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This thread is about all things Seattle - A place to discuss things going on in the city, the UW, etc.. . Also, a place to point to other threads (Seattle Central if you will.. ) discussing specifics about the city. Post links/start discussion about new projects, bike trails, light rail, concerts, archinect meetups, and whatever else of interest that may be helpful/interesting to both those in the city, those preparing to come to the city, and those who are simply interested.

 
Jun 21, 07 1:50 pm
w3

I'll start:

We discussed on this thread bike lockers @ UW.

This thread began a discussion about a project near Seattle involving an interesting provision in the zoning code.

or better yet:

so and so is playing at the Tractor in Ballard... just as example

Jun 21, 07 2:14 pm  · 
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morfo

great! I just asked this question in another thread... thanks! anyone been to the new sculpture park?

Jun 21, 07 2:15 pm  · 
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yeah, I went when I visited in March. It was pretty nice, but unfortunately it started raining the moment I set foot in the park, so I didn't explore it for as long as I would've liked. I saw a bald eagle, and really liked some of the sculptures, particularly this one:

Jun 21, 07 2:21 pm  · 
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w3

Not to distract from the city of seattle itself BUT while visiting the M.Arch open house in Seattle this last March, David Miller (current arch program chair, and partner @ Miller-Hull) showed us new - preliminary plans for an addition to the architecture building at the University of Michigan. There isn't much information on the project yet -but an interesting project coming out of Seattle.

Jun 21, 07 3:28 pm  · 
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w3

Ok - the link didn't quite send you to the U.Mich project. When you go to the Miller Hull site - click on projects -> progress -> then the U.Mich project...

Jun 21, 07 3:31 pm  · 
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w3

Inspired by this thread, I did a little searching through slowfood.com and eventually came across Slow Food Seattle. I can't say much at all about the group being that all my experience thus far is through the web, but it looks like it could be worth exploring. Anyone taken part in any of the events in Seattle?

Jun 26, 07 7:11 pm  · 
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holz.box

one of my former co-workers did a lot of the slow food stuff, there are also several "slow food" restaurants...

having lived in italy for 2 years, i have to say i really miss sit down dinners.

i usually chow down my food in under 5 minutes, otherwise i feel like i'm wasting fee.

for lunch or dinner.

Jun 26, 07 7:19 pm  · 
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ha, I feel like I've already got a million things I want to do when I get there!!!

*explore all the parks and bike trails, including the saturday bike rides where they shut down streets for the two-wheelers
*Critical Mass when possible
*Green Drinks
*hit up the local farmers markets
*and of course explore all the local bars, restaurants, clubs, bookshops, museums, etc.

I don't know how I'll have time for it all.

Jun 26, 07 7:26 pm  · 
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w3

holz - i hear that. fortunately i have a fantastic wife who loves to cook - thus i've grown to enjoy a long, well prepared meal much more in the last couple years we've been married.

my belt size has also increased as a result...which is another reason why i'm looking forward to biking & walking to class every day when we get to seattle in september.

Jun 26, 07 7:28 pm  · 
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w3

also - may i add sea kayaking to the list? just one more thing eh?

Jun 26, 07 7:36 pm  · 
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ohhh, yeah, I had just mentioned this to Gin, too! Definitely want to rent a kayak and get some paddling in, as well as trying out the awesome looking rock climbing center at the UW gym.

Jun 26, 07 7:39 pm  · 
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holz.box

w3,
i'm the one that likes to cook.

i just usually feel so guilty after spending 60-90 minutes on a quality meal that i tend to rush it.

that's not healthy, but she's in the med field so nutrition takes a high priority. we shop at the local farmer's markets, and probably spend about 60-80 a week on food (that's lunches and dinners for 2 / week)

the last few weeks, kayaking after work has been incredible. i'd love to buy my own, but there really isn't enough room w/ the fiance and dog.

oh, and don't forget the sailing...

the center for wooden boats was started in the late 70s by an architect and his wife...

Jun 27, 07 2:58 am  · 
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e

I love the farmer's market in the U. It is the best in the city and, we go every Saturday.

Rationalist, you'll have kayaking close by when you arrive. aqua verde is a mexican restaurant of sorts that has good food, and they rent kayaks below.

