July / August 2004
Content:
Public Events
The Eastlake Shake is On!
Donate Goods and Services for Community-Building
BikeSummer arrives in Seattle
I-5 Open Space/Colonnade Park Delayed By WSDOT
Credit Union Urged to Keep Cuppa Joe Espresso Stand
What Do You Like Best About Eastlake?
Eastlake History
Most Popular Place in Town
Eastlake Community Land Trust Co-Sponsors Eastlake Shake with ECC
Urban Legend
Membership Information
Advertisers
PUBLIC EVENTS
Sat., July 17 Good Turn Park work party 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Info:
860-3866
Sat., July 24 Fairview Park work party, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (between
Eastlake Ave. & Fairview Ave. at Shelby St.) Info: 325-5463
Sat., August 14 Eastlake Shake neighborhood festival, noon to 10
p.m., between Seward School and Rogers Playfield (see article)
Sat., August 21 Good Turn Park work party 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Info:
860-3866
Sat., August 28 Fairview Park work party, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (between
Eastlake Ave. & Fairview Ave. at Shelby St.) Info: 325-5463
Sat., Sept. 11 Good Turn Park work party 1-4 p.m. Info: 860-3866
Sun., Sept. 12 Floating Homes Tour, noon to 5 p.m. Tickets are
$25. Info: 323-3489
The Eastlake Shake is On!
The Eastlake Shake is on! Eastlake’s second annual street festival will happen Saturday, August 14, noon to 10 p.m., thanks to some new organizing energy. About ten people gathered at Hine’s Coffee House on June 3 to talk about resuscitating the Eastlake Shake. The Shake had been pronounced dead in May when there did not seem to be enough volunteers taking leadership positions to make it happen, and the previous crew was still exhausted from all the work of pulling together the first Shake.
The people gathered at Hines discussed the pros and cons of the Shake and debated the reality of making it happen this time around. Everyone loves the Shake and was in agreement that we want to keep it Eastlake-centric and that the neighborhood focus is the beauty of it. As the pros and cons were discussed of realizing it again, a growing sense of momentum was building – we could do it. There was definitely enough interest; it was harnessing the will to do it that was necessary.
With that in mind a newly dedicated team of volunteers decided to take up the reins of the Shake and get commitments from businesses and sponsors in Eastlake to make it happen. Two people from the previous year, Monique Lynnes and Tracy Mitchell would act as guides and consultants to the new team of organizing volunteers: Ryan Murphy, Kathy Bessler, Erica Smith, Judy Smith, Ashley Campbell and Tim Smith (none of the Smiths are related incidentally), with additional help and guidance from Eastlake Community Council and Eastlake Community Land Trust board members. The next month would be a hustle to get all Eastlake businesses on board. Several businesses had already written checks and confirmed their participation, and that was an encouraging start.
As the organizing committee approaches this last month of the count down
to the Shake the hard work of raising funds and organizing the vendor
booths to set the foundation for the Shake will have been complete, now
the fun part of rounding out the program, gathering creative ideas for
events will begin.
For small businesses and artists wanting to showcase their wares, a large
tent with several tables and space for rent will be made available. To
find out about getting table space under the Non-profit and Small Business
Tent, contact any of the numbers below.
Do you have a creative idea for a participatory event at the Shake for
adults or kids? Contact events@eastlakeshake.com
to discuss it and look at making it a reality. We’d like to see more
kids activities. Would someone like to organize a three-legged race or
an egg toss or some other game you remember as a kid and would like to
pass on?
Would you like to volunteer at the day of the Shake to set up and take
down tents and equipment?
