Well, There's Your Problem!

I walked by the Icon Grill yesterday to have a look at exactly what fell on Friday. This wasn't altogether clear when I was there yesterday. Take a peek:

Basically, the entire facade fell onto the sidewalk. The reason why it was tough to tell is because it's been totally removed - at least what remained after it collapsed. So that's how it could be pronounced structurally sound and have this happen. The facade doesn't support anything, and in this case, nothing supported the facade. At this point, I'm pretty sure that the windstorm didn't cause this. It's just a coincidence. Hopefully, all Belltown buildings have gotten all the collapsing out of their systems for this year and beyond.

Oh, and by the way:

Needle bomb! Oh, by the way, I think I should mention that I kind of hate the Icon's marquee. Instead of being cool like the one at the Moore, it's just dopey and not at all clever. If they hired me, I could do a way better job. I'd totally offend people.

McGuire Scaffold-Watch! Week: ???? + 50

Still very much there. The dwarf army is still hard at work. And there's still no end in sight. I'm willing to bet real money that when I come back in June, it will be there - to welcome me back. Jeez, in the time the scaffold has been up, they could have torn down the McGuire and rebuilt it minus all the crappy defects. But that would probably be impractical. If it wasn't for the defects, it would have no personality at all. Anyhow, let's hope that today's pending windstorm doesn't blow any unfortunate dwarf from his perch on the McGuire's slopes.

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 24

This is from a few days ago when it was springtime. Now it's winter again. Yesterday afternoon, I was sitting here writing music and suddenly noticed that I was shivering. That's usually a November/December thing. But no, April brings its own misfortunes. I'm told that it's the cruelest month. Well, I'm a believer. Today is supposed to be windy. I don't see it yet. But a windstorm in Belltown is always an exciting thing. It's nice to know that no matter how high the winds are, there is no way in hell you're gonna lose power. My folks up in Snohomish are a different story. Even in light winds, they lose electricity. But they have a generator handy that runs on propane. My dad says that he sometimes doesn't even notice when the generator kicks on. Of course, if the cable goes out, then it's a crisis. Anyhow, the Security House seems to be in the same state as last week with nothing going on and little else to talk about. Perhaps the winds will shred the attractive plastic shroud. I'm sure SH residents wouldn't mind that one bit.

McGuire Scaffold-Watch! Week: ???? + 48

Well, lookee there! That tree is taller than the Space Needle. Gosh, that sure deflates my civic pride. However, it's not taller than the McGuire, which as usual was source of bustling activity this week. Every time I've walked by, the dwarf army has been making all kinds of noise. What does this mean? Well, if past performance is any indication, then nothing. They've made noise for the last year and the scaffold is still there. You know, if they focused the efforts of the entire army on just one thing a day, I bet they would have been done months ago. Instead, various dwarfs grind this over here and scrape that over there. The pace of work slows to a crawl. Of course, I don't understand the nature of the work at all, but I don't need to. I'm a blogger, and as such, my job is to criticize without understanding. Hooray for blogging!

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 22

We're back to Needle-bombing, sweet people! I took this picture a few days ago when it was gloomy. It serves as a nice contrast to today, which is bright and sunshiny. Yes, the scaffold is still up and there were no signs of any life when I walked by. Those poor old people, spending their golden years covered over with plastic. There oughta be a law. Hey, I think maybe there is. Anyhow, nothing has changed; work continues and the scaffold ain't going anywhere.

McGuire Scaffold-Watch! Week: ???? + 45

Lookee there! The light pole is taller than the Space Needle! Why isn't that the symbol of our precious city?? By the way, the McGuire's scaffold is still there. The dwarf army continues its loud working ways. They weren't as loud as the metal slicing brigade at the Security House, but you could still hear them blocks away. I compliment them on their efforts to make the McGuire less ugly and defective, but once the scaffold comes off - if it ever does - the building will merely be less defective. I don't remember too well what it looked like without that sheath of metal tubing around it, but I seem to recall that it was quite non-beautiful. All the dwarf-work will probably not change it in any significant way.

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 19

I know that this looks a lot like last week's photo, but it isn't. If I want to Needle-bomb the shot, I have just one angle - and this is it. So, new photo, same scaffold. La-dee-dah. The non-dwarfs were actually doing work while I was passing by. They were sawing metal, which always makes a lot of noise and creates many sparks. I'm sure it's somebody's version of "looking busy." I've figured out another reason why they should be done: their work area is so much smaller than the McGuire. They should have been done weeks ago. But no, they're almost at the five-month mark. Five months trying to beautify the Security House! Good luck with that one. But hey, take your time.

...Plus the Space Needle

You know, the Space Needle is such a common sight that I forget to look at it for weeks on end. I even used to have a kinda-sorta view of it (though I had to stick my head out the window to see it) until they built the starkly unattractive Senior Services Building a few years ago. Well, they do take good care of old folks, so I guess it's worth the view-blockage. Anyways, I just cooked up a challenge for myself: to try to Space Needle-bomb as many Belltown photos as possible - for fun! Here are a few I took today when I was out in the nice weather:

Of course, that's the McGuire with its scaffold. Suyama Peterson Deguchi is in the foreground. I thought it would be a lot tougher to capture the McGuire and the Needle together, but it was really easy. I just had to look with my eyes and then take a picture with my camera. The shot below is Belltown's ugliest building, the Bayview Tower:

The shadows and tree branches are obscuring a whole lot of gruesome architecture. You're welcome. So there's my first attempt at Needle-bombing. More examples will follow, because news is slow and the weather is very nice.