seattle pics

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Zenn Electric Car

It passed me silently and I glimpsed the word "electric" written in green on the door. It is a two passenger all electric car that you can plug in to recharge. I heard one owner interviewed say her total fuel and insurance costs for a year were $200. I spend that in 3 months or less on our little gas fueled car. Washington state residents get a tax credit through 2010 for purchasing an all electric vehicle. The local dealer also sells another brand which seats four passengers. I like the styling of this one. . .nice lines. What sorts of alternative vehicles have you seen in your area? Are they as cute as "SPARK-E"?

Friday, February 27, 2009

Seattle Hood Ornament

Perhaps only in the Pacific Northwest would a car owner replace their hood ornament with a leaping salmon. :-) I did a disbelieving double take as we pulled up alongside this black car, then hurriedly whipped out the camera and tried to focus. We were at a stop light and I was riding shotgun and poked the lens under the poor driver's chin! Happy blue sky Friday everyone!

Thursday, February 26, 2009

King Street Station Tower Facelift

Snow last night and bright sun today! This is a typical Seattle scene: a ship on Elliott Bay, the Olympics and Bainbridge Island in the distance, the International District in the foreground, and the King Street Station clock tower. But you'll notice the shrouded clock tower roof is finally being refurbished after years of serving as a repository of multiple unsightly antennae and receivers. It should improve an already great view. The main station roof has already been retiled, and the once beautiful station interior will begin seismic upgrades and a restoration this spring. I love this station and look forward to seeing its new and sparkley version. I've shown you the station before here, here, here, and here.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Deco Amazon.com Doorway

The details of the brass and copper Deco doorway of Amazon.com's headquarters are really fun to look at. The etched glass in the transom above is casting shadows inside the entryway. This building was originally a hospital, and part of the campus still houses the Pacific Medical Center and its imagining services. I had just purchased some books on line the day before I took this shot and thought it was too bad this wasn't a distribution center and I could just pick them up. More shots here.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Did She Wear Her Matching Coat on Purpose?

A woman walks over the green-railed bridge, dedicated to Dr. Jose P. Rizal, which connects the International District to Beacon Hill. (You can peek through the railing here.) In the distance are the many hospital buildings on First Hill, also lovingly referred to as "Pill Hill."

Monday, February 23, 2009

Malvina Was Right

. . .except these are granite instead of ticky tacky, more like Monopoly houses. I loved the secondary patterns the shadowed ends of the structures created in the morning sun.

This sculpture installation at Sturgus Park on north Beacon Hill is called "Equality" and was created and sited in 1995-1996 by Beacon Hill artists Rolon Bert Garner and Ken Leback. There is a granite house missing in the left of the frame, but not far away on a pedistal on a raised knoll there is a bronze house overlooking these houses with the city skyline beyond. You can read a thought- provoking quote from Alexis de Tocqueville’s "Democracy in America" on an embedded bronze plaque. An overview of the entire installation is here.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Come On, Cut It OUT!

. . .stop already, wouldja! Is this redundancy, or just the place where they grow all the signs (as one of my Flickr viewers guessed)? These signs are used in the Sounder train yard in the SODO district, just behind Safeco Field.