More art in the Park

We love art, and we especially appreciate Madison Park artists.  So we are pleased to be able to report that two neighborhood artists have exciting news to share this month.

Brooke Westlund reports that she's currently in the process of creating a functioning art studio/gallery "down under" in the Pike Place Market. It's Space #328, and it'll be ready for its close-up (we mean opening-night blowout), on Wednesday, March 16 (5-7 pm).  Meanwhile, Brooke and her friend Sam Taylor are jointly showing their work on the walls of Park Place Deli this month, for which there will be an artists' reception this Thursday, March 10, 5:30 to 8 pm.  Come one, come all.  The Deli is located at 4122 E. Madison Street.  (That's Brooke's painting, On The 313th Day, shown above, with an overlay of drawings by Sam).

Bud Lowe is also taking his art to the next level, opening a studio in the "lower level" of the building that houses the new KeyBank branch. Lowe, who works in both watercolors and acrylics, already has his art on the walls in his downstairs location and is ready for visitors.  His recently-mailed announcement of the Bud Lowe Art Studio/Gallery, states that studio hours are "9 am-ish to 5 pm-ish on weekdays and often on Saturdays, with time off for lunch and requisite naps and doctors' appointments.  Best to call first [206-227-9760]."   We don't think that Bud will mind our noting that he is one of the Park's older accomplished artists.  His studio's address is 4105 E. Madison Street. (That's his watercolor, Gig Harbor #1, shown below).

Read More

Readers respond

Several readers gave us feedback after our recent Seen or Heard in the ‘Hood posting, most of it benign. However, we won’t be making any more jokes on the blog about missing cats, since one reader commented on having found the remains of a white Persian, which apparently had been killed by some animal around the time that a coyote was reported in the neighborhood. The discovery occurred about three blocks south of where the coyote was last seen. As the tag to our coyote-alert posting, we had facetiously asked if anyone was missing a cat.  Not funny in hindsight.

A couple of readers reported sharing the experience of our MPB tipster, who we noted was unable to get a refund from Island Video after it shut down. This, in spite of a notice on the shop's door stating that refunds would be provided to those who had made deposits. Someone asked, “What do I do now?  Small claims court?”   Apparently so.

Another reader reported a similarly irritating experience with a different Madison Park business that recently shut its doors, Maison Michel.  In his case, the complainant says, he had given an antique piece of furniture to the store to sell on consignment. Although the store sold the piece, no payment has been made to him, the consignor tells us. We've heard anecdotally that others have had the same experience, and after our initial post, several readers confirmed these stories to us. [Blogger's Note:  Dee McQuesten, principal of McQuesten Fine Art Services, has requested that we clarify for our readers the fact that the art gallery she operated within the Maison Michel space was in no way legally connected with Maison Michel.  We have not heard of any problems associated with the art gallery, only with the consignment business operated by Maison Michel.]

Our report on how to get Good to Go! passes for paying the new tolls on the SR-520 floating bridge drew an email from a reader who reports that it is, in fact, not possible to get the passes at Safeway stores, as we had suggested.  What you can get at Safeway, apparently, is a packet that includes a pass that still has to be either activated online or at a WSDOT office.  So, if you are trying to avoid the internet, it apparently is possible, just a bit more complicated than we advertised.

Finally, Mark Long of The Attic, corrected our posting with regard to when “The Hollywood Bank Robber” visited Madison Park to rob a bank (it was the 1990s and not the 1980s, as we originally reported). Long says he thinks that two different branches might have been robbed at about the same time. We’re still reading a book on the subject, and we'll let you know in a later posting what we discover.

