You can help improve things for pedestrians on Beacon Hill by taking part in a Beacon Hill Walking Audit on Saturday, February 25, from 1-2:30 p.m. All are invited to join the Beacon Hill Merchants Association and Feet First in a conversation and walk through the North Beacon Hill commercial district to discuss improvements in connectivity and the overall pedestrian experience.
The walk will begin at the corner of Beacon Avenue South and South Spokane Street, near the fire station at the north end of Jefferson Park. It will begin with a short presentation by Feet First. Bring a poncho or umbrella if the weather calls for it—the walk will go on regardless of weather. Feet First will provide cameras and clipboards for notetaking.
The walking route will go north from Spokane Street to Beacon Hill Station, and the walk will take about 90 minutes.
For more information about the Walking Audit, contact Gia Clark of Feet First (gia@feetfirst.org or 206-652-2310 ext. 3), or Angela of the Beacon Hill Merchants Association (info@beaconhillmerchants.com or 206-459-1430).
The Jefferson Park Golf Clubhouse looked cozy in last month's snow. Photo by Joel Lee in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.By George Robertson
The decision to demolish the Jefferson Park Golf Clubhouse to make way for a low-budget two-story driving range should consider a lot more than money. If money was the only issue of import, there would be no Pike Place Market. The Jefferson Park Golf Clubhouse is made out of very attractive 80-year-old probably locally-made fired red brick, and its wood components are traditionally-built assemblies, with actual tree wood in solid profiles we used to call lumber and mill work. Such things are still made, but only the very rich can afford them. Why would we throw something so valuable away?
Just because some fool painted it and did a bunch of sloppy remodeling is no reason to throw it away. If we fix it and turn back the remodeling clock to 1936 in the process, we will have an architectural treasure: standing in the park largely made of the original materials which we could not hope to replace at any reasonable cost, looking wonderful, and reminding us that America was once a great nation populated with carpenters and masons who were skilled and principled craftsmen of a high order.
We will walk through it and remember that it was in those rooms that Americans of every race met and socialized and shared a love of golf more than they valued the segregation that separated them everywhere else. We will be reminded of the power of our American social contract to create the WPA, to restore the American economy, and lift Americans out of the ditch that greed and unregulated capitalism had thrown us into. And we will be reminded of the care that was taken to invest beauty and quality into our public investments in the commons. If you seriously think today’s Parks department is up to matching that in new construction in 2012, please send me some of whatever you are smoking.
Anything they build new and cheaper would be made out of glued-together wood flakes and cheesy cladding products made out of vinyl-skinned foamed plastic and sawdust cement slurry. The enclosure detailing would undoubtedly be the usual leaky hollow section, nail-on flange windows and pseudo-rainscreens we see being tented and repaired all over town. I see so much of that all over everywhere; do we have to go out of our way to wipe out all remaining vestiges of well-built buildings that remain? That clubhouse has stood there for barely 75 years—it is just getting warmed up! All it needs is a little respect and responsible maintenance, and it will outlast and outperform whatever they build new.
George Robertson is a Beacon Hill resident of more than twenty years, an architect, an artist, an occasional writer of often incendiary rants that annoy the neighbors, and a daily user of Jefferson Park.
This building is currently being gutted and remodeled in preparation for transformation into "The Oak." Photo by Joel Lee.(Full disclosure: BHB contributor Joel Lee has worked with one of the owners of The Oak in the past. He asked them for a bit of information about the new project. – Ed.)
I was pleasantly surprised stepping into the building at 3019 Beacon Ave. S. to discover its large, inviting, well-lit interior. Over the years a series of businesses have passed through this space with such crowded window coverings that I always imagined the interior to be dark and tiny. Although it is still in the early stages of a major remodel, it is now easy to see the potential of this space that attracted the new owners (Tim Purtill, Kelly Staton, Lisa Jack, and Mat Brooke) to open their new restaurant/bar The Oak in our neighborhood.
This group has already launched a bar on Capitol Hill in 2006 (The Redwood) and promises to bring parts of their successful formula (and hopefully their spicy sweet potato fries) to Beacon Hill with an emphasis on local-sourced, organic American comfort foods and local breweries.
The owners are holding their cards close to their chests and are not ready to give out too many particulars, as they are finding the right balance between all-ages restaurant and grown-ups-only bar. It is, however, safe to assume a spring opening as they are working diligently on the space. Two of the owners are also moving to North Beacon and plan to bring to The Oak that local touch and community focus that comes with living on the hill.
(Editor’s note: Co-owner Lisa Jack told the BHB in an email that “We hope to have an all-ages room with our full menu that will close at 10, and the lounge will be cozied in the back operating all day with a full menu also. We haven’t decided on the hours yet.”)
11th District State Representative Bob Hasegawa recently hosted a town hall meeting via telephone, but this Saturday, February 18, Hasegawa is hosting a live and in-person town hall to give constituents an update on the legislative session.
The meeting in Tukwila will include discussions on the many issues brought up in Olympia this session, including the proposed Jobs Bill, the Washington Investment Trust, and the state budget.
