Happy Easter

No official walks this weekend but wishing everyone Easter blessings.

Industrial District

It was back to the Industrial District, today, for an 8.4 mile walk along streets between I-5 and 4th Avenue S from S Spokane Street to Lucile Street. The main street in this area is Airport Way and parts of it were lined with trees and had nice sidewalks.

Just north of Lucile Street, Airport Way passes over railroad tracks

and, for part of the way, it runs alongside I-5.

Most of the area is dominated by the power grid.

Near Spokane Street, a lot of the industry appeared to be automotive-related, probably servicing all the trucking in the area. A State Emission Inspection Station is locate here.

As I walked south, I noticed a large Fed Ex facility

and a number of food-related facilities including Sun Food Trading Company, Gretchen's, the Corporate Offices of Uwajimaya and Food Lifeline. I was thinking that the area smelled of tar or rubber until I passed Schwartz Brother's Bakery the wonderful aroma emanating from the building made my mouth water.

Some of the older buildings looked to be in very good shape, especially the Ontario Motel.

This area is home to the City of Seattle Transportation Department Traffic Shops,

Seattle Fire Department Temporary Fire Station Number 14,

Washington State Department of Transportation Northwest Region Signal Headquarters,

South Seattle Industrial Park,

some pretty impressive columns supporting I-5 ramps

and Sunny Arms, an artists' cooperative live/work space.

Along the way, I spotted attempts to beautify the area

and a worker painting the Airport Way overpass.

A nicer walk than yesterday's but still pretty industrial.

Industrial Disctrict

Today's 8.1 mile walk in the Industrial District is not one I'm likely to repeat. It had its points of interest but the area supports shipping and heavy industry and I vied with trucks for walking space. The truck drivers all seemed to notice a pedestrian but the area was dusty and had lots of pot holes.


There were signs of development and tidy streets with newer buildings and sidewalks

co-exist with railroad tracks.





I saw quite a few moving trains and heard train whistles blowing.









This is not a residential area but I did see two houses, one boarded up and the other, almost next door to it, looking pristine.

Along the way, I passed pot holes big enough to swallow small cars,

a Big Brothers Big Sisters Donation Center, what looked like a taxi dispatch center, a Starbucks Drive-Thru just south of a Costco on 4th Avenue S,



a City Light facility,

a colorful expresso stand in an unlikely place,

murals on the UFCW 21 (a voice for working America) building

and the Georgetown Morgue,

birds painted on the supports of the Spokane Street Viaduct,

a very large Charlie's Produce trucking center,

a Seattle Fire Department facility (may be a temporary location), a Pacific Sheet Metal facility,

what looked like a homeless encampment under the 1st Avenue S viaduct and a street being cleaned nearby.

I also observed a sign proposing to develop a large facility at Hudson and 1st, a sign above  a large warehouse advertising Sears Contract and Commercial Sales (Show Room/Design Center/Will Call), Dirt Depot (Seattle's Premier Dirt Networking), a sign for an Urban Enoteca (their website indicates they host weddings and events)

and signs of Spring.

Not my favorite walk but not without some rewards.

Minor Neighborhood

My husband and I saw lots of churches today as we walked 5.3 miles in the Minor neighborhood. We saw vacant lots, murals, corner stores, P-Patches, social services facilities and newer construction too in this changing area.




There are still older homes and apartments but new construction is in progress too.

This area is home to or abuts the Rotary Branch of the Boys and Girls Club,

the I.C.R.A. Yat Sen Cultural Center,

Spruce Mini Park,

Edwin T. Pratt Park,

Medina Children's Services (which appears to now be Amara),

Bailey Gatzert Elementary School,

Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute,

Catholic Community Services,

the Douglass-Truth Branch of the Seattle Public Library,

Community Day Center for Children,

the Central Area Health Care Center,

the Odessa Brown Neighborhood Healthcare Center,

Alder Academy (pictured in a prior post), the Goodwill Missionary Baptist Church,

God's Pentacostal Temple,

Tolliver Temple Memorial Church of God in Christ (the former Sephardic Bikur Holim Synagogue),

Curry Temple Christian Methodist Episcopal Church,

People's Institutional Baptist Church,




Vietnamese Martyrs Parish (Catholic) with its decorative gate,

New Hope Missionary Baptist Church,

Garfield High School (pictured in a prior post), Washington Hall,

and the Eritrean Community Center which appears to be physically connected to and has probably taken over the adjacent Seventh Day Adventist Church.

Along the way, we spotted murals,









gardens

and the 14th & Fir P-Patch Community Garden (Squire Partk) with its Neighborhood History Fence.

This was one walk which left me wanting to know more about the history of this neighborhood.