January 5, 2012 - Pink Elephant

To Seattle residents, this pink elephant is as much a symbol of Seattle as the Space Needle, Pike Place Market or Mount Rainier.  The first Elephant Car Wash location in downtown Seattle was opened in 1952. This location closer to Seattle Center was opened in 1956.  Automatic car washes have been around since at least the late 1930s, but Elephant Car Wash is believed to be the first one in Seattle.  There are several locations in the greater Seattle area as well as eastern Washington, Arkansas and California.

December 2, 2011 - Three Women: Girl

One of three figures in Akio Takamori's "Three Women: Girl, Young Woman, Mother and Child" stands outside of a market in the Denny Triangle neighborhood of Seattle.  The seven foot high painted cast aluminum statues are part of a collection belonging to the developer of the South Lake Union area - Paul Allen's Vulcan, Inc.  Many of Mr. Takamori's pieces are reflective of his homeland - Japan.  These figures have the appearance of porcelain and they appear to be dressed as villagers.  He moved to the US in 1974 and received his BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute.  He moved to Seattle in 1993 and teaches at the University of Washington.