While you probably know that Wallingford Center was once the Interlake Public School, did you know about the school's history? I sure didn't, so I did a little bit of reading on HistoryLink and the Seattle Public Schools website here's what I learned: The Interlake Public School was the first school to be built in Wallingford in 1904 (Latona was built in 1906 and Lincoln opened in 1907). Interlake closed in 1971, and the building sat empty for 15 years until…
Doesn't it feel like summer just started? And yet here we are, reporting that the wading pool over at the Wallingford Playfield closes in just one week. Rats. Boo. Phooey. Well, the good news is that the season was supposed to end today; but since we've had such a craptastic summer, Seattle Parks and Rec has decided to extend the season by three more days. Next week, the wading pool will be open Wednesday-Friday (8/24-8/26) from noon to 7pm, if the…
A few readers have sent us emails over the summer asking us if we'd seen the new sushi place, Shima, over on Wallingford Avenue, next to Babalu. Sure we have, and we wrote about it back in June, but somehow that post flew under the radar, so I'm here to make amends. Early Friday evening, my husband, daughter and I walked up to Shima and grabbed a table next to the sushi bar. It wasn't particularly busy, but it wasn't empty…
Remember last year, when those two cute Boxer pups were dognapped from someone's yard? Or last month, when Stella was stolen right outside of the Durn Good? Thankfully, both stories had happy endings, and the dogs were returned to their owners; but now we're hearing stories around the neighborhood about people attempting to take dogs that are leashed up in front of businesses. Wally Pets owner Paul Brown told us about two separate incidents of attempted dog theft. The first one…
I'll bet you a bag of dog treats that if you were to stop in at Wally Pets once a month for a year, you wouldn't hear Paul Brown tell you the same story twice. And these aren't just your ordinary run of the mill stories either. He'll tell you all about his worldwide travels--from running with the bulls in Pamplona to camping in Africa and watching a baby elephant befriend a giraffe right outside of his tent. Plus, you'll see…
Some weeks back, we told you about SDOT's Walk Bike Ride Challenge, and how they've added a little more fun to it by pitting neighborhoods against one another. Well, here's how we fare so far: overall, we're ranked #4--with Ballard in the lead, followed by Queen Anne, and PhinneyWood. Here's the breakdown: #4 for number of trips switched to walking, biking or riding #4 for miles of driving saved #4 for number of participants signed up. 4,327 miles of driving saved…
These past two weeks saw two music festivals in Wallingford's Meridian Park, the Wallingford Music Festival and The Goddess Festival. We thought it might be a good moment to ask the community for feedback on these, since both planners have talked about reprising the events next year. The two events had different goals, with the WMF seeking a lower-key, homier feeling next to the Goddess Festival's large, three-stage approach, but both drew relatively small crowds. Josh Sarro, the organizer of the…