seattle pics

Monday, July 14, 2008

Bastille Day In Seattle

Seattle knows how to stretch out a party! Bastille Day festivities started last Friday night and went on all weekend long at the Bastille Day Festival 2008 held at Seattle Center. It wouldn't have been complete without a Bal des Pompiers at Fisher Pavillion on Saturday night. Many of Seattle's wonderful French restaurants will be serving up celebratory dinner and lunch fare today and here's the scoop on where to go. I passed this announcement marked on Campagne's window Friday night in the Pike Place Market area. Salute to all our City Daily Photo blogging friends in France (click here to see them all), and French expats everywhere!

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Sub Pop Celebrates 20 Years

Sub Pop record label's flag is flying high from the Space Needle this weekend in celebration of 20 years of this Northwest label's artists and their amazing music. The two day concert line up at Marymoore Park is enjoying absolutely perfect weather. The label that brought the 80s and 90s Seattle sounds of Green River (members of which went off to make music in Pearl Jam & Mudhoney) , Mudhoney, Nirvana, and Soundgarden to the the wider world has continued to sign talented musicians and popular bands such as the Jesus & Mary Chain, the Postal Service, Modest Mouse, The Thermals, The Shins, Flight of the Conchords, and Fleet Foxes, among dozens of others. I'm sure you've heard at least the names of some of these bands, and if you've never taken a listen, I'd suggest starting in way popular turf with giving The Shins a spin here. I took this shot last night from Capitol Hill looking west at about 8:30 PM and the temp was still in the high 70s F. Hope you are enjoying a fabulous weekend!

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Hello Big Boy

This is Bob. Bob is an icon from my childhood. He used to stand outside Googie style roadside establishments called Bob's Big Boy Restaurants. My family stopped at one on a road trip and I remember he was taller than me, taller than my dad, even. Well, I met him again the other night, only he was peeking at me from an antique and collectibles shop window in Seattle's Cascade neighborhood late at night. I feel an episode of the Twilight Zone coming on. . .

Friday, July 11, 2008

The Orange Panther?

The Seattle Streetcar came purring around the track at South Lake Union while I was out walking. It was separated from the pedestrian walkway I was on by only a foot-wide bedding of flowering lavender. The brightly colored streetcars started rolling through the Cascade neighborhood at the south end of Lake Union last December and were lovingly dubbed the SLUT, for South Lake Union Trolley. Sacrebleu! The cars come in Jolly Rancher colors of red, purple, and orange, and I especially like the photo-graphics of the Space Needle featured on the exteriors (left rear in this photo). Input from neighbors in Capitol Hill, Fremont, Ballard, and the Univeristy District is currently being sought about planned streetcar route expansions through those areas. Hop on board and REALLY expand the route to Melbourne, Australia, where we can wish John congrats on two years of Melbourne in Photos today!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Nitelite Neon

I liked seeing the turquoise and red of this vintage metal and neon sign for the Nitelite, an old school style dive bar and restaurant in downtown Seattle. It does a good business as its next to the Moore Theatre and is known for its inexpensive drinks. It was used for location shots in two 1991 River Phoenix films, Dog Fight with Lily Taylor, and My Own Private Idaho with Keanu Reeves .

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

9 PM 9 Block View Up Pine Street

It's 9:00 PM and you are looking up the 9 block grade of Pine Street from 3rd Avenue to Melrose. This view cuts straight through the heart of Seattle's downtown shopping district and over the cut of the I-5 freeway corridor to Capitol Hill where Pine angles to the right and becomes E Pine at Melrose. I know you'll recognize that change in pavement ahead. It 's those jazzy zig zag patterns that mark Westlake Center, a plaza area which is like a community gathering place on special occasions and during demonstrations. It is bounded by 4th and 5th Avenues. Prominent among the signs you can see are those for the Monorail, Mexico Cantina, Pacific Place, the Hyatt and the historic Paramount Theatre. Macy's and Nordstrom are tucked out of sight on the left hand side of the street. Summer sales bring shoppers out on these warm, bright weeknights. For another view, see my More Seattle Stuff page.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Mark Twain!

No, not THAT Mark Twain! Today Seattle Daily Photo marks two years of consecutive daily posts. Thanks to all of the many supportive visitors who have made it a daily habit to drop by and add their special comments, and to the very helpful CDPB family, many of whom dedicate enormous amounts of time and expertise to bring the whole world closer, one city at a time.

I invite you to help celebrate SDP's 2nd Anniversary by taking a minute to explore a few photos from the archives listed in the sidebar to the right. Pick a year and a month and check out some sights you may have missed, or find out which CDPB friends were the very first to leave comments. The City Daily Photo Blog community has grown from about 5 blogs to over 300 since that influential moment in autumn of 2005 when I first stumbled across Eric and Paris Daily Photo in the blogosphere. I started SDP long after I'd caught the daily photo viewing habit. Just as I was about to launch SDP, another Seattlite named Rose went live with her own SDP, and only one blog per city was allowed at that time. When Rose stopped a few months later I was given the go to start. That was 732 posts, and over 150,000 viewers from 160 counties ago. Walking this beautiful city with camera in hand has taught me so much, and I've become acquainted with many fantastic people along the way. Thanks for exploring Seattle with me everyday!