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Monday, March 31, 2014

Holly Park, Mid and South Beacon Hill

New Holly is so large that there were still many streets to walk, today, on my third visit. Once again, I was impressed with the attention to details like, underground utilities, sidewalks and curbs, saving trees,

providing green spaces (like this one at John C. Little Sr. Park) and playgrounds, locating garages or parking spots and storage sheds in alleys behind houses,

accommodating P-Patches,

leaving ample room near homes (at least in this section bordering on the Chief Sealth Trail)

and including a Neighborhood Campus with a plaza, a family center and a branch of the Seattle Public Library and classrooms for South Seattle Community College.





New Holly borders on the greenspace of Van Asselt Playground surrounding Van Asselt Community Center.

Across S Myrtle Street, I spotted the old Van Asselt Elementary School  (I'm not sure if the building is currently in use) and the Seattle Police Department's South Precinct building.

Walking west, I left New Holly and entered a residential neighborhood which sloped down towards I-5. I noted some nice gardens before crossing I-5 to get to a few industrial streets between Airport Way and I-5.

 Even here, I was rewarded with unexpected plantings,

artwork

and views of Mount Rainier.

Along the way, I had a view of Lake Washington (from New Holly),

noted a Little Free Library,

a sculpture in Van Asselt Playfield

and artwork in the Beacon Avenue median strip.

This 10.4 mile walk was worth every step.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Holly Park and Mid Beacon Hill

Spring blossoms brightened today's 4.6 mile walk as a friend and I chatted our way through the Holly Park and Mid Beacon Hill neighborhoods.

We admired the tidy streets of New Holly and even exchanged greetings with a woman who was cleaning a street equipped with a trash can and trash picker upper.

Trees at Shaffer Park were in bloom.

North and west of New Holly, we observed a primarily residential area with a mix of homes, mostly well maintained. It was a little noisy closer to I-5 and King County International Airport/Boeing Field.

Beacon Avenue has a lovely median strip and a few churches, St. Mark's Lutheran and Bethany United Church of Christ (both pictured in a prior post).

We spotted a community garden and

signs for the Refugee Women's Alliance and Standing Against Foreclosure and Eviction behind Bethany Church,

some pretty healthy looking greens

and a sculpture made from lids, hanging in a tree.

This area is home to the Graham Street Grocery.

Once again, I was surprised by the size of New Holly and I have not yet walked all of its streets.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Brighton and Dunlap

Today was rainy but that could not dim the brightness of the colorful temples I saw as I walked 8.9 miles in the Brighton and Dunlap neighborhoods. Attempting to fill in all the streets I had missed to the east of Martin Luther King Jr Way S,

I was impressed by the Wat Lao Dhammacetiyaram,


the Cao Dai Temple Duong Nhon Seattle



and the Chua Duoc Su Temple with its distinctive roofline (currently under construction but with a garden filled with statuary).

Christian churches were also represented in this area; I passed the Unity Church of God in Christ (which houses the Tiny Tots Development Center),

the ACMI Church,

the Paradise Baptist Church,

the Rosehill Baptist Church and Iglesia ni Cristo (pictured in a prior post).

MLK Jr Way, Renton Avenue, Othello and Cloverdale are busy streets. Comparing this area to the  tidy New Holly planned community across, MLK JR Way, I noted:










a mix of older and newer homes to the east. I observed a large, new apartment building (named The Station), with dancing sculptures out front, near the Othello Light Rail Station (pictured in a prior post),

Lilac Meadows where it appeared that homes were probably built around existing homes 10-20 years ago,

other streets where it appeared that town homes had recently been constructed around existing homes and a land use action sign proposing to build 8 single family homes with attached garages.

Along the way, I spotted the Victory corner grocery store,

the M.L.K. Mini Market,

Genius Academy,

a taco truck,

an old shed begging to have its picture taken,

the Oromo Cultural Center, the lovely looking Othello playground (pictured in a prior post),

the Rainier Beach Light Rail Station with its public art and 20 bike lockers,

a hilly section of the Chief Sealth Trail,









some nice gardens


and thoughtful verses at the base of the Othello stations artwork.

"Pressed beneath his sole
I drink old rain through my feet
Yellow tassel sprouts" (Kathleen Alcala)

"who we are
is not what we wear or eat
It's deeper but just as transparent" (Alan Chong Lau)

"come set the table
grits rice collards pens and books
shoes under each chair" (Colleen J. McElroy)

"Strict Miss Gallagher
Who taught us about justice
Stung us with her love." (Suzanne Bottelli)

This walk was another learning experience.