Three years and counting

By Bryan Tagas

Today marks the third anniversary of Madison Park Blogger. What began as something of a lark has morphed over time into a cross between a labor of love and a duty.  My goal has been to provide Madison Park with a timely source of news and (very occasionally) commentary, about the things that impact this .9 square miles of lakeside turf that we are lucky enough to inhabit.  I remain dedicated to that mission.

Sometimes people tell me that they would like to hear more of my "voice" in the stories I present.  While standing on a street corner one day last summer, I was admonished by someone who told me, "It's your blog. You can write anything you want. There's no standard for bloggers!" That may be true, but there is a standard for this blog.  I try to adhere to a few journalistic rules which I laid down early in the life of the blog. Since I had very few readers at the time, most will not recall that posting.  But what I said then still applies:

Journalists are supposed to live up to certain standards of journalism, and I think a similar code of 'professional' conduct is required of bloggers. Here are the elements of my own personal blogging code:

1. Be fair and accurate
2. Separate reporting from editorializing
3. Give attribution and provide hyperlinks to sources
4. Avoid conflicts of interest
5. Correct and note errors

This blog is unlike Seattle's many other hyperlocal (i.e. neighborhood) blogs.  The postings are usually not short and sweet--in fact, they're often long and too involved for certain readers. But in the interest of keeping this community informed, I make no apology for trying to be as comprehensive as time will allow.

And that's a perfect segue to my final point, having to do with time. As some of you have noticed, I have not been posting as often in the past few months as I did when Madison Park Blogger was still an "early stage" endeavor. This is not because of