Seattle Daily Photo

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Still Looking Up to Her at 50!

I took this shot of The Jetsons era beauty looking up through the glass rain shield that covers the gift shop walkway. Seattlites are going dotty for their icon, as the Space Needle is celebrating its 50th anniversary this month. Here's the Needle By The Numbers:
605 feet tall
Original cost: $4.5 million
Remodel cost in 2000: $21 million
Visited by 1.2 million people a year
Repainted 4 times, using 8,000 gallons
On hot days, the Needle expands about 1 inch
Opened to the public April 21, 1962
Open 365 days per year

Here's a link to the live webcam on top of the Needle. You can manipulate the view to see out in any direction on the compass. So, check out the view from the top, and if you look in the right direction, you might see my house :-).

Friday, April 27, 2012

Economy of Scale

I was not the only photographer wandering around the base of the Fremont neighborhood's colossal Lenin statue late in the evening. I, however, did not have my tripod with me. This guy got some super night shots with his. His presence allows me to show you the scale of this controversial statue that is considered a neighborhood art novelty rather than a political work (full story here of how this 16' bronze cast in 1988 came from Slovakia to reside in Washington State in 1994). As huge as he is, this is only the second largest sculpture in Fremont. The Fremont Troll (shown here) is two feet taller and much, much wider.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Spring Evening On Greenlake

My mother-in-law and I were taking a walk around Greenlake when we noticed four paddlers making their way through the cloudscape on the water.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Seattle Buildings @ Le Rêve Bakery Cafe

While at breakfast the other morning I saw this lovely compendium by local school children of familiar Seattle landmarks. Which buildings are familiar to you? Can you name them in order? :-)

Full time work and full time student-hood these days is keeping me from wandering the Seattle streets with camera in hand much. Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Rush Hour

A Seattle cyclist with a messenger bag speeds past me in the twilight, braving the chill February evening air in shirtsleeves and cuffed pants. Obviously he's speedier than I have been of late. Life is full and spring is in the air, ( in liquid form, mostly) :-).

Sunday, February 05, 2012

Chihuly Garden & Glass Nearing Completion

It's pretty much night and day construction on the Seattle Center site of the new Chihuly Garden and Glass area which has taken shape in the space once occupied by the Fun Forrest amusements. The Garden and Glass exhibit is due to open in April and just broke ground at the end of August, so construction has been rapid. One crew of workers was leaving their shift and another had just begun as evening settled in on the very busy work site. The crew said the project is coming together well and that there have been no injuries. It is a beautiful structure, and I can't wait to see it finished with the garden installation and all the light and color it will bring. Meanwhile, across campus wedged beside Key Arena, the Children's Theater and Fisher Pavilion, the new skate park area is providing some alternative fun space for active youth to work on their fluid moves. Hopefully a few more active areas for children, youth and families will be developed nearby to provide safe, fun alternative attractions that add variety to the many performing arts, science and cultural offerings currently on site.

Building Materials for Chihuly Garden and Glass

Saturday, February 04, 2012

Gates Foundation Visitor Center Opens

Today the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Visitor Center will open its doors to the public, giving a window on the Foundation's projects around the world. From the street you will see lighted lettering on the visitor's center which shines out the credo,"Every Person Deserves the Chance to Live a Healthy, Productive Life." On Wednesday evening I was on campus taking photos when the Foundation kicked off it's Visitor Center opening celebration with a large gathering, including President Jimmy Carter, whose Carter Center has been successfully working to eradicate common preventable diseases and parasites in the third world for the past 30 years. The gala was well attended and the campus was lighted up gloriously (the building pictured is not the Visitors Center but is the southwest elevation of the Atrium located at the back of the northern most boomerang-shaped building of the large campus. It is across a courtyard from and behind the street-front Visitors Center). Do go visit when you get the chance. The work going on here is strategic, important, and will have an amazing impact for good in people's lives all over the planet. As you can see from the reflection in the glass of the lobby where guests were being received, the Gates Foundation campus is located just across the street from Seattle Center and the Space Needle.

Thursday, February 02, 2012

Noodling the Needle

Shot through the red noodley sculpture (Olympic Iliad by Alexander Liberman, installed 1984) near the entrance to the Space Needle at sundown on a chilly but sunny first of February. This is another in the series of playing peek a boo with the Needle. Being one of the most photographed structures in the world can be a bit ho hum, so I try to get glimpses not so common of the Needle peeking at me over, through and around things. Still, I think there is hardly an original idea to be found for the now 50 year old icon. "Make it new, make it new," cried the parrot to the mocking bird."