Read More

Seen or heard in the ‘hood

A Madison Park resident reports that while out for an early-morning walk last Tuesday she spotted a “scrawny” coyote at Madison Park beach.  She tells us that at about 6:30 am she was strolling along 43rd Avenue E., near the Bathhouse, when the coyote suddenly ran up from the beach, crossed the street, and stopped to survey the Park from the high point of the embankment, near the children’s play area. Moments later, an unsuspecting squirrel crossed the street under the watchful eye of the coyote, who then took off in hot pursuit of the prey. Fortunately for the squirrel, it was quick enough to scamper up a nearby tree just in the nick of time.  What happened to the obviously hungry coyote thereafter is a mystery, since our informant had to get to work and couldn’t stay around to monitor the situation.  She wonders:  Was the coyote spotted by anyone else later that day? (By the way, anyone missing a cat?)

We have it on good authority that the police recently accosted a bunch of high school kids who had been using the roof of a Madison Park commercial building as a regular partying venue.  It seems that the business owner whose shop occupies the space below became suspicious of the illicit activity, apparently because of the debris being left behind each night by the revelers.   Acting on his suspicions one evening last month, he returned to the premises and caught the culprits red handed. He then called in the authorities to administer a stern warning to the kids, though we understand that they were all allowed to vacate the area without charges being pressed.   Reports indicate that at least one of the partyers was wearing a Seattle Prep-emblazoned article of clothing when confronted by the police.  Whether he or any of the other miscreants were actually students at that august school is, however, a matter of conjecture.

A more exciting police intervention occurred in the Park last Wednesday, when two police cars, sirens blaring, rushed down Madison Street and screeched to a halt in front of the KeyBank branch at 4105 E. Madison St.  According to a witness, the police came prepared for action.  With assault rifles in hand, they immediately surrounded the building and ordered all passersby into the building’s lobby. Once they had the situation under control they discovered that the Bank’s alarm had been triggered accidentally (or something like that).  At any rate, no one was actively robbing the bank. Nevertheless, it was apparently quite a scene for those who got to observe the police response. It’s certainly not unprecedented for a bank branch here in the Park to be robbed.   How often this has happened is a subject of speculation (we’ve heard there’ve been four such incidents in recent years, but we don’t have a verifiable source).   The Madison Park branch of Bank of America (then known as Seafirst Bank) was famously and successfully robbed by “The Hollywood Bank Robber” in the 1990s.   Bestselling local true-crime author Anne Rule chronicled the saga of this local-boy-makes-bad in her book, The End of the Dream: The Golden Boy Who Never Grew Up.  We’re now busily reading it to see if there’s a future blog posting in there somewhere. (We’ll let you know).

Our final entry for this edition of Seen & Heard is this report from a disgruntled former patron of the now-defunct Island Video:  It seems that although the sign on the door states that those who had deposits with Island Video could ask for a refund, actually receiving a refund is proving a more difficult proposition. Or, at least that’s the predicament of our informant.  She says she’s made repeated calls to the number listed on the notice, but has had no response whatsoever to her voicemails seeking her money back.  We tried to get some answers by calling Island Video’s owner, but we also got nada.  Anyone else having the same experience?

[Photo of Western Coyote by Rebecca Richardson (Red-Star) on Wikipedia.  This is not the scrawny coyote mentioned in the posting.]

Read More

March Happenings

Those who feel they haven’t already heard enough about the planned replacement of the SR-520 floating bridge will have two opportunities in March to get the word directly from the Washington State Department of Transportation.   On March 9 (1-3 pm) there will be a public meeting on the subject at the University District Tully’s (4700 University Way NE), and on March 14 (11 am-1 pm) another such meeting will be held at Seattle Central Community College, Edison Building Commons (1701 Broadway Avenue).   If you are interested in knowing more about what the opposition thinks of the bridge-replacement plan, there’s a recent posting on the Seattle PI site that does a pretty good job of summarizing the perceived negatives of the Governor’s “preferred alternative.”  Another source of anti-WSDOT rhetoric is the Coalition for a Sustainable SR 520, whose most-recent set of misgivings is available here.

