Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 26, Part 4

Very, very, very nearly done. There's just a bit left at the bottom...

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 26, Part 3

...More coming down. It looks like they'll be close to finished tomorrow.

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 26, Part 2

And it continues to come down...

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 26

Well, here we are, half a year later and look at this:

Ladies and germs, the scaffold is coming down! All work on the SH is done. It only took six months, but who's counting? Congratulations folks, you've got a spiffy-looking gray building now! Well, half of it is gray. Enjoy it!

I will update daily until the scaffold is gone.

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 25

Lord, 25 weeks! What are they doing under that attractive sheet of plastic? I mean, they're one week away from having their stuff up for half a year. That's really quite a long time. And I've been documenting it the entire time. That just shows you how much free time I have. I'll tell you, though, I have been working the last two weeks. And it continues next week. I take notes for these volleyball people. Let me rephrase: I take meeting notes for these regional volleyball committees. They have meetings only so often, but it just so happens that they're getting together three weeks in a row. They're pretty serious about volleyball, but they need a ref, somebody to move them along. It's like when I play poker. I have to keep track of stuff because everybody else is so baked. I'm not, so I've gotta tell those poor stoners whose turn it is and what the bet is. Otherwise, hands last forever. That's the problem with the volleyball people, too - except nobody's baked. They need somebody to tell them they're at an impasse and that they should move on. I'm just the note-taker, so it's not my place. But last night, the meeting lasted three hours and could have gone much, much longer. Thank God they had wine. Anyhow, everybody's quite nice and passionate about volleyball. They just have problems agreeing on things. That's when somebody needs to step in and say, "Hey, since we can't agree and it's not vital that we do, let's move on." That didn't happen last night. None of this has anything to do with the Security House, but I just wanted to stress that my time isn't completely my own right now. Three hours a week is dedicated to writing down what volleyball people say.

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.

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 23

Look, a new angle! It really shows off the attractive plastic that enshrouds the building and prevents those miserable old souls who live on that side from seeing their environs. Can you imagine being a shut-in and having your view obscured thusly? You wouldn't even know what season it was. Well, you could use a calendar, but I'm pretty sure that shut-ins don't buy those. Anyhow, you see that there is nothing new here (except the angle of the photo). There were no signs of life or activity when I passed by. That doesn't mean much. The workers could have been praying or napping or catching butterflies during my brief stop and then gone back to cutting lots of metal. I've said this before, but I expected this operation to be over long ago. So guys, what's the hold-up?

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.

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 21

There's the SH again with the lovely blooming pear trees in the foreground. Soon they'll have boring old leaves and I'll change shots again. I know I say this week after week, but golly, I thought these guys would be done by now. There's no a lot of surface area involved. Sure, there might be something seriously wrong with the exterior, but I doubt it. I mean, the building's 30-some years old, right? Any profound design flaw would have presented itself long ago. No, I think these guys are just working slowly. They make a fair amount of noise, but that just so the world will know there are people beneath that attractive plastic sheet. Speaking of that, if I was a person who spent the last 21 weeks looking out my window and seeing an attractive plastic sheet, I'd be agitating for completion. Even the McGuire hasn't cut its tenants off from the outside world. You just have to look through a bunch of crap to get at said outside world. Those poor Security House old people don't have that luxury.

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 20

Sorry, no Needle-bomb this week. I wanted to show the lovely pear trees. See them? They're the things that aren't the Security House. Once again, they were making a lot of noise sawing metal, but signs of progress are scant. Even if they took down that attractive sheet of plastic, I doubt whether there would be that much of a change from what was there before. Heck, I totally forget what it used to look like. I know that there were windows, but the rest of the structure escapes me. Since this scaffold is going to be up for a while, there's more time for me to forget even more about this building. I'm looking forward to it.

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.

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 18

It's still there. I didn't hear the sounds of guys hard at work when I took this photo, so who knows how much longer this scaffold will be gracing Belltown with its presence. You'll also notice the Space Needle lurking in the background. Just as the Eiffel Tower is visible from every window in Paris, the Space Needle can be seen from all over the Puget Sound area. Anyone who tells you different is lying. You can see it from everywhere: Ballard, Wedgwood, Georgetown, Leschi and Laurelhurst. In the future when I'm taking pictures of things, I'll try to include the Space Needle in everything, because it's kind of a fun challenge.

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 17

Let's have a look:

Whoops! Wrong side! Plus, there are lots of tree branches in the way. Well, in case you're curious, this is what the non-scaffolded side looks like - even though you may have already seen it a million times. Yeah, I know, pretty boring. Here's where the action is:

Or rather, you would see the action taking place if that attractive sheet of plastic wasn't in the way. Things are still quiet here. I did hear the sound of guys dropping things when I was passing by, but there was little else going on. So the scaffold is showing no signs of coming down. And the Security House is showing few signs of total and utter improvement. But think of that attractive plastic sheet as bandages on the face of someone who's had a facelift. Once it's off, there will be an entirely new person revealed to the world - misshapen and grotesque. That's what I'm expecting from this project. Please let it happen!