Jun 27, 07 11:12 am  · 
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holz.box

just a head's up-
aqua verde has a rat problem.

but the kayaks aren't affected

Jun 27, 07 11:18 am  · 
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e

Really, ugh. I wish I had known that. I have seen the quality of their food slip over the years. Not sure if it was due to a change in ownership or what. It just isn't nearly as good anymore. Maybe the rats have taken over running the kitchen.

Jun 27, 07 11:29 am  · 
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oh wow, I'd just figured that renting from the university water sports center was the way to go, I didn't know I'd have lots of options!

The only time I've been kayaking before was in the Carribean, in a mangrove forest (which was beautiful), and my back got just EATEN by mosquitos. They spoiled what would have otherwise been an amazing and fun experience, so I'm really looking forward to some mosquito-free kayaking trips.

Jun 27, 07 11:43 am  · 
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khmay

glad to see miller hull is adding on the giant signage/new facade to the parking lot side of tcaup.
now everyone can just walk out to check when the meter man is there

Jun 27, 07 12:01 pm  · 
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OK, so what's up with this first+last+deposit for moving costs??? In LA, that shit's illegal. So does nobody in Seattle move, like, EVER because it is so prohibitively expensive to do so?

Jun 27, 07 4:02 pm  · 
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dml955i

You just wait rationalist - the Seattle Times just did a huge article on skyrockting rental rates (and they specifically mentioned my building). Our rent was jacked up almost 40%. Since then, there's been an endless parade of Uhaul trucks outside our building - nobody can afford the new rent...

Tons of other apartment buildings are converting to condos. It's becoming harder & harder to find an apartment to rent near downtown for a "reasonable price"...

Yet another reason why I'm leaving Seattle...

Jun 27, 07 5:12 pm  · 
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yeah, but I've been living in LA for the past 7 years, so I'm used to being hit with big monthly charges. It's just the shock of last month's rent and deposit both being legal that's getting me. Here you can charge one or the other, but not both, and total movin costs (excluding deposits paid directly to utility companies) may not exceed 2x(monthly rent). So when I made out my budget, I said "ok, I can afford $600/mo, so it'll cost $1200 to move in". So now I've got to find a deposit, too, and most places don't even mention how much deposit they're talking about.

Jun 27, 07 5:26 pm  · 
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e

I am getting ready to sign a lease today for an office space and that is what they are asking for: first, last, + deposit. Renting an apt in San Francisco was the same.

Jun 27, 07 5:32 pm  · 
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ok, question: if you've paid last months rent up front like this, but then over the course of a couple of years the rent gets raised, say $200/mo. Will you have to pay the difference between what you paid on move-in and the new rental rate when your last month hits? Or does it stand that you've paid last month's rent, regardless of any increase?

Jun 27, 07 5:41 pm  · 
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e

My experience is that you just pay the difference between the two when the last month's rent is due.

Jun 27, 07 6:22 pm  · 
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how unfortunate. I was prepared to say I'd excuse the double-deposit if it held your last month's rent steady for you, but I guess it is a practice without redemption.

Jun 27, 07 7:26 pm  · 
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Katze

...at least you are not moving to Boston :-) a lot of places require you to pay 1st month, last month, security (=1 month rent) and many times a finders fee = 1 month. So a $1000 apt could cost you $4000 to move in.

Jun 27, 07 8:22 pm  · 
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khmay

i pay 350/month for a bedroom in a house with friends. big deck over looking lake union/cascades--9' corner windows, fireplace, parking, lots of space

snaAP

Jun 28, 07 3:45 pm  · 
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khmay

...8 min bike ride to downtown

Jun 28, 07 3:46 pm  · 
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That's basically the type of situation I'm trying to find, in Fremont or Wallingford. I decided that I'm willing to pay the slightly higher rent to live there instead of the U-District/Ravenna area which is a bit cheaper.

Congrats on the new office space, btw, e!

Jun 28, 07 4:14 pm  · 
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e

Rationalist, I think you'll be happier in those neighborhoods than the U.

Thanks for the props. Our new space is one of four store fronts that is part of On the Boards, a small local theater. It is about a 1000sqft with 13' ceilings and a stained concrete floor. Now the spending of money begins for construction and furniture.

