Wallingford, Seattle

I was chatting with a friend of mine in real estate the other day, and he had an interesting take on 45th Street: Noting that commercial districts around 45th (Fremont, south Stone Way, Tangletown, 65th, even along the waterfront) have all seen some interesting new businesses come in, while 45th itself has been relatively stagnant, with new restaurants and shops struggling to survive, he declared 45th "the hole in the donut". But why? His notion is that the people who own…

Hopefully you enjoyed the novelty of cold rain yesterday. Today summer sort of returns, which is fortunate for the "summer splash" at Green Lake today. From 9 to 4 there will be crew races, food vendors, children’s activities, and a chance to experience rowing, canoeing, kayaking, and paddle boarding for free. For more info, click here. Beyond that, if you have room for a giant conifer then the city would like to give you one. Go here to claim your evergreen. There's…

Disc Golf is the best sport there is. If you play another sport instead, you have been making a mistake. Disc golf wins for so very many reasons: It's generally free to play and you can bring your dog You can play whether it's hot or cold, wet or dry, winter or summer You can play at most any age or ability level, it doesn't matter if you have a trick knee or whatever (give younger kids like 2 throws for every…

While it's had a bit of chatter in the comment sections, and an off-hand comment in a post, we've neglected to formally inform you that two businesses have left Wallingford. Big Wheel Auto Parts (455 Stone Way North) is now an empty shell. In solid Wallyhood tradition, I've failed to do even the most basic investigation about why, but I can turn to Donn, who commented on another blog post: The story I got at Big Wheel was that another auto…

Two things happening tonight in Wallingford, joyful for adults and children: Murphy's has a comedy showcase, Wallingford Laughs, the second Wednesday of the month (that's tonight, in case you're having trouble counting Wednesdays, which I have trouble with sometimes, there's no shame in that.) They've been getting a good turnout the last few months, and this month features Derek Sheen, plus a handful of other performers. Every since the Giggles comedy club shut down (and then briefly re-opened as the Jiggles strip club…

Have you noticed the fresh coat of paint on the sculptures at Meridian Playground? You can thank the kids at Meridian School, who did the work as part of the City of Seattle’s 1% for Art program. From Erin Ruddock with Meridian School: Students had the opportunity to power wash the sculptures and prepare them for painting, to select the new color scheme, and of course…paint! The students demonstrated perseverance, incredible attention to detail and amazing focus! To date, 5 out of the…

After a big push by the police department, most camper vans have been pushed off of Northlake Way. There are still a few near Gasworks and the problem has ebbed and flowed through the years, but for now the situation seems to be semi-resolved. It's not clear to me why the police took action now after many months of complaints. Maybe they finally relented to pressure from the Northlake Safety and Security Team. Or, if you're more cynical, you could say…