The Union Trust Building was one of the first rehabilitated buildings to rise in the burnt zone…read morefollwing the Great Fire of 1889. The four floor building was commissioned by Sam Israel and designed by architects (Warren Porter Skilling and James N.Corner.) The building was not built with traditional red bricks but rather with white bricks which was highly unusal at the time. After its completion, the Union Trust Building was highly praised for its electric elevators and setting new standards in construction. The building was built for wholesale business with floors designed to carry loads up to 250 pounds per square foot. As such, many wholesale business had once occupied this building. Today street level remains retail space. Commercial offices can be found on the upper floors. What's so nice about the location of the building is its park like setting, being directly across the street from Occidental Park. Not to mention being surrounded by numerous food venues/ walking distance to Coleman Dock Ferry/Kind Street Train Station & Metro Transit Tunnel ! Location ! Location ! Location ! Thanks for reading ! Live/Love/Travel !

Bank of Commerce Building "Aka" Yesler Building in Historic Pioneer Square was commissioned by mill…read moreowner and entrepreneur (Henry Yesler) in 1889. Henry Yesler was one of Seattle's earliest and founding settlers. There was some questions as to the architects vision in designing the building with stones to appear to looks like logs on the front facade. This QueenAnne Richarsonian Romanesque Building was designed by architect "Elmer H. Fisher." The building was known as the Bank of Commerce due to the fact that financial institutions occupied the building for over two decades! (Scandinavian American Bank/Seattle State Bank/ Bank of Commerce. An additional floor was added in (1906) making the building four floors. This addition was designed by architect Albert Wickersham. Eventually all the banks moved. Some of the other business that have occupied this building at one time or another we're Bartell Drug Store, Pioneer Dentist, shoe store, army surplus store, cafe. Following World War 2, the Building was sold to Sam Israel and is currently owned and managed by "Samis", a foundation Sam Israel established in 1987 in hopes to enhance the appreciation for Jewish Culture and history. I am glad I took the time to learn about the life of the Yesler's Building ! Thanks for reading ! Live/Love/Travel !!

It's a famous line from a mediocre movie: "That's not a knife, THAT'S a knife!"…read more The movie of course is Crocodile Dundee staring Paul Hogan. It is utterly forgettable and in fact, I have forgotten everything about it, except when I visit my neighborhood's biggest tourist draw, the Wedgwood Rock. "That's not a rock, THAT'S a rock!" Standing 19 feet tall and deposited by glacial ice sheets tens of thousands of years ago, the Wedgwood Rock is a humbling reminder of just how little control we humans have over our grand Mother Earth. According to Dr. Terry W. Swanson, of the UW Department of Geological Sciences, the Wedgwood Rock has its origins on Fidalgo Island, near Anacortes, about 75 miles north of Seattle. It was carried 75 miles and by ice sheets and then deposited in little old Wedgwood as the most recent ice age ended (source: http://bit.ly/WcjCNQ). Admittedly, the Wedgwood Rock doesn't quite rank up there with Seattle's top tourist draws, but it's always a lot of fun to take visitors on a drive by and watch their eyes bulge as we round the corner to 28th Ave NE and the rock comes into view. Kudos to the neighbors of the Wedgwood Rock who have assumed the role of caretakers for the iconic boulder, from enforcing the climbing ban, to gardening around it, to making sure graffiti gets cleaned up promptly. It's a bit ironic, of course, that the Wedgwood Rock isn't actually in the Wedgwood neighborhood, which is widely considered to encompass the boundaries of NE 95th St to NE 75th St, between 45th Ave NE on the east to a combination of Lake City Way, Ravenna Ave NE, and 25th Ave NE on the west (Source: http://bit.ly/Wcm6vI). Technically I suppose it would be the Ravenna neighborhood that the rock actually resides in. Still, that bit of trivia doesn't detract from the neighborhood's love for its most famous attraction, nor its appeal to young and old alike. Tip: While the Wedgwood Rock may be the neighborhood's largest and most famous glacial erratic, it is hardly the only one. Check out the Wedgwood Rock's modest sibling located in a tiny park known as Wedgwood Square at the corner of 31st Ave NE and NE 82nd Street.