[By the way, if you want to sign up for SR-520 electronic tolling (which will begin this Spring), you can—in theory—do so at this website.  We say in theory because the site apparently has had a few bugs.   And if you’ve already signed up for the Good to Go! program (WSDOT’s clever moniker for the electronic-toll payment system), so sorry: you’ll just have to start all over again.  Let’s just say the bureaucrats screwed up the original registration system. If you don't want to go internet, you still can buy a Good to Go! pass the old-fashioned way at your neighborhood Safeway and at other locations.]

There will be two opportunities in March to learn what’s happening with the Madison Valley Stormwater Project by attending “drop-in” sessions, presented by Seattle Public Utilities (SPU). One session will be held on March 5 (9-11 am) at Casa Del Café (2818 E. Madison Street), and another will be held on March 11 (8:30-10:30 am) at Café Flora (2901 E. Madison Street).  If you are a Madison Valley resident or business owner in the area you may want to attend one of these sessions as a matter of self-interest.  SPU is asking for input concerning how to handle the following:  1) potentially doing some construction at night, 2) temporarily eliminating some additional parking along E. Madison Street, and 3) reducing traffic to one lane on E. Madison during certain periods of the open-trench construction.  In any event, Madison Park residents (like everyone else) should expect delays on Madison in coming months, whatever the specifics of SPU's ultimate plan. We will cover that story once decisions have been made on the timing and extent of these traffic restrictions.  In the meantime, information on the Madison Valley Stormwater Project is available at SPU’s project site.

The Pioneer Association of the State of Washington hosts its General Meeting on Saturday, March 26, at Pioneer Hall (1642 43rd Avenue E.), 12-1:15 pm.  Following the general meeting, speaker Jeff Rodgers (great, great grandson of Governor M.E. Hay) will share his Washington State pioneer family history, and John and Steve Lundin, Seattle attorneys and amateur historians, will share the story of their grandfather, Mark Odell, and his historical Northwest connections.  Doors open at 11:30, and the public is invited both to attend the session and to view the pioneer memorabilia on display at the Hall

Senior Services is sponsoring Aging Your Way, a gathering of “Baby Boomers and other older adults who plan to age,” on Thursday, March 3 (5:30-8:30 pm) at the Garfield Community Center (2323 E. Cherry Street).   The goal of the meeting is to bring people together to “envision a community that will help support everyone as they age.” According to Sabrina Jones, Community Organizer for Senior Services, the meeting is intended to be inspirational and to motivate people to work on projects that help make their community friendlier to everyone.  Specifically, participants will attempt to identify what “services, programs and supports will help people (including you) age confidently” in our part of town.  Reservations are required for the session, with the RSVP deadline being Tuesday, March 1.  Visit www.seniorservices.org for more information, or contact Joanne Donohue at (206) 727-6206 (joanned@seniorservices.org.).  Food will be served!

The UW Botanic Gardens is sponsoring a class in Pruning Woody Plants on Thursday, March 3 (9 am-3 pm) at the Graham Visitors Center in Washington Park Arboretum (advance registration required: $70, including lunch).  Another class “designed for the general audience,” Plant Identification, will include six classroom sessions on Tuesdays (7-9 pm), beginning March 8, plus two fieldtrips (March 26, 1-3 pm and April 16, 8 am-4 pm).  Advance registration is required: $160.  Information on both of these classes is available here.  Or you can call (206) 543-8801.

The UW Botanic Gardens is also bringing back the Environmental Summer Day Camp program this year for First through Sixth Graders (ages 6-12).   The cost is $250 per week for sessions that run from 9 am until 3 pm, Monday through Friday.  Drop-off and pick-up is at the Graham Visitors Center in the Arboretum.   Week One (July 11-16) is entitled “Native Plants and People”; Week Two (July 18-22) is entitled “Little Green Thumbs”; and Week Three (July 25-29) is entitled “Arboretum Detectives.”   There is a limit of 36 campers per week, and there are optional “extended camp” programs (at additional cost) for before and after the camp programs each day.  Information is available here, or you can call the phone number listed above.