The event will take place this Saturday, February 18, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon at the Tukwila Community Center Social Hall, 12424 42nd Avenue South, Tukwila. All 11th Legislative District residents are invited to bring their questions, comments and ideas. The 11th District includes parts of South Seattle including the western part of Beacon Hill, Burien, Sea-Tac, Tukwila, and part of Renton.
Mark your calendar for a special zoning discussion meeting of the North Beacon Hill Council next Thursday, February 23, from 7 to 9 p.m. at El Centro de la Raza, 2524 16th Ave. S.
Lyle Bicknell from the City of Seattle’s Department of Planning and Development (DPD) will be present.
The agenda includes:
An update on proposed zoning changes in North Beacon Hill
A summary of recent City Council briefings (Planning, Land Use, and Sustainability Committee)
Pat Murakami of the Cleveland High School PTSA sent this late appeal to the community, seeking volunteers at the school for today:
There are MANY great things about Cleveland High School. Advanced planning isn’t one of them. A teacher approached me today, asking for parent volunteers for tomorrow [February 15]. Most of our parents have limited free time during the work day, so if community members would like to participate in the following, it would be a great opportunity to check out Cleveland from the inside. Folks will find out what a fine school Cleveland is, and what incredible students go there.
Kate Reedy, a Humanities teacher, needs volunteers February 15th as ‘Members of Congress.’ The students will be testifying before us at a Congressional Hearing. It will be fun and a great opportunity to see our students in action. You are welcome to participate in one or all of the following sessions. The Hearings will be held in Room 1207 of the Main Building.
3/4 Period 9:20 – 10:45
5/6 Period 12:00 – 1:25
7/8 Period 1:30 – 2:50
Please park in the lot at the south end of the school (off 15th Avenue South) and enter the original Cleveland building (just north of the parking lot) on the side facing away from 15th. Sign in at the counter on the left hand side of the entrance area. Room 1207 is on the 2nd floor of this building.
One street on Beacon Hill will be a bit less bumpy after this weekend. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will resurface South Myrtle Street from 35th Avenue South to just west of 32nd Avenue Sout this weekend, February 18 and 19, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. According to info from SDOT, “The pavement on this stretch of Myrtle Street is in poor condition. Resurfacing will improve roadway life, ride quality, and above all, safety for all roadway users—transit, general vehicular traffic, and bicyclists. This work is part of SDOT’s annual arterial street paving program.”
The full width of the street is to be repaved, with one lane left open in each direction for street traffic. There will be a police officer on site to assist navigation through the construction area. Pedestrian paths will remain open.
If the forecast calls for rain, the project may be rescheduled.
This is the site that will become the Beacon Food Forest. Construction will start later this year. Photo courtesy of Friends of the Beacon Food Forest.(This has been edited since original publication to correct the contact address. –Ed.)
Glenn Herlihy from the Beacon Food Forest sent us the group’s latest newsletter. Read on for information about the beginning of Food Forest construction, project grants, how to get involved, next Monday’s Steering Committee meeting, and a movie night on March 2 (Vanishing of the Bees).
We begin building the food forest this year!
2012 will be a big year for the Beacon Food Forest (BFF). In Dec. 2011 we received word from the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods/ P-Patch Program the BFF will be receiving $100,000 to further develop the design and begin building. This is levy money administered by The Seattle P-Patch Program to fund and upstart new public gardens for communities without access to community gardens. Thank you very much P-Patch/Department of Neighborhoods and Voters for this grand opportunity to transform our sustainable community vision into reality!
The Levy money will jump start phase one of our garden. Having completed the schematic design, we will use some of the levy money to complete more detailed construction designs. These will enable us to assess the amount of grading and earth works needed at the site. We will also be hooking into city water and running water lines for irrigation throughout the 1.75 acres. We have a deadline to use these funds by Dec 31, 2012.
There is a bit of work to be done first, but it will be this summer and fall that our community will lay out beds/paths and begin planting a food forest! We know from our mail there are a lot of you out there wanting to dig in and grow, your time has come. Please stay tuned for more updates and events or contact us anytime at http://beaconfoodforest.weebly.com/contact-join.html.
A proposed design for the new Jefferson Park Golf Clubhouse, as viewed from the Beacon Avenue side.
Bassetti Architects has recently presented a version of the development concept for the Jefferson Park Golf Course renovation to the city’s Design Commission. You can view it here (PDF). It appears to be a PowerPoint-type presentation, so it’s a bit sparse.
This graphic shows the existing driving range lighting (top) and the proposed new lighting (bottom).
The current Jefferson Park Golf Clubhouse, which would be torn down and replaced with a new two-story clubhouse under this proposal, was recently nominated for landmark status. The City of Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board will hold a public meeting to consider the landmark nomination on next Wednesday, February 15 at 3:30 p.m. in the Seattle Municipal Tower, 700 5th Ave., Suite 1700. All interested may attend. If you can’t attend and still wish to comment, you can comment by email to beth.chave@seattle.gov, or by regular mail to the address in the previous post.