Contact Ryan Murphy, volunteer coordinator at the number below. Or if
you need any other information contact any of the numbers below or visit
our website at www.eastlakeshake.com
you can also email us at volunteer@eastlakeshake.com:
Bessler, Kathy Neighborhood Outreach 206.227.4866
Smith, Erica Events Coordination 773.459.1069
Campbell, Ashley Business Sponsorship 206.972.7624
Smith, Judy Marketing/PR 206.709.8631
Murphy, Ryan Volunteer Coordinator 206.324.4022
Smith, Tim Logistics 425.681.0140
The Eastlake Shake is an all volunteer-run event. Live music from a variety
of bands will be playing all day. There will be the popular beer garden
and street dancing. And we’re happy to say that most of the businesses
that participated last year are participating again this year.
The Eastlake Shake would like to thank the following businesses that have
been the “seed money” for this year’s event:
ZymoGenetics Hiroshi’s restaurant
Serafina Delicious Planet
Eastlake Mail Pazzo’s Pizza
Sam’s Steak House Body Smith Chiropractic
Margi David Salon Daly’s
Please support these local businesses with your patronage. And check our website at www.eastlakeshake.com and click on Fundraising to see a current list of sponsors.
Get ready to shake, rattle and roll again this summer on Saturday, August 14.
Tentative Shake Agenda
12 pm - Shake Kick-Off
1 pm - Pet Parade
2 pm - Eastlake Kids Kickball
2.30 pm-4.30 pm - Dunk Tank
3 pm - Eastlake Adult Kickball Finals
DJ & Bands all day!
Watch for posters a couple of weeks before The Shake or check our website www.eastlakeshake.com for the updated schedule.
Donate Goods and Services for Community-Building
As an all-volunteer organization, the Eastlake Community
Council can achieve its mission of building community and enhancing the
neighborhood only with your help.
We could use a donated stepladder, but our greatest need is volunteers
for projects such as those to the right:
(1) Help plan and produce the Eastlake Shake, our annual August festival
(see article)
(2) Help plan an Eastlake holiday auction or a tour of Eastlake homes,
gardens, businesses, boats, etc.
(3) Help with weeding in parks or organizing new tree- planting efforts
(see work parties in the calendar)
(4) Help review proposed land use projects and develop ECC’s recommendations
on them
(5) Help make Lynn Street between Eastlake Ave. and Boylston Ave. a safer,
more beautiful street
(6) Help distribute the Eastlake News on your block or nearby
(7) Serve a one-year term on the ECC board—nominate yourself or a
neighbor (nomination letters and biogra- phies needed by the end of August)
(8) Lead some other project we haven’t thought of yet!
To volunteer or donate, write to ECC, 117 E. Louisa Street #1, Seattle
98102, cleman@oo.net.
BikeSummer Arrives in Eastlake!
You don’t have to be a hard-core bicyclist to enjoy BikeSummer! BikeSummer is one hundred days of celebration and activism featuring bicycle, transportation, and community events, all starting on June 11. It’s politics, bike culture, rides, speakers, street theatre, art, classes, workshops, music, films, midnight rides and more. Make plans now to join in the velorution as we welcome bicyclists and transportation activists from around the city, state, and the world!
BikeSummer arrives in Eastlake! Eastlakers have been working hard to make this one of the most biked-through neighborhoods in the city, and we’re now nearly surpassing Fremont, but only because more rides are originating in Eastlake & going to Fremont! BikeSummer only helps this cause by getting more folks out on the Burke Gilman Trail, easily accessible by bicycle with just a short jaunt north on Eastlake Avenue, across the University Bridge, around and under to 40th, where any one can connect with the lovely Burke Gilman. Join the masses today and get on your bike this summer! It’s BikeSummer!
What do you do with a BikeSummer? Well, the possibilities are endless. In this case, watch the Tour de France on the big screen in a fully restored vintage theater at Sand Point, drink beer, and be merry with our fellow Frenchies on July 14th. Head over to 34th & Stone Way North on Friday, July 16, for a screening of Pee Wee’s Big Adventure during the Cult Film Night series behind Subway.
It’s fun for all ages, sizes, and types— BikeSummer only asks
that you have or love a bicycle. Check it out at www.bikesummer.org/2004.