Friday, January 27, 2012

Gluten Free, Vegan Bakery Cafe

If you are looking for a local business striving to do work in an open manner that benefits its customers and community, is committed to sustainability, and wants to create a niche where everyone can eat without worry of dietary restrictions, look no further. The Flying Apron Bakery Cafe is a haven for those who are vegan or must avoid gluten and wheat products. Their bakery goods are their claim to fame, but they also serve soups and salads. For many they are an oasis of safe, wholesome eating. There are so many folks who need places like this in their lives. Many of you may be familiar with Seattle's own Gluten Free Girl who has blogged for many years, raised awareness of the need for widely available gluten free products, and has published a run-away best seller. She's taking a little rest from blogging starting this month, but I understand a new cookbook is due out very soon.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Epicenter of the Universe

The Fremont neighborhood's slogan is that it is "The Center of the Universe." It is printed on signs as one enters the free-spirited and art-filled district. The Epi Apartments (as in epicenter) is in the heart of the neighborhood. The free flowing metal sculpture that engulfs the corner tower was pretty sparkly in the sunset light. This is part of the view Rapunzel has from her own tower on the Fremont bridge :-).

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Rapunzel in Her Lonely Tower

She's not looking too pleased with the prospect of the two possible suitors ignoring her as they pass by below, but you'd expect a bit of a cranky attitude from someone whose been up in the west tower of the Fremont Bridge for so many years. She is one of two neon figures from children's stories (the other is from How the Elephant Got His Trunk) that grace the windows of the two towers. A little friend of mine who just turned four last weekend was so excited to share with me that her birthday cake was to feature Rapunzel, I just had to go over to the bridge to nab this shot for her to see. It was my fave fairy tale from my Brothers Grimm collection when I was small, too. I showed you an earlier photo I took of this whimsical urban art by neon artist Rodman Miller before here in 2007. It was removed for awhile for repairs and then reinstalled. You'll notice the video camera has been moved, too.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

35th Street Bistro Where Still Life Used To Be

As mentioned yesterday, the Still Life Coffee House closed a few years ago, and this upscale bistro took its place. It was looking mighty warm and cozy when I walked by in 32 F chill :-). As you can see from the little sign to the far left, they serve Lighthouse Coffee from a delightful local roaster in the neighborhood.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Still Life Coffee House Mural

Painted by Seattle artist Parris in 1994. The coffee house is long gone, only the mural remains to inform the interested. The Still Life was once a hub of community life for the neighborhood at 35th and Fremont. I have a friend that when we were in town for a conference tried to take me there because she had loved it so much from previous visits. Sadly we couldn't find it. But tomorrow I'll show you what is there. This mural serves as a place marker in space and time, an ode to a fine much missed establishment.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

All Gone Now

The big melt came with warmer temps and rain, allowing us once again to see the art so often underfoot as we go about Seattle's streets. I took this shot on the whimsically tiled patio of a Fremont eatery whose sign was reflected in the puddle. Here's a shot from the same patio in 2006, the first year of SDP, taken during morning hours.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Wheeeeee Redux

A repeat classic shot for you to say Happy 5th Birthday to SAM Olympic Sculpture Park. Here's a little blast from the past. I took these shots a couple weeks before the grand opening in 2007. Seattlites have not stopped enjoying this wonderful venue for one second since they took the fences down to let the public in. It's a treasure. Big doings today to celebrate. Drop by to make an artful birthday hat and try some lovely caramels and cake!

Friday, January 20, 2012

Gearing Up For Indoor Adventures

Here's a little slice of life shot for ya. Seattlites were out in force on Tuesday evening, doing some early marketing and laying in groceries for the coming snow days. What an abundance of winter color the fruits and veggies offer at this PCC Natural Market, one of Seattle's successful longtime cooperative ventures.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Snow Day Hero, Our Jolly Postman

We've always had the best mail carrier in Seattle, and today he was out there trudging through the wet powder and cold temps just as cheerfully and efficiently as any other kind of day he usually encounters. No snow day for him."Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." Thanks Mr. Postman! I ventured out in snow boots with the camera and caught some of the snow day fun folks were having on the hilly streets. Adults and children all in happy spirits.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Path Through the Water

These women were out on the water when the air was 34 F. It had snowed in the morning, but not stuck to the ground near the ship canal. They are heading under the Fremont Bridge and out onto Lake Union and to Portage Bay beyond. Rowing is a hugely popular activity in Seattle, with many private and school affiliated clubs dotting the shores of our waterways. The shells glide by swiftly, gracefully and nearly soundlessly.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

We Pay Cash @ the Moulin Rouge

This guy is getting ready to purchase his order at Red Mill Burgers which takes only cash or check. The scene was so colorful I just had to snap this with my iPhone. My all around fave: the Veggie Verde Burger. Yum!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Honeycomb Mesh

Another perspective of surveying a scene from above today, but this time a warm and dry interior. I was standing in a hallway on the 3rd floor of the Seattle Central Library looking two floors down toward the living room and southeast entrance at the far left. There is nothing between the high gloss red floor and the view except a glass wall with a vertical curtain of galvanized metal hexagon mesh that has been corrugated to further strengthen it. The lack of railings and the ability to see through the materials makes for a great vantage point.

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