary next year. Opening April 21, 2011 will be an 18 month long installation of the ginormous Seattle Observation Wheel, a custom built 196-feet-high Ferris wheel with enclosed gondolas (think London and Paris), the tallest year-round wheel in the USA. The cost per adult for a 15 minute ride will be $10 to $15, and I'm thinking some new photo ops are definitely on the horizon :-).

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

1000 Cranes for Sadako

Seattle's Peace Park was dedicated in 1990 and features this charming statue of Sadako Sasaki by Seattle sculptor Daryl Smith (who also cast the Jimi Hendrix sculpture on Broadway at Pine).

At age two, Sadako survived the atomic blast that destroyed her home in Hiroshima. She died at age 11, though--one of thousands of children who became ill with radiation related leukemia. Her classmates and children from all over Japan raised funds for a Children's Peace Memorial, dedicated in her honor on Children's Day in May of 1959. It stands in Hiroshima's Peace Park. Sadako completed folding 1000 origami cranes while in hospital in hopes of obtaining a wish for healing, and kept making more until shortly before her death two months later.

Dr. Floyd Schmoe, an amazingly accomplished and inspiring Seattlite who served as the first naturalist at Mount Rainier, helped establish and fund Seattle's Peace Park along with other members of University Friends Meeting (Society of Friends, Quaker). He had gone to Hiroshima right after WWII to build houses for the homeless, just one of his many activities in a lifelong dedication to peace and social justice. The UW professor lived to be 105, and I hope you will take a moment to read about his truly remarkable and adventurous life here. It made my jaw drop in admiration.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Super Moon Over Seattle

The March 2011 Perigree Moon on Saturday night, at just 356,577 km away, was the closest the moon has been to earth since 1993. I had been fighting a cold and dozed off in the early evening and missed the gigantic golden moon rise on the eastern horizon many of my photo friends captured on this beautiful spring evening. When I awoke a little after midnight I grabbed the camera and stepped out on the deck to see what I could see. I tried a few handheld shots using a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens on a Canon 40D, settings at ISO 100, 1/640 second and spot metering off the moon's bright surface. This one came out the clearest. If I had bothered to retrieve the tripod from the trunk of the car the image might have been crisper. . .but hey, where's the challenge in THAT ;^).

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Barcelonas on Marion Street

I love classic chair design and happened upon a seating arrangement of four copies of the Mies van der Rohe "Barcelona" chair in the lobby of a building on Marion Street. I've heard he based his design on an Egyptian folding chair. It was introduced at the International Exposition in Barcelona in 1929. I like the design not only for its timeless elegant lines, but because it is truly comfortable seating.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Former Amazon.com World Headquarters

From next month through June another wave of Amazon.com employees is reportedly slated to move from its various current leased offices like Union Station in the International District, Columbia Tower, and from its former World Headquarters in the Pac-Med Building (pictured here). I have seen reports that Amazon.com will still retain some leased space at Pac-Med, but don't know how accurate that information might be. Amazon.com is scheduled to complete the final phase of its new 11 building campus in the South Lake Union/Cascade neighborhood by 2013.

I bet any Amazonians who might be moving from this Beacon Hill location will miss the view out over the Dr. Jose Rizal bridge and snaking freeways toward the downtown skyline.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Heading Onto the Viaduct

That ramp ahead across 1st Ave leads to the southbound deck of Seattle's elevated waterfront highway, the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Quite a little stir was in the air this week. During a local radio show conversation Monday about the implications the tragic earthquake and tsunami in Japan might have for Seattle, Mayor Mike McGinn mentioned maybe the viaduct should come down right away to avoid risking lives--even before an alternative tunnel is built. The viaduct was damaged over 10 years ago in a 6.8 quake here. Over ~~11,000~~ 110,000 vehicles travel the viaduct each day. There are now plans in the works for a tunnel to replace it in about five more years.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

The Wearing of the Green

Text & Photo © 2011 Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved, including downloading, copying, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.

I'm wishing everyone celebrating it a happy St. Patrick's Day! The Emerald City, like many major American cities, enjoys getting its Irish on with all kinds of festivities from church services to cultural performances to stereotypical green beer at bars. There will be serious overcrowding in our several good Irish pubs, corned beef and cabbage will be on special at many markets, and in years past, some streets have even been painted green. You may know several of our sports teams feature green and blue as their colors, so when the Space Needle flew the green flag of the Seattle Sounders Football Club and proudly lit the lights I made this image and thought I'd use it today as SDP's little tip of the hat to the wearing of the green.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Paths We Did Not Know

I am thinking of all those affected by the earthquake in Japan and resulting wave action around the Pacific Rim. I am so sorry for the loss and destruction suffered by so many and am wishing the survivors comfort. I hope the aid coming from friends around the globe will convey our concern and very best wishes. I have experienced a 6.9 and 7.1 earthquake in which friends died. I can't imagine the exponential power of 8.9 with tsunamis. I am wishing our friends whose lives have been suddenly altered the very best as recovery begins.