Pharmaca (4130 E. Madison St.) is sponsoring an all-day (well, 11 am-6 pm) event on Sunday, March 13, entitled “Are all those pills you’re taking still relevant?”  Erik Altmann, ND, encourages you to bring in your supplements and pills for his evaluation of what he thinks is necessary and what isn’t.

[Photo of 520 Floating Bridge by David Hogan (Cap’n Surly) on Fickr, used by permission.]

Read More

Merchants rally to McGilvra’s cause in March

If you thought that the recent dustup between the McGilvra PTA and the Seattle School District would lead to a decline in parental support for the School, it appears you’d be wrong.   The PTA is, in fact, about to embark on one of its most ambitious fund-raising efforts to date: a month-long partnership with local businesses to raise both money for and awareness of our high-achieving neighborhood public school.  The PTA hopes to benefit the businesses as well, urging McGilvra Elementary’s parents and supporters to shop the neighborhood aggressively in March, hopefully making this a win/win situation for businesses and parents alike.

During March, many Madison Park merchants will participate in the Round-up for McGilvra Elementary program, in which they will ask their customers if they’d like to round up their purchase balance to the next dollar, donating the proceeds to the McGilvra PTA.   Many businesses are also participating in the Night Out for McGilvra, a shopping and dining-out event planned for March 31 (4-8 pm), where a percentage of sales from each supporting merchant will be donated to the PTA.   Moreover, some businesses have agreed to make outright donations.

According to Don Philip, McGilvra PTA’s Vice President of Fundraising, the Madison Park Business Association was immediately on board to the idea of supporting McGilvra with a month of fundraising, once the idea was broached.  “This is a community school and you are community businesses, so why shouldn’t we work together?” was the PTA’s pitch to the merchants, he said.    Parents followed up by contacting neighborhood business owners face to face, including those who are not members of the Business Association. The PTA’s Karen Cretekos, who was involved in this outreach effort, says, “The reaction has been very favorable.”   Some merchants, she notes, even came up with their own ideas for helping the cause.

To date, the businesses that have elected to participate in the Round-up program or  to simply provide on-site cash jars for direct donations to the PTA are:  Bert’s Red Apple, Best Buds, Bill the Butcher, Canopy Blue, Cookin’ at Madison Park, Madison Park Cellars, Madison Park Hardware, Madison Park Jewelers, Madison Park Veterinary Hospital, Marshall’s Cleaners, The Original Children’s Shop, Park Postal, Red Wagon Toys, Scoop du Jour Ice Creamery, Spa Jolie, and Studio Karri L.

The merchants who’ve agreed to donate a percentage of their sales during the Night Out on March 31 are:  Bert’s Red Apple, Bing’s Bar & Grill, Cookin’ at Madison Park, Martha E. Harris Flowers & Gifts (covering gifts only), McGilvra’s Bar & Restaurant, The Original Children’s Shop, Red Wagon Toys, and IndieFlix.

According to Cretekos, Madison Park Café has agreed to host a benefit dinner for the McGilvra PTA on March 24, and Madison Park Conservatory has agreed to donate 15% of its breakfast and lunch sales on March 19 (10 am until 2:30 pm).   Bill the Butcher (Madison Valley) will donate 10% of sales from 3:30 until 7 pm every Tuesday in March (mention McGilvra Elementary and you will be entered in a raffle to win steaks and gift certificates).  The Attic, meanwhile, will donate 20% of all sales on Monday, March 14 (5-9 pm), and Arosa Cafe will donate 5% of sales between 9:30 am and 12:30 pm every day in March.  Other merchants making cash or in-kind donations include:  Mad Pizza, The Music Factory, the Madison Park Times, Key Bank, City People’s, Toby Lumpkin Realtor, and Tully’s.

The PTA’s efforts to involve Madison Park/Madison Valley merchants in its fund-raising efforts during March is only one element of the group’s plan to raise a total of $395,000 for McGilvra Elementary this year.  According to the PTA’S Philip, these funds will be used to provide enhanced education at the school, including enrichment programs such as music, that the students would not otherwise receive.   The PTA will also be using the funds raised to pay for tutors, particularly for those grades that have seen a big bump in enrollment this year.  