Jun 28, 07 4:34 pm  · 
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Sounds fun. It's nice to be surrounded by a variety of creative types, keeps things interesting. Maybe also profitable? Theatres need posters and such... You'll have to keep the website updated with the new address so that I know where to send or drop off samples to. I'll probably be making the rounds a bit when I stop by in August, as at least one firm I'm interested in has regular friday portfolio reviews.

Have you ever heard of Partly Sunny? Not one of the ones on "the list", but they seem better than the big corporates.

Jun 28, 07 4:49 pm  · 
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And yeah, happy is important.

Jun 28, 07 4:50 pm  · 
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e

Yeah, several of the board members are clients of ours and the architects that renovated the space, George Suyama, renovated the theatre so we are in good with them.

I do know Pat at Partly Sunny. Good guy that does nice work. Last I knew he was solo though.

Jun 28, 07 5:13 pm  · 
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holz.box

e,

one of those members is insane.
hope he's not a client of yours.

or i hope you made decent money.

Jun 29, 07 12:23 am  · 
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ahhhh, that's why it didn't make the list of recommendeds. Darn it. The website made me think it was a group, probably because he lists a separate contact for job inquiries. Too bad, I liked the packaging (also a good transition media for the architecture>graphics move).

Jun 29, 07 12:32 am  · 
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w3

The Viaduct

Does anybody know of the current status of this project? Everything that I've read so far points in the direction of "we're working on it" but this seems to have moved VERY slowly. I don't even live in Seattle yet and this thing scares me - Is it coming down w/ a safe replacement anytime soon? Or will we be in limbo until it pancakes in the next earthquake?

Jun 29, 07 12:48 am  · 
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khmay

the tunnel was voted down
the larger new viaduct was voted down
a large percentage of people have shown interest in developing new strategies. ---a larger surface street was another option however it's just as chaotic as anything

the viaduct is horrible

Jun 29, 07 1:19 am  · 
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w3
Council approves roadmap...

Basically - this seems to mean Seattle is still a long way from having a plan, not to mention actual construction/demolition. My initial response (as a newbe to the situation) is that a tunnel or a surface option would serve the city most effectively. The tunnel might make the most sense - able to please both traffic engineers and those who care about downtown's connection to the waterfront. A surface solution might be a little uglier - less efficient traffic wise, but is probably a more realistic solution w/ regard to cost. Thoughts?

Jun 29, 07 10:31 am  · 
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e

holz, haven't ran across any insane clients so I think I'm safe.

rationalist, I'd still consider sending something to Pat. As I said, he is a good guy, and who knows, by that time, he might be looking for a little extra help. you can learn a hell of a lot in a small office.

Jun 29, 07 10:47 am  · 
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Yikes. So I'm reading the Stranger online today (I've been checking their classifieds for a place to live), and see this article about the recent thrashing that UW scientists gave the Mayor for his climate change goals.

I'd always been under the impression that Seattle was a far greener city than most in north america, and the things I noticed while prepping for my move- miles of bike lanes, organic coop groceries, farmers markets, ads on craigslist stipulating that the house in question is "TV-free", "car-free", and/or vegan- seemed to support this. Is the green-ness of Seattle a myth? Or is the above thrashing as a result of not reducing consumption further, regardless of where the city started at?

Jul 5, 07 1:20 pm  · 
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khmay

there may be those things you (or the stranger) spoke of --but there's a lot of bullshit too. but if there's a higher ratio of eco-friend people here? i dont know. i see cars all the time. lots of them. and boats.. lots of big boats.
seattle's cool and all, but reading the stranger might be a bit misleading. it's still a city and with this many people, there hAS to be hundreds of thousands of douchebags. it's basic douchebag statistics. but hopefully one day that douchebag in the navigator will get fed up with critical mass and leave (or even better, buy a bike)


hey i have a tv, it's cool, i like tivo'ing man vs wild.

Jul 5, 07 1:45 pm  · 
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khmay

any opinions of seattle's design build firms? i m not too familiar with the scene out here but im getting sick of my desk-- want to go back to being on site

Jul 5, 07 2:45 pm  · 
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Is Capitol Hill and it's abundance of self-interested beefcake worth it for the proximity to downtown (for a single female)? There seem to be like, 3x the listing for Cap Hill than for WallingFree...