You can post your own bicycle-related event & help get others out
on the road & on their bikes. Maybe your event will even make it into
the second print edition of the BikeSummer Calendar™ (available at
bicycle shops near you!).
Happy BikeSummer!
I-5 Open Space/Colonnade Park Delayed By WSDOT
This voter-approved City park (to include stairs, trails,
an off-leash area, a mountain biking course, and a family use area), would
be under construction today were it not for an unreasonably high rent
demand from the landlord, the Washington State Department of Transportation
(WSDOT). Seattle’s Park Department wants WSDOT to reduce the rent
in exchange for the valuable steps and trails that City taxpayers are
funding at the site. WSDOT is after all, a transportation agency, and
its strategic plan commits it to re-establishing neighborhood connections
that were sundered by freeways. Please contact our state legislators,
asking their help in getting WSDOT to accept the Park Dept.’s reasonable
offer: Rep. Ed Murray, murray_ed@leg.wa.gov;
Rep. Frank Chopp, chopp_fr@leg.wa.gov;
and Sen. Pat Thibaudeau, thibaude_pa@leg.wa.gov;
or P.O. Box 40600, Olympia, WA 98504-0600.
Credit Union Urged to Keep Cuppa Joe Espresso Stand
In late June, Cuppa Joe on the Go, the popular espresso and snack stand which since 1996 has been located among the trees on property of the Washington State Employees Credit Union at 1500 Fairview Avenue East, was told that its lease would not be renewed at the end of September. Petitions are being circulated asking the Credit Union to reverse its decision, and the Eastlake News has received from local resident and businesswoman Marge Mueller this eloquent letter:
“This small business and the other remaining small, single-owner businesses along the south end of Eastlake add immeasurably to the diversity of the neighborhood. When I discovered this gem of an espresso stand tucked in a corner of your parking lot, I thought it was really nifty of a credit union to allow space for a small business that provided a nice service to the neighborhood. I have lived and shopped in the Eastlake neighborhood for more than thirty years. My children attended Seward School, just up the street. … There is no reason that small businesses cannot co-exist with large ones, allowing at least some of the rich texture of the neighborhood to be retained. I note on your web site that you say: ‘As a credit union, our involvement in the community is a big part of who we are.’ If this is true, then you will renew the lease for Cuppa Joe Espresso, and let it continue to be a community asset.”
For those who wish to write, e-mails should address the Credit Union’s
President and Board of Directors, and can be sent
c/o acollins@wastatecu.org.
The postal address is: Kevin Foster-Keddie, President; and the Board of
Directors, c/o Carole J. Washburn, Chair; both at Washington State Employees
Credit Union, P.O. Box WSECU, Olympia, WA 98507-0099. If you are a WSECU
member (and there are many in the neighborhood), be sure to mention it.
Maybe the folks in Olympia don’t realize that Seattle folks like
coffee?! If you are interested in meeting with the Credit Union management
on this question, contact the author of this article, 18-year WSECU member
Chris Leman (cleman@oo.net, 322-5463).
What Do You Like Best About Eastlake?
Ruth Presler, an Eastlake resident for more than 50 years, celebrated her 90th birthday last year. She has been one of the neighborhood’s most dedicated volunteers, and served as a distributor of the Eastlake News. Because of worsening of her very painful osteoporosis, Ruth recently moved out of the neighborhood into an assisted living facility. Friends and neighbors who wish to visit her can obtain contact information at 322-5463, cleman@oo.net. In reflecting on decades of walks throughout the neighborhood, Ruth compiled this list of what she likes best about Eastlake:
* Good bus service to downtown and the University District.
* Many residents with their own busy, private lives give time to help
the neighborhood.
* Community meetings held at Seward School to discuss issues.
* Views of Lake Union and the Space Needle.
* Floating homes and small gardens on the waterfront.
* Ron Farringer, faithful Seattle Times paper carrier in Eastlake since
1980
* The 1893 yellow Steinbrueck house (2622 Franklin Ave. E.)
