Seward Park

After taking so many pictures on yesterday's walk, I was aiming for a quiet, residential area which might lead to a shorter blog post. My 7.5 mile walk in the Seward Park neighborhood resulted in many more pictures than I had expected.

This is a well groomed area with good views of Lake Washington. Its tailored gardens, architecture, hilly streets and views reminded me of the Inverness neighborhood of northeast Seattle. One difference was the number of private streets. Blocks were often quite large and often had one or more private roads leading to a number of homes.

There was a real mix of houses ranging from older

to newer

and even a narrow, triangular house built on a narrow, triangular lot.








This area is home to the Sephardic Bikur Holim Congregation,

Congregation Ezra Bessraroth,

the Seattle Kollel,

the Vietnamese Presbyterian Brighton Church,

Macabee Martial Arts (whose website is http://kosherkungfu.com/),

a Seventh Day Adventist Church (whose parking lot is a park and ride for the Microsoft Connector on weekdays), Martha Washington Park (pictured in a prior post)

and the Findlay Sanctuary (and its public art).

Along the way, I saw a Little Free Library housed in an old PI dispenser box,

Graham Hill Neighborhood Watch signs,

a Seahawks banner,

trees with an entry door and faces,

an impressive stone fence















and an impressively decorated fence.

This was another enjoyable walk in another great Seattle neighborhood.

Columbia City and Mid Beacon Hill

My pastry-loving pal and I started today's 7.1 mile walk at the Columbia City Bakery - walks can't start much better than that! Prior walks in this area included streets east of Rainier Avenue but today's walk concentrated on those west of Rainier.

The weather was dreary but I was amazed at how this stretch of Rainier Avenue has changed over the years. There have been a great pub and few good restaurants for as long as I've been coming here but now the shops are more upscale and I noted lots of people walking along the street.

Walking west on Edmunds Street, we came across a large construction site and were told that it was for a strip mall with apartments above. I hope it's not really a strip mall because it abuts the lovely green-space of Columbia Park.

Southside Commons is just west of the park and rents event space to organizations promoting social, racial and economic justice. Heading north on 35th, we passed a land use action sign proposing to build 9 three-story townhouse units in 4 buildings with parking for 7 vehicles. The project had included 8 additional units but that is under review.

We passed the Full Life Adult Day Center before walking east on Alaska to the stately Rainier Valley Cultural Center.

From there we could see the Columbia Branch of the Seattle Public Library.




Heading west again, we noted that AIM (Arts in Motion) had moved to Columbia City and spotted another land use action sign. This one on 32nd Avenue proposed to build six 3 and 4 story apartment buildings with 244 units and parking for 222 vehicles.

Continuing west to MLK Jr Way, we came to Zion Prep Academy and the Columbia City light rail station (which is probably partly responsible for the multi-family building boom).

West of the station, we were out of Columbia City and in Mid Beacon Hill where we spotted more new construction and a few staircases.

Heading east again, we walked south to Hitt's Hill Park, the former home of Hitt Brothers Firework Company. According to the Parks Department website: "The family-run fireworks company is credited with creating pyrotechnics for the movie “Gone With the Wind,” as well as providing fireworks for shows at Green Lake and Ivar’s Fourth of July celebrations through the 1970s".

We passed the Seattle Gymnastics Academy and Puppy Perfectors as well as some Homestead townhouses.

We noted an interesting house on Hudson Street which appeared to have recycled all kinds of building materials.

This area is home to some already constructed, large, multi-family housing,

Bikeworks,

the Rainier Valley Historical Society (next door to a pretty upscale looking plumbing showroom),

what looks like a former school

and public art along MLK Jr. Way near the light rail station.

This was another enjoyable walk with lots to see.

Kubota Garden and Rainier Beach

A friend and I started today's 8 mile walk with a stroll through Kubota Garden. Even in the winter, we were rewarded with some lovely sights. Ponds, bridges,

trees, shrubs,







waterfalls,

and the memorial stone for Mr. Kubota. Friendly toddlers who were visiting the garden with their mothers greeted us and added to our enjoyment.

Leaving the garden, we walked along Renton Avenue S to 51st Avenue S which we took to Rainier Avenue. Here we noted a Safeway store,

a clinic

and a sign welcoming us to the Rainier Valley.

We walked east on Rainier, passing quite a few shops along the way, then saw more shops as we headed up 57th Ave S.

A number of friendly walkers greeted us as we passed tidy homes and ravines and caught peek-a-boo views of the lake.

This area is home to Saint Paul Missionary Baptist Church,

Rainier Beach Methodist Church

Sturtevant Ravine and Mapes Creek.

Along the way, we spotted a lot for sale, a beautifully crafted stone fence,

a mural on the side of a Mexican restaurant,

a large statue of the Virgin Mary in a front yard and then, a few doors away, what looked like an altar featuring a cobra head

and a Beware of the Dog sign with a friendly looking dog on top.

This was another enjoyable walk.

Matthews Beach Polar Bear Plunge

Happy New Year! I didn't post on New Year's Day but I did attend the Polar Bear Plunge at Matthews Beach. There must have been over a thousand people taking the plunge - quite a sight.