Jul 9, 07 1:39 am  · 
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khmay

parts of cap hill are very nice and some are filled with crack heads. if you like bars and loud streets it's probably better than the other hills or wallingford

Jul 9, 07 1:46 pm  · 
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w3

UW-Architecture:

I've been attempting - rather unsuccessfully - to gather some stats regarding Mac vs. PC usage within the Dept. of Architecture at UW. I'm not asking why Mac or PC - Just looking for some rough figures to get a better idea what the majority of people in Architecture @ UW (I'm primarilly interested in Graduate students) are running.

Jul 11, 07 3:42 pm  · 
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w3


Trabant Chai Lounge

This is a coffee shop in the U-Dist. that I found doing some research near the campus. It looks pretty cool - there seems to be careful attention to both the coffee and the artwork & music that comes through the doors. Of course I haven't actually been there yet, so any comments from those who may actually know would be welcome.

Aug 8, 07 11:33 pm  · 
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*bump*

I'm in town wednesday - early saturday morning. I think I have somewhere to live, in Ravenna (the bit right accross from Greenlake, not the bit down by UW). If anyone wants to meet up, or has any food type recommendations in the Fremont/Wallingford/Greenlake section of town feel free to share. I'm thinking that since the housing search has pretty much wrapped up, I might take a look at the Kasela furniture outlet downtown. I've heard it brings really good furniture down to reasonable prices- anyone here been?

Aug 13, 07 11:45 pm  · 
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holz.box

isn't that tangle town?

there really isn't much in the way of good food in fremont, but a lot of average places...

paseo does cuban (it's @ 43rd and fremont, i think)
essential bakery is usually good...
the pacific inn ain't too bad.
red door is ok, draws a strange crowd at times. if you can sit on the deck when it's sunny, ideal.
and of course brouwer's

in the greenlake/wallingford area:
a lot of my co-workers and friends like tutta bella - i'm more partial to via tribunali (cap hill) which has a greater ambience but the beer selection is rather limited.

if you do sushi, kisaku is ok.

you might want to look just a bit west of greenlake/aurora:
red mill burgers @ 66th & greenwood
kabob house (is there any great indian food in seattle?) @ 80th & greenwood

Aug 14, 07 1:07 am  · 
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w3

Arrived - and moved in with a few boxes still laying around. Going from a 3-bedroom house to an apt. < than 600 sq. ft. is interesting. We've gotten a lot done the last few days though. Vehicle registration check. New drivers lisence check. Zone parking permit check. Picked up bike locker key - My locker really is as close to the Architecure building as it could get [I sneaked into the arch. building and checked out the new studio spaces - From quick observation through a locked door they looked pretty awesome. I'm looking forward to spending some long hours there.] New bank account...semi check. I'm well on my way to establishing a "bona fide domacile." Phew...moving really is a pain. I don't want to do that again for a long time.
Rationalist! Looking forward to having you here!
Also, I checked out the Trabant Chai Lounge that I posted above. The service was awesome - and the coffee was excellent as well. And...I went the U-Dist. farmers market on Saturday - which was great as well...the best peaches and tomatoes that i've had in a long time. Not to mention the amazing flowers...

Sep 12, 07 1:48 pm  · 
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e

w3, welcome. The farmer's market in the U is the best in the city IMO. My wife and I go every weekend. Along with all of the great fruit and veggies there is an awesome creamery, Estrella, there if you like good cheeses.

Sep 12, 07 2:35 pm  · 
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I'll be there Sunday!!!!!!!!!! My last day of work is today, and I'm still wrapping up packing and such. 300 pounds worth of books should be arriving at my new place in a couple of days though, to await my arrival.

holz- my residence isn't quite tangletown, it's still a little east of that. Despite my best efforts, I've ended up living in Ravenna, but it's worth it to live with good people. I looked at one place in Fremont that looked absolutely amazing, but it would have been like moving back in with my mom or something, just not comfortable!

I'm making the opposite move of w3, going from a one bedroom apartment to a three bedroom house. Fortunately my roomates say they've got the common area furnishings pretty much covered, and I think I trust their taste enough not to worry about it, since we agree on our hatred of carpet and floral prints.

w3- did you hear our BBQ got moved back a week? Boo.

Sep 12, 07 2:43 pm  · 
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