A path leading down to the Sound beckoned me for a quiet walk on Whidbey Island. I thought of a favorite passage by Howard Thurman about the unknown that awaits us on our personal journeys and that's where I pulled the title for this image.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Sky City Meets Palace Kitchen

The Needle is always playing peek-a-boo with us from above, through spaces between buildings and over the tops of trees and signs. In this night scene I glimpsed the Space Needle's Sky City restaurant revolving atop the Palace Kitchen's neon sign.

Hey, I want to thank all of you who regularly visit SDP. I'm not able to respond to comments as often as I once did, but please know that I appreciate your comments very much! Since I started this photoblog in July of 2006, 431,218 visitors have stopped by. And I'd like to thank "Jerckns" for becoming the 600th follower via Google Friend Connect.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Colorful Vintage Closet

This is a display outside a fun, funky little shop at the intersection of 3rd Ave NW and NW 65th Street, right on the boarder where the Phinney Ridge and Ballard neighborhoods meet. The Vintage Closet features used boots for men, women, and kids, as well as leather belts, handbags, clothing, hats, dyed vintage silk slips and layered crinolines. There is often an old Rambler parked out front and sometimes a teardrop shaped vintage camping trailer to complete the great feel.

Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Hail, Hail the Fam's All Here

With our spring storms rolling through so frequently, there have been quite a few hail storms. This family was emerging from the Fainting Goat gelato shop when they got pelted with the white stuff. The son quickly rounded up a ball of hail from a nearby bench and nailed his pop right in the keaster. :-)
For those of you who would like to get into the Irish spirit early this year, Fainting Goat starts featuring their Guinness gelato today through St. Patrick's Day. (Yes, apparently filled with authentic foamy goodness ;^D). Now that's a new way to enjoy a pint!

Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Seeing Double

Seems Cyclops has gained binocular vision in this rather sober scene. This is a popular Belltown bar.

Monday, March 07, 2011

Cape Cleare Delivers Their Catch By Bike

These people are living the Pacific Northwest sustainable dream. Meet Rick and Heidi of Cape Cleare Salmon. Rick Oltman takes his fishing vessel, the Cape Cleare, from Port Townsend up into Alaskan waters during fishing season and uses hook and line to bring in the catch one at a time. He and partner Hiedi board ferries on these two Surly "Big Dummy" cargo bicycles, with custom trailers he built, to transport the flash frozen catch to restaurants and markets. They were on their way home from selling at the Sunday Ballard Farmers Market when we passed them crossing the Ballard Locks. I was smitten with the colorful artwork on sail cloth that they've incorporated into the frames. Please take a look at my More Seattle Stuff page to see shots of the trailers in full, as their design is ingenious and can carry hundreds of pounds of cargo. When you not only know what waters your fish came from but who caught it and how, it's got to make you feel good. Their values and integrity show in the ways they've chosen to run their business. I think that's pretty inspirational to see.

Sunday, March 06, 2011

The McCoy Tyner Quintet @ Jazz Alley

Bill Frisell, Gary Bartz, McCoy Tyner, John Patitucci, & Herlin Riley

The combined excellence of musicianship of this quintet and their obvious enjoyment of playing together made for a very exciting and beautiful evening of music at Jazz Alley. I caught the second set of the evening and was seated (to my delight) next to the stage. Pictured from left to right are Bill Frisell on guitar, Gary Bartz on saxophones, McCoy Tyner on piano, John Patitucci on bass, & Herlin Riley on drums. They had me heart and soul from the first gorgeous piece to the last. What an enormous treat to hear these talented guys together! I have long admired Mr. Tyner's lush playing and compositions and had heard him live once before many years ago with Sonny Rollins. This was my favorite performance of the two, though, and I hope this quintet gets a chance to record together and capture this special music they made so wonderfully together.

Saturday, March 05, 2011

Seattlites Are Fun, Nice People

So, I was busy across the street setting up a shot of these shops aglow in the Wallingford neighborhood when a man emerged from either the beer shop or the wine shop there with a case on his shoulder and proceeded to load it into his car. I didn't think anything of it except, "Yay, a human to add some interest to the street scene." About the time he got the hatch open he noticed me shooting from across the street and just stood there grinning, posing with the case on his shoulder. Of course I started to laugh so hard at being seen that those next shots were blurred. I gave up and waved at him and he at me and we went our merry ways chuckling into the evening. Where do you think the contents of that case came from, wine shop or beer shop? :-).

Friday, March 04, 2011

Bianchi Girl's Stormy Commute

Another storm front moved through yesterday complete with thunder, hail, and pelting rain. It proved to be a wet commute for cyclists.

Thursday, March 03, 2011

Shoji Night Lights

I came across this softly glowing building at Hamilton International Middle School while out on a walk. The school reopened last fall after a 73 million dollar renovation. I love the shoji style upper windows illuminating a snowy night scene. Hard to believe this was Seattle's first middle school, built in the 1920's.

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Frozen Waterways

In warmer weather many people enjoy renting a kayak or canoe and paddling through these waters under freeway ramps near the Arboretum. . .but even the ducks weren't having any of this frozen scene in the Montlake neighborhood.

Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Evening @ The 45th Guild

With the cold temps in Seattle this past week, movie theaters like The 45th Guild in Wallingford have attracted folks into warm lobbies with the aroma of popcorn and the promise of being transported away for awhile into the land of the silver screen. The theater opened in the 1920s as the Paramount and boasts the charming deco details of the era.

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