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 16

Yes, it's still standing, but when I took the picture, there was all kinds of activity. There were guys on that window washer's apparatus on the right and other guys making lots of noise on the scaffold itself. I'm thinking that their supervisor was there. They had to look and sound busy. After he left, things probably settled down and all was quiet once again. Honestly, it's not a big building and its construction is obviously solid, as it's been around for 30 years or so. Why is it taking so long? Are there stimulus dollars involved? If so, that would explain a lot. I can imagine the entire crew chipping away at the exterior, replacing it and then starting the process all over again. That seems to be what's going on, but since nothing can be seen beneath that attractive sheet of plastic, anything could be happening. I mean, they could be painting that side of the building with Communist Party slogans for all I know.

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 15

Although it may seem like I'm recycling the same photo of the Security House over and over again, I assure you that I'm not. I'm totally going the distance for you, my three readers. I'm walking over a block and a half, standing in the parking lot that many people going to the Mexican Consulate use and taking my shot. It's just that good perspectives of this place are limited. And unlike the McGuire, the Security House scaffolding stands on this one side only. My options are limited, so this is the best shot you can expect. But it's new every week. This I swear.

As for progress on this sorry place, well, you be the judge. I don't see anything new at all. When I walk past it, I see guys scurrying around under that attractive plastic sheet. They're not as boisterous as the dwarf army struggling to fix the McGuire, but I know that they're present on the scaffold. That's all I can tell you.

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 14

As you can see, not much is going on here. I've stopped trying to figure out what is going on here. I thought it might be a gigantic puppet show or some such, but it seems I was incorrect. I think it's probably your standard exterior renovation, although a puppet show would be nice. Now that they've gone past the three month mark, the novelty has worn off and I'm just waiting for them to remove the stupid plastic and take down that damn scaffold. I realize that this isn't a race, but I have this to say to those working on the Security House: If the McGuire finishes before you're done, it means they're better than you. Get back to work.

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 13

If I'm not mistaken, that dark gray strip on the side is new. So they're actually doing work! Lord knows what purpose it serves. I've seen guys going up and down on that area in a window washer's rig, obviously working on something. I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with the mole people. Since this project seems so rhapsodic and meandering, I'm going to revise my estimated scaffold removal date (ESRD) to April. I guess that if the only sign of progress is a slight change of color to part of the building, maybe things will take longer than anticipated.

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 12

Gosh, I was thinking that work on the Security House would be done by now. After all, unlike the McGuire, it was solidly constructed and has stood the test of several decades. True, it is quite an unattractive building, but Belltown's full of those, so I'll just quit my yammerin' about that. Although not home to the best views in the neighborhood, I'm sure they're much more preferable than spending all day looking at the plastic sheeting. I'm pretty sure most SH residents forget what the outside world looks like, the poor dears. I believe that I predicted that the scaffold will be gone soon. I stand by that, as it seems that three months is plenty of time to get everything accomplished. Or at least it seems like it. Of course, it would help if I knew what they were doing, but that sort of thing involves asking questions and I'm shy that way. So for the moment, I'll just knit me brow over the situation.

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 9

Attention, sweet people! Scaffold-Watch is going on hiatus for the next two weeks! I'm gonna take a break from blogging for the last two weeks of the year. Of course, I'll be doing posts every now and then. For instance, I'm planning a "Belltown's Best of 2009" for December 28th. So far, I've got four things and one of those is "the day it hit 105 degrees." Remember that? So do I! I might do After Hours posts as well. I've really neglected Ukrainian pop music, so I might explore that madness. OK, so I'm not really taking a break. I'm just allowing myself time to wrap Christmas presents. That's all.

As for the Security House's scaffold, it's still there, as you can see. I decided to take this picture from the second of a possible two angles. This is the less good one. It seems that the workmen are getting into the holiday spirit somewhat. They've put up lights. It could be the season or it could possibly be a way to cut through Seattle's trademark December gloom. Either way, it's nice to see. For this scaffold, the only prediction I have is that it will still be standing on the first week of January of 2010. That's as far as I'll go.

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 8

Here's my latest theory about the Security House: it's not a renovation project, it's a Christmas present. Some monstrously gigantic little boy will come along on Christmas morning, unwrap it and take it home. And then he'll rip away the roof and eat all of the unfortunate old people who weren't visiting relatives at Christmas. Yum!