I used to live several blocks away from the Wedgwood Rock and liked occasionally walking by it…read more I wouldn't drive a significant distance to come see it, but it's still pretty cool to have this this huge rock just sitting there in an urban residential neighborhood. I've read that this rock has a pretty rich history as a landmark for native americans, a picnic spot for families, a place for hippies to hang out and do drugs, etc... right now, however, it's just a big rock on the corner with houses all around... and apparently you get fined $100 if you're caught climbing it.

This is a fun way for the kids to learn about a very narrow and specific part of the history of the…read morearea. Of course, it is not a very important or interesting part of local history. It's always disappointing to see European intruders' subjection of land, animals, and people glorified in this way. But, if this type of history interests you, they've done it well. We took our 5 and 8 year old and had a discussion about the fort in the wider context of history and whether it represents changes that were positive or negative for the people living on this land.

Went to Fort Nisqually for the Queen Victoria's birthday celebration. The weather started out fine…read morebut turned into a rainy day complete with hail, lightning and thunder. We took up shelter in Store #2 which has the blacksmith shop currently. We had the chance to talk to many of the volunteers and staff during our visit. I have a little of knowledge regarding the local history, which I tend to keep to myself, and was shocked by the sheer volume of historical information provided by the volunteers and the staff, all was accurate to what I knew (I have read some of Dr. Tomie's diaries and the book "Company of Adventures" among other local historical books/ information. I questioned the blacksmith on one of his statements based on a historical reference I had read. Long story short, he was aware of the reference, and we discussed how accurate what I had read was. I was honestly shocked to find out he was a volunteer. This type of interaction was not unique to one volunteer. There was an individual with a straw top hat who was also incredibly knowledgeable, the carpenters were first rate just hitting on the tip of the ice berg here. Overall, phenomenal place to visit, I wish the more volunteers and staff were present during non-event days as well, but I will be going back. I understand they have a list of people volunteering and staff available in the gift shop so one can determine who is there before paying to enter. Couple of thoughts: - depending on when you go through, remember some of the staff/ volunteers may have something they are working on. If they ignore you when you first show up in their "space", remember they may have something happening that needs immediate attention. Don't be impatient. Watch what they are doing and ask questions. This is supposed to be an interactive experience, not necessarily an entertainment. - "Be curious" to quote Ted Lasso. - Depending on who is in Store #2 (blacksmith shop), ask about the "family courting candlestick". Interesting story there - I failed the "Blacksmith IQ test". See if you can do better...

There was trouble brewing from the very beggining of construction of this building. The architect…read moreinvolved in its design was arrested due to the fact the walls of the building were dangerously too thin. But whether big or small, every building has a story to tell. The Corgiat Building is a small three story building located next to the Furuya Building in Seattle's Historic Pioneer District. It was commissioned by an Italian Immigrant named John Corgiat in 1900 and designed by architect Robert L. Robertson. The simple architectural style was called (Conventional Renaissance). Mr. Corgiat opened Seattle's first Italian/French eatery ( Louvre) in 1888. Unfortunately his restaurant was distroyed in the Great Fire of 1889. Mr.Corgiat amassed a large portion of his wealth investing in land and property. Originally the three story building had a cornice and a identifying sign with the owners name (Corgiat) . But had to be removed due to damage it had occurred during the Olympian Earthquake in 1949. In the early part of the 1900's the "Main Hotel" occupied the upper floors . Business such as barber shops/ clothing store/ saloon/ occupied the storefront on street level. In 2007 the Masin Family sold the building to a local developer who was known for restoring older buildings. After years of rebuilding and restoration , the Corgiat Building was finished in 2009. One interesting fact about the Corgiat Building is that it is now connect to the Furuya Building next door by way of stairwells and elevators. Have a great day & Thanks for reading ! Live/Love/Travel !

