The slides at Beacon Mountain will be closed through December while the playground is revised and improved. Photo by Wendi Dunlap.
You may have noticed the slides at Jefferson Park’s Beacon Mountain Playground have been closed. Have no fear — they are only closed so that Seattle Parks and Recreation can make the final revisions and tweaks to the new playground that opened in July. The work is being done in conjunction with the contractor and manufacturer of equipment, before the warranty expires. The work should be done by year’s end.
The work will include additions and alterations to the playground including revisions to the surfacing in the spraypark and additions to the mechanical system for spray features; plant replacement and hillside fortification to prevent erosion; revisions to hillside slides; and additions to site furnishings such as picnic tables, benches, bike racks, and trash receptacles. New interpretive panels describing solar energy production in the park will also be installed.
The slides will be closed through December.
For more information (or if you want to suggest additional improvements), contact project manager Andy Sheffer, 206-684-7041 or andy.sheffer@seattle.gov.
Last weekend, Beacon Food Forest supporters came out in force for the project’s “Ground Making Day.” Project organizer Glenn Herlihy sent out this letter to neighbors and supporters:
The Beacon Food Forest’s Ground Making day was an absolute blast. We’d like to thank the 100 plus community volunteers who came out and converted 3750 square feet of grass into the first Beacon Food Forest planting bed. It was an impressive sight to see so many people farming, smiling, eating and learning together.
We planted the first plum trees and a few shrubs that arrived on bicycle trailers powered by the good people of Beacon Bikes, we shared a delicious meal supplied by Tom Douglas, Essential Bakery, Central Coop and La Panzanella, and made a lot of friends. Thank you nutrient donors! Thanks also to City Fruit and ACTrees, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, Seattle P-Patch, Seattle Parks and Recreation and SPU for being apart of a successful collaboration.
Thank you Food Foresters for making the time to become responsible stewards of your public land. Nice work people!
We don’t have much information about it, but we are told that there is a police forum tonight, Wednesday, September 26, at 7 p.m. in the Dr. Jose Rizal Park Amphitheater (1008 12th Ave. S.). Lt. Hayes of the South Precinct will be on hand to discuss recent police activity and other police-related topics of community interest. All interested neighbors are welcome to attend.
The North Beacon Hill Council monthly meeting, usually on the first Tuesday of the month, is delayed this month because of Labor Day weekend. The meeting will be Tuesday, September 11 instead, at 7 p.m. at the Beacon Hill Library, 2821 Beacon Ave. S.
Here’s the agenda as forwarded from the Council:
Update on Internet connectivity in Beacon Hill: Representatives from UPTUN (Upping Technology for Underserved Neighbors) will be presenting with invited representatives from Comcast, Wave (formerly Broadstripe) and CenturyLink
Public Safety Update: Reports about an increase in street burglaries and updates on recent shootings in the Beacon Hill area
Airplane noise/Greener Skies: updates from FAA meetings
New Project Updates: Proposed developments in the neighborhood including El Centro, Holgate property, and McClellan project.
Other Neighborhood group updates from Friends of Lewis Park, Beacon BIKES and more
All interested neighbors are welcome to attend. Meetings usually end before 9 p.m.
Fun and Zumba dance was enjoyed by all at July’s Beacon Rocks! Photo by Wendi Dunlap.
This Sunday, August 26 from 1-5 p.m., the last Beacon Rocks! event of 2012 returns to Roberto Maestas Festival Street with music and dance performances, kids’ activities, vendors, and even some old-fashioned bartering.
The lineup this time includes Jean Mann (“alt-folk indie-pop singer-songwriter”), Mister K and the Rhythm Rockets Kids’ Show (“Cab Calloway meets Mr. Rogers meets Vince Guaraldi”), Splinter Dance Company (“thought-provoking dance performances”), Lushy (“Cal Tjader meets Stereolab meets Brazil 66 in a bar in Berlin”), and Tumbuka (“a marimba band that plays African music drawn from traditional and contemporary styles”).
Alongside the performances, the focus is on local food and gardening. There will be a BarterFest from 2-4 p.m. Backyard Barter invites the community to trade their homegrown and homemade food and related skills. To participate, bring homegrown veggies, fresh eggs, plants, baked goods, garden tools, kitchen skills, and more to share or trade. No money allowed. (Save your money for the several food trucks and carts that will be on hand, instead.)
Representatives from the Beacon Food Forest will also be on hand with a presentation about the urban farming project currently being developed at Jefferson Park. People for Puget Sound will also be there to demonstrate creative ways to reduce pollutants flowing into stormwater drains.