* The 1895 gray Victorian house (2310 Yale Ave. E.)
* The Castlewood condominiums, an Art Deco design from the 1920s (2717
Franklin)
* The classic old Seward School (three eras: 1895, 1906, 1918) and its
grounds
In submitting the above list, Ruth Presler suggested that others write
in with their own Eastlake favorites, and we think that’s a great
idea; please send your list (photos and reminiscences especially welcome),
to Eastlake Favorites, c/o Eastlake News, 117 E. Louisa St. #1, Seattle
98102.
Eastlake History
Seward School 1955 - Sixth Grade. Class photo and signatures
Back to top
Eastlake is world class. Bronwen Serna, barista extraordinaire at Hines Public Market Coffee (2243 Eastlake Ave., 329-4214) not only won the U.S. championship this year in Atlanta, but also placed in the top thirteen in the world barista championships held recently in Trieste, Italy. … And Jennifer Devine, who rows out of the Pocock Rowing Center (3302 Fuhrman Ave. E., 328-7272), will be representing the U.S. in the women’s single sculls at the Athens Olympics after winning preliminaries in Lucerne, Switzerland.
Another world-class event is the popular Floating Homes Tour (Saturday, Sept. 12, noon to 5), which this year features fifteen houseboats on Fairview and Westlake avenues, including the one from Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan’s hit movie, Sleepless in Seattle. Free passage across the lake will be provided on boats and buses. Tickets are $25, available in August; any remaining tickets will be sold on the day of the event. For more information, call 323-3489 or check the Floating Homes Association web site at www.seattlefloatinghomes.org.
3Tier Environmental Forecast Group (2825 Eastlake Ave. E. #330, www.3tiergroup.com) provides weather forecasting needed by wind energy and hydropower producers. … Joseph Sheedy (hbarover2@yahoo.com, 799-5089) lives and works in the neighborhood and is a lifelong bicyclist. In his spare time Sheedy builds and repairs bikes, and will work on yours if he has the parts. To improve his inventory he welcomes donations of parts. … Award-winning furniture-maker Bob Spangler (http://rspangler.com), who for many years had his home workshop in Eastlake and did a volunteer Eastlake News route, is moving to Bainbridge Island. ... Local resident Ellen Henderson (324-2981, ellenmfh@msn.com) is looking for health care professionals for a mid-winter mercy trip to Uganda. She is planning to go the end of December through first two weeks in January, 2005.
Tom Veith (547-3111, 3302 Fuhrman Avenue E. tveith@seanet.com) offers building design and permitting services for residential projects. … Renee Erickson, who last year lost through redevelopment the classic wooden building on Boat Street that her café was named after, will reopen the café at a future location, but in the meantime has resurfaced as the Boat Street Kitchen (www.boatstreetkitchen.com), offering gourmet take-out and delivery (including a renowned bread pudding), lovely tables on site, cooking classes, and corporate catering in partnership with Boat Street Café founder Susan Kaplan at Sophie’s (2238 Eastlake Avenue E., 323-7132). … Lakeside-Milam Recovery Centers (2815 Eastlake Ave. E., 341-9373) is one of the state’s largest providers of alcohol and drug addiction treatment.
Congratulations to ZymoGenetics on the dedicating of their new Earl Davie Building, across Eastlake Avenue from their flagship Steam Plant headquarters. Speakers included the Mayor and the President of the City Council and a class at Bryant Elementary School presented a science-themed mural that will have an honored place in the new building (see picture page 8). … Rumor has it that, as it awaits construction of the next phase of its South Lake Union campus, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center will be occupying much of the new building at 1616 Eastlake Ave. (behind the Bank of America).
