April 30, 2011 - Final Spring Game

The University of Washington's Husky Stadium hosted its last Spring Game in its current configuration April 30, 2011.  In November of this year, just prior to the Apple Cup, the annual Washington - Washington State football game, construction will begin on a $250 million stadium remodel.  No public or University funds will be used to fund the remodel.  The Apple Cup and home games in 2012 will be played at Qwest Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks. 

There have been a number of remodels and expansions of Husky Stadium since it first opened in 1920 with 30,000 seats.  Seats were added around the rim of the original bowl in 1936 and 1968.  In 1950 15,000 seats were added to the South Stands in a covered configuration.  In 1987 the 12,000 seat addition in the picture above was added bringing it to 72,500 seats.  The new stadium will have about 71,500 seats and is scheduled to be completed in time for the 2013 season.  The field will be lowered four feet, the track removed and the seats will be brought closer to the field. 

Dartmouth was the first opponent of when the stadium opened on November 27th, 1920.  Boise State University is scheduled to be the first opponent in the new stadium on September 7, 2013.

April 25, 2011 - Didja Know...?

While some buildings can be remodeled and used for purposes different than what they were originally built for others will always be what they are.  The Pacific Inn Pub in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood has been a house of suds since at least 1941.  At that time the bar was the "Square Deal Tavern", about 1990 it became the "Pacific Inn Pub".  As with any old neighborhood drinking establishments, one might find the space cramped and old, the food inconsistently good, the staff consistently interesting and the beer always cold. 

If you live in Seattle, or are planning a visit, you might want to check out Peter Andrijesky's Project K-Bar.  This organized drinking project started in February of 2006.  Mr. Andrijesky's provided a listing of hundreds of bars he's imbibed at in Seattle.  His project includes a section on Seattle's oldest bars - Pacific Inn Pub being one of those.  So, if you've been to the Little Red Hen, the J&M, the Tractor, the Re-Bar, the Double Header, the Comet Tavern, the Latona Pub or the Red Door you should stop on by http://www.peterga.com/ and check out Project K-Bar.  It will improve your "Didja know...?" IQ.

April 23, 2011 - A View With Rooms...Four

On the grounds behind the Langley Motel on Whidbey Island a bench, a tree and a sculpture watch out from the bluff above the tiny Langley Marina across Saratoga Passage to the southern end of Camano Island.  The quaint hotel may not be four stars, but it has four suites, the extent of the accommodations.  Saratoga Passage runs up the east length of Whidbey Island.  Most major shipping traffic use the wider passage on the other side of Whidbey Island.

April 23, 2011 - What's Behind the Red Door?

This lone red door stands along Whidbey Island's Cultus Bay Road.  One might need to knock on it to see if you can find out the answer.

April 23, 2011 - The Queue Awaiting the Cue

Little feet, in a little queue getting ready for the sound of a big cue, a fire engine horn, that will signal the start of the annual Easter egg hunt at Dan Porter Memorial Park in Clinton, Washington on Whidbey Island.

July 10, 2010 - All In

(A sunny day in April isn't anything at all like a sunny day in July, but one can dream!  This is from last summer.)
A gaggle of giggling girls takes the plunge into the brisk waters of Lake Chelan together on a hot July day.   

April 18, 2011 - Inside Looking Outside

Outside of the Snohomish County Courthouse in Everett Washington, is a sculpture featuring three identical squares arranged to make three sides of a square.  I couldn't locate information on the artist or the sculpture, so I'm not sure what it means.  The top view is looking in the direction of the neighboring Snohomish County Jail, so perhaps it is a reminder for each of us on the outside of what a view from the inside looking out might be.  What would you title this?

April 14, 2011 - Dancing Under the Moon

"Dance" a bronze sculpture by Hai Ying Wu has come out of a nearly year and a half hibernation and found itself relocated several yards away from its original home at the entrance to the Lynnwood Recreation Center.  The center underwent a $25 million remodel and expansion that included adding a leisure pool (complete with twisting water slides!), a new retractable roof as well as adding or expanding the weight, fitness and locker rooms and courts.  It reopens in just two weeks.

Mr. Wu has several sculptures in the Seattle area including the "Seattle Fallen Firefighter's Memorial" in Pioneer Square.

April 13, 2011 - Rhododendron Spring Decor

What a difference a few months can make!  

From the January 1, 2011 blog post, "Rhododendron Winter Decor", Mini icicles accessorize a rhododendron. It will be several months before this plant shows off its more colorful accessories.

April 7, 2011 - Love & Loss

Roy McMakin’s 2006 work “Love & Loss” mixed media installation at the Olympic Sculpture Park on Seattle’s waterfront includes benches, steps, a walkway, illuminated rotating element and a live tree. (And in this case a BNSF train provides the soundtrack!)  McMakin writes “You need to put the meaning together by sitting on it, walking through it, and then recomposing what you have seen and experienced in your mind’s eye.  Only then will the theme – the process of love and loss – be revealed for you to sit here and contemplate”.

April 7, 2011 - Reflection Through Cloud Cover

Elliott Bay and a sunset over the Olympic Mountains beyond are reflected in this view through Teresita Fernandez's "Cloud Cover" towards Seattle's Belltown neighborhood skyline.  "Cloud Cover" is a laminated glass walkway on the southern edge of a pedestrian bridge over the Burlington Northern Santa Fe train tracks at Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Park on the northern edge of the Seattle waterfront. 

From 1911 to the late thru the 1989s the site was used by UNOCAL as a petroleum transfer and distribution facility.  UNOCAL spent 10 years cleaning the site up.  It was purchased by the Seattle Art Museum and Trust for Public Land.  The Olympic Sculpture Park was opened in 2007, has about 20 installations, has a striking Z-shaped landscaping layout and provides free and easy access to the waterfront.