Walking through the International District of Seattle which includes Japantown as well as Chinatown…read morewas very enjoyable. But I did notice that a large majority of the buildings were a bit run down . The majority of the buildings were made of red bricks. There were an few occasions we would come across a building that stood out from the rest. A fine example of this was the "Freedman Building " located on Maynard Avenue South Seattle. It was quite unusual for me to see a non Chinese name on a building smack in the middle of Chinatown. Even the color of the facade was different than the neighboring buildings next to it. This four story ornate building stood out like a gem ! The building was commissioned by businessman Louis Freedman of Portland Oregon in 1909 and designed by an local architect William P. White. Adam's Hotel occupied the upper floors while business occupied the ground floor.The hotel offered low cost lodging for the average working person from 1910 - 1972. The building was renovated in 1980 and reopened as the Freedman Apartments in 1983. Today it is still serving the average working person with low cost housing ! Thanks for reading ! Another beautiful day in the neighborhood ! Live/Love/Travel !

This is a nice and well-maintained city office building with coffee and food options, utility…read morepayment windows, and underground access to both the Columbia Center and the BofA Building. My most significant complain is the cramped nature of the parking structure.

Street parking is limited. As far as parking lots, there are a few. There is an open parking lot…read moreon 6th but it could get scary since this is a hangout for some homeless. There is another paid lot on the south end on 6th. There is limited parking in the same building. The lobby is spacious. Security is helpful. Monitors are available showing bus schedules. There is a Starbucks in the lobby. There are 2 banks of elevators. One bank to take to you the 16th floor and lower. The Second to take you to floors higher than 16th. When going to a floor higher than 40th, you'd need to transfer to a second set of elevators on the 40th. There are 3 eateries: a Vietnamese restaurant Core Bistro and 2 others outside the building: a Mexican restaurant Bebas And Amigos and a salad/sandwich store Chew Chews Eatery. You'd need to go upstairs from the lobby level. The Mexican restaurant and salad bar is outside the building. There are 2 other floors below the lobby. You'll see some great artwork here, a gift store and escalators to join up to the Columbia Tower. To get to Columbia tower, turn right at the bottom of the escalator to take a second set of escalators. At the bottom, go through the glass doors at the bottom of the escalator and turn left. If you turn right, it takes you through a tunnel. Follow this to another set of escalators to take you up to the Bank of America tower across the street. Pretty handy if you really want to stay warm! Amazon Locker is also located on the bottom level.

Innis Arden is not a gated community, something the abundant non-resident walkers, runners,…read morecyclists, and drivers passing through can attest to. It is a community with covenants and by-laws that seek to protect and preserve the land and nature of Innis Arden, yes there are even rules about cutting down/not cutting down trees. My family moved to Innis Arden in 1994, I lived here full-time until 2010, then intermittently 2010-2012, briefly again in 2015, returned full-time in October/November 2019 and am still living here. In total this comes out to a total of approximately 18 years of my almost 28.5 years of being alive that I have lived here in Innis Arden. Zoomed out, Innis Arden is a neighborhood in the City of Shoreline. This is not to be confused with the City of Seattle because as a registered voter living here in Innis Arden I am not given the right to vote for City of Seattle ballot items such as the Mayor of Seattle. The Innis Arden community has a pool that serves the residents of Innis Arden and their guests as well as people who live outside the community and attain membership. The waitlist to be a member at the pool can be long, something to keep in mind if interested in getting a pool membership. There is also a Tennis Club and a Clubhouse. The Clubhouse is the venue for the annual Rummage Sale. There is a trail system for residents of the Innis Arden community and their guests as well as a nature reserve. I love living here and the nature-centric lifestyle it entails. It brings joy to my life getting to be a steward to the Earth and its inhabitants, both human and non-human alike, especially when I can do so in the yard. The natural landscapes and wildlife Innis Arden has worked hard for decades to preserve is becoming scarcer in the City of Seattle. Living here for me provides a chance to fight for the little critters and big trees and everything in between as Seattle's urban sprawl continues to threaten much of the greenery in the eastern Puget Sound area.