Here is the performance schedule for the day:
1:00 Jean Mann
1:45 Mister K and the Rhythm Rockets Kids’ Show
2:30 Splinter Dance
2:45 Lushy
3:45 Splinter Dance
4:00 Tumbuka
Here’s a video of Lushy performing at the Beacon Hill Piñata Party at Stevens Place Park in July 2010.
According to police, the suspect was found staying in an apartment at 48th Avenue South and South Henderson in Rainier Beach. Undercover officers contained the location, then SWAT officers took the suspect into custody late Sunday night. The 21-year-old male was booked for investigation of assault. A bag of bullets was found during the initial search of the suspect’s apartment.
At least 17 shots were fired during a rolling gun battle between two vehicles Thursday evening on Beacon Avenue near Jefferson Park, sending a family of bicyclists running for cover and damaging cars parked along the street, police said.
Witnesses reported seeing the two vehicles–a cream-colored Ford Bronco and a gold Honda–rolling south on Beacon Avenue, exchanging gunfire as they passed the Jefferson Golf Course at around 8 p.m.
No one was injured in the shooting, but two vehicles parked on the street were struck by gunfire.
A family riding their bicycles on Beacon Avenue also had to run for cover to avoid being hit by bullets during the shootout.
Gang unit detectives responded to the scene, talked to witnesses and gathered evidence.
Investigators are still working to identify the suspected shooters.
If you’re looking for something with more of a French flavor, neighbor Allison Delong reports that the Caravan Crepes truck will be visiting Beacon Hill Station from about 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Saturday. Here is the menu, which includes both savory and sweet crepes.
Allison tells us that on Saturday afternoon a hot dog cart opened for business as well, so we had a full-fledged food court starting to happen on North Beacon! Keep your eyes on the area around Beacon Hill Station and the El Centro parking lot for more visits from these food trucks and carts.
(Edited to note the change in El Sabroso’s hours. 7/9/12)
The big blue oven from Bar del Corso. Photo by Dapper Lad Cycles in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.The Beacon Bits are mostly about food lately. You know we have got to be in a new era on Beacon Hill when so many other websites are talking about our restaurants and bars! But there are a few other things that found their way into the Bits collection this time. Here are some of the Bits we’ve compiled over the last few weeks:
“We realized that [Beacon Hill has] been a very underserved neighborhood. Maybe because there’s a perception that it’s too sleepy up here. Would there be enough movement and passerby traffic to support what we wanted to do here? I approached this with a confident exterior. So my biggest surprise in this respect was that not only did we have our loyal regulars and neighbors, who knew this space as the Beacon Pub, but others who traveled clear across town to come here.”
Also on the restaurant front, Thrillist reviews Luisa Taqueria with an unusual simile: “Looking to dominate Beacon Hill’s ethnic-eats landscape like that billionaire dude does the protagonist of Fifty Shades of Grey, the crew behind Filipino mainstay Inay’s just opened Luisa Taqueria.”
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The Seattle Times published one of the earliest photos of a Beacon Hill house recently. The house was at what is roughly 10th and Dearborn, which is not part of Beacon Hill anymore. Back then, however, it was. Since that time, the Dearborn Cut (finished 100 years ago in 1912) has removed the northern ridge of Beacon Hill where it once continued north toward First Hill.
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The NewHolly development on South Beacon Hill has seen home values drop drastically. Could it be because of crime? Real estate agents quoted in a story at Seattle Weekly suggest that instead, it’s a common situation in newer developments, where multiple nearly identical homes are for sale, triggering price wars.
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We all know about Beacon Hill’s high school, Cleveland. But another Seattle high school you may not have heard of has headquarters here on the Hill, as reported by the Seattle Times: the Interagency Academy.
This light pole was knocked down by a van Thursday afternoon. Photo courtesy of Angela Castañeda, Beacon Hill Merchants Association.
Reported yesterday (Thursday, June 28) on the Beacon Hill Merchants Facebook page:
Unneighborly neighbor, potential tragedy averted: At approximately 3:10pm this afternoon a group of summer camp kids and another smaller group of middle school boys were walking toward the library when this once lovely light pole was knocked flat behind them by a large camper van. One boy said he felt the swoosh of air as it fell behind him. The man and woman were said to be hanging out there for a while, possibly arguing and drinking, before they rammed the pole as they pulled away from the curb.
Your dear Merchants staff gathered data, provided details to SPD and reported to City Light. In no time Dan and Scott from City Light’s emergency crew were onsite to disconnect wires and make the sidewalk safe again. Thanks guys!