Blue Ribbon Culinary Center (328-2442, www.blueribboncooking.com) has relocated from Madison Park to 2501 Fairview Ave. E. (former location of Café Ambrosia). The Center offers classes for the general public on a variety of cuisines, taught by guest chefs; and corporate team-building events featuring the preparation and enjoyment of a meal. Also planned are Sunday brunches in which the diners help prepare the meal. … The Eastlake Arts Council, recently endorsed by the Eastlake Community Council, is organizing to establish a monthly Eastlake art walk. To get involved, contact the Patrick Howe Gallery (3200 Harvard Ave. E., www.PatrickHowe.com). … Patterson and Whittaker (2716 Eastlake Avenue E., 325-0664, jeff@pwstone.com) is the U.S. distributor for a unique Canadian architectural stone product (extruded foam covered with sand and rock that is indistinguishable from carved stone) that makes possible a wide range of decorative and design effects, as evidenced by amazing photos of recently built retro buildings.
In an annual process, the Eastlake Community Council is seeking nominations
for its board of directors. One third of ECC’s board members are
renters, and we’d like to increase that number. Homeowners and condo
dwellers are also sought, as are those who work in the neighborhood. Currently
four board members work in the neighborhood, including two local business
owners. Special thanks to Kari Mosden and Tonia Moore, who recently stepped
off the board after contributing greatly. To get involved, suggest someone
else, or for questions, please contact us soon.
Mention in this column does not imply endorsement by the ECC, writer,
or editor. Send your business news to Chris Leman (cleman@oo.net)
or c/o ECC, 117 E. Louisa St. #1, Seattle 98102.
Eastlake Community Land Trust Co-Sponsors Eastlake Shake with ECC
This year, the Eastlake Community Council welcomes the Eastlake Community Land Trust as its joint sponsor of the Eastlake Shake neighborhood festival. The land trust was founded in 1990 to protect the interests of renters and to preserve and reclaim Eastlake’s historic economic diversity. Its board members are all Eastlake residents and volunteers.
The Land Trust is seeking an apartment property in the Eastlake neighborhood that would be purchased and operated by a non-profit housing provider like the Capitol Hill Housing Improvement Program, with permanently affordable rents. Because the Land Trust and CHHIP are tax-exempt, there can be substantial financial advantages in a “bargain sale,” in which the seller lowers the price but takes a tax deduction on donating the difference between the selling price and the market value. Let us know if you have questions.
In Eastlake’s hot housing market, properties often sell soon after (or even before!) being listed; thus the Land Trust particularly appreciates the opportunity to make an offer before a property goes on the open market. Donated properties, of course, are particularly welcome.
If you have or know of a candidate property, please contact board member Paul Hanson, 260-1912 or paul.kari@mac.com. You may remember the Land Trust in your will, or make a tax-deductible donation. Checks made out to the Eastlake Community Land Trust may be sent c/o Mary Ferguson, 2944 Eastlake Avenue E., Seattle 98102.
Greetings! 
Matahari Kari, and therefore the Urban Legend, is currently on vacation (as we all should be during the glorious summer months in the great northwest), and is unable to answer your pressing questions about the Eastlake neighborhood, get to the bottom of those pesky urban legends, and provide you with stimulating tidbits of local and neighborly activity. Keep ’em coming, though. Have a question? We can’t guarantee an answer, but that shouldn’t stop you from asking. Please submit comments, compliments, complaints or queries to ecc_urbanlegend@yahoo.com, or Urban Legend c/o ECC, 117 East Louisa #1, Seattle, 98102. We love challenges. Enjoy your summer!
In 1995, a runaway
beer truck knocked these vehicles into Lynn Street Park. In 2002, a runaway
bureaucracy almost prevented its commemoration in tiles in the park. (Photographer:
we’ve misplaced your name; please contact us at ECC, address last
page)
Eastlake News - a publication by the
Eastlake Community Council
117 E. Louisa Street, #1
Seattle, WA 98102-3278
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Estate Sale
of former Eastlake resident who was voracious collector.
Crystal, China, Jewelry, Antiques,
many unusual items & artifacts -
something for everyone!
Every Fri - Sun 9-6 PM
2349 Yale Ave East Apt#3 Eastlake
