The Street Closure That Isn’t

As reported by Wallyhood back in December, the Department of Transportation has plans to add permanent planters and permanent signs supported by concrete bases to the Healthy Street closures along 44th and 43rd from Latona to Interlake. You know, those closures they did for the pandemic that never went away. The city plans on making those closures permanent. But should we?  I personally think they’re ineffective and a nuisance. But I wanted to know if I was the only one, so…

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The Octopus Bar Returns!

The pandemic has cooped us up in quarantine for over a year. With the days getting longer, we are growing itchy for a well-crafted cocktail and snack consumed on a patio! Soon, the Octopus Bar will join Murphy’s, Julia’s and Westward in offering pandemic-friendly dining for Wallyhood dwellers. Coming in March: The Octopus will offer indoor and outdoor seating via newly constructed “STREATERIES” on both Bagley and 45th!  Last year, the Octopus Bar bobbed just down the road to its new…

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Graffiti alert

You may have noticed lately that someone has been on a tagging spree around the neighborhood, leaving their mark on walls, garbage dumpsters, signs at the park, and on people's yard waste and recycling cans. The tagger even hit the side of a parked van. I could take a walk in almost any direction in the neighborhood and every time, I'd count at least three different spots this person has tagged, and it's the same ugly graphic, spray painted in either…

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Wallingford Tagging Continues…

Last week, we reported that many businesses along 45th Street had been tagged with graffiti, and the comments that we received from our neighbors about coming together to clean up the mess inspired us to want to help out, too. So, we did a little digging and located Daniel Sims, the Seattle Public Utilities contact in charge of Graffiti Education and Outreach.  Here's what we learned from Daniel: If you are interested in removing graffiti from private property, we offer paint, supplies, and…

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Art Stuck on Poles

"First we look at the hills in the painting, Then we look at the painting in the hills." - Li Liweng, 17th century On 45th Street.  I consider this street art.  Some may call it graffiti. The badge says "Hello My Name Is Douchebag Californian".  Near Paper Delights. Beneath the poster of Japanese manga warrior babe, the badge says "Hello My Name Is Oops I'm Sorry".  Near Harold's Lighting. Tree shrine.  Chalkboard reads "I want to make world peace.  I want…

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Corporate Graffiti

Monday, we noted that the police have arrested a man accused of tagging Wallingford and many other neighborhoods with a spraypainted "Zeb". We've always had a bit of short-fuse for tagging, a form of graffiti in which the practitioner spraypaints or marks his name over huge numbers of pieces of private property. The most infuriating aspect of tagging is that city law requires the property owner to bear the cost of the removal of the mark and will fine the owner…

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Bye Zeb!

If you've been annoyed by the graffiti that seems to appear regularly around the neighborhood, take some cheer. Twenty-one year old Samuel F. Lehtinen was booked into jail a couple weeks back, accused (and caught paint-handed) of being the vandal spraypainting "Zeb" all of Seattle and Portland. Here's a few images of his handiwork, shot by Jeff over at Bedrooms & More: Have fun spraypainting the inside of your cell.

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