If you would like to contribute directly to the McGilvra PTA, visit ilovemcgilvra.com or mail your donation to: McGilvra PTA Annual Fund, 4111 E. Madison St. #46, Seattle, WA  98112.

[Photo courtesy of the McGilvra PTA.]

Read More

Do bloggers get vacations?

Winter Sunrise in the Methow Valley by Paul Butler (Methow Valley News)

In the nearly two years that we’ve been producing the Madison Park Blogger, we’ve never taken a vacation from the blog—until last week, that is.   Though we considered making an announcement of our planned hiatus, we thought better of the idea when we reflected on the fact that a blog is very much like Facebook or any other social networking site.  In other words, it’s probably not a good idea to post information that “telegraphs” to the world your house will be sitting empty for a few days, as ours was.  So we left without comment.

But now we’re back and ready to blog again.

Thanks to the many readers who checked the site religiously last week to see if there were new postings.  Take note of the fact that this is not necessary.  You can receive new blog postings automatically by subscribing to the Madison Park Blogger.  You may choose to get our content in a Reader or as an email.  Check the column on the right side of this blog for the subscription links.

Read More

The last spec house in Madison Park?

About 18 months ago we reported on the decline of speculative building in Madison Park, noting that several single-residence developers then active in our market, including Chaffee Homes and Blueline Developers, had decided to stop building new houses here.  Other developers were scaling down operations or just finishing off their properties then under construction.   


This shift was a big change from the previous ten years or so, when it became the norm in the Park for any cottage that was sold to be replaced by a giant house, often one built on speculation rather than by somebody actually intending to live there.  


But those days are gone.  In fact, we may be witnessing the end of spec-house development in Madison Park for some time.  There are only two spec houses currently nearing completion, and the several real estate agents we’ve questioned on the subject are unaware of any new speculative construction about to get underway.


Shown above is the second of two houses we covered last month in our report on short plats.  As we noted then, the house on the street side of this double-lot development sold before it was completed. This is the second house, now nearing completion, located at 2328 42nd Avenue E. With about 1,300 sq. ft., it will be priced in the $750,000 range and will probably be the last spec house to come on the market in Madison Park for the foreseeable future.


Another developer, M2K, is completing two houses (shown below), just to the south of McGilvra School.  With 5,870 square feet and priced at $2,875,000, the corner house at 3719 E. Garfield St. is one of three M2K houses constructed on adjoining properties over the past two years, one of which was No. 2 on the list of The 10 Most Expensive Madison Park Homes Sold in 2010, according to estately.com.  That house, located at 1523 38th Ave. E., sold for $2.7 million.

But M2K, the last of the major Madison Park developers, is still sitting on an inventory of three houses, including one (pictured below) that was almost--but not quite--sold last year.  This house at 1406 38th Ave. E., just down the street and across E. Madison from M2K’s three-lot development, is proving a difficult sell.  Priced at $1,995,000, the 4,800 sq. ft. contemporary has been on the market for 645 days, according to Redfin.

Two other high-end spec houses in the neighborhood are also having their marketing challenges.   One of these, developed by a local realtor, is this 6,890 sq. ft. Washington Park view home located at 1217 39th Avenue E.:  

When originally offered for sale in 2009 it was priced at $4,290,000, but there was a price drop to $3,600,000 when the house was recently re-listed. The second unsold high-end spec house in Washington Park is one we profiled last year (“New Meaning for the Term Spec House”).  Located at 821 34th Avenue E., this “Old World Elegance” Megahouse, was a $5,650,00 structure when we posted our story. Today, its 5,498 square feet are a more affordable $4,900,000.

By our count, then, there are exactly six spec houses currently for sale in Madison Park, three to the north and three to the south of E. Madison Street.   We are also aware of two other spec houses that remain unsold here in the Park.  But in those two cases, the developers have elected to rent the houses and await a better market.   

Good luck on that!

Read More