April 11, 2009

For 10 years, Ballard residents have been able to stroll down to Market Street and buy everything from a giant shrunken head for $250 to hundreds of tiny treasures for $19.95 a quart at Archie McPhee’s, the wonderfully wacky, tacky store that caters to our inner child.

But, they lost their lease, so McPhee’s is packing up and heading to Wallingford, and they’re saying goodbye to some of the store’s larger fixtures that just won’t fit in the new space. Shelving, racks, an old dentist’s chair, a life-size medieval archer and a custom-built pop-up cake that did a booming business as a rental – all are for sale.

“Usually it’s a hairy man in a coconut bra jumping out of the cake,” Shana, the store manager, explains of the cake that’s now for sale for $1,500. “It’s usually more funny than saucy.”

So, once the big items are sold, how in the world will Shana and her crew pack up the estimated 10,000 different items for the 2.4-mile move to the corner of 45th and Stone Way?

April 3, 2009

Some notable events happening tonight and into the weekend… The Fremont First Art Walk runs this evening, 6 to 9 p.m. Among the exhibits is an exhibition featuring 22 artists’ interpretation of the old Bridge Motel and the new homes that replaced it. (Photo above by Todd Bates.) Up on the Ridge, the Phinney Neighborhood

April 3, 2009

Over the next four months, Seattle City Light crews will be replacing the wooden power poles that line both sides of the Ship Canal with stronger steel poles. They’ll also replace the high voltage lines. Explains City Light: It will involve a number of trucks and staging of equipment on both the Queen Anne and

April 3, 2009

The Seattle Municipal Archives has some very cool old neighborhood photos, like this one looking toward Fremont from the Fremont Bridge in 1961. Ah, simpler times. You can see the Fremont Tavern on the left, where Peet’s Coffee is today. And the Chicken Basket Cafe on the right. Here’s it is today: View Larger Map

April 1, 2009

A recent increase in the number of suicide attempts from the Aurora Ave. bridge and comments from people who live and work in the densely populated area compelled the City of Seattle, King County, WSDOT and community members to take action. WSDOT is designing a fence to deter people from jumping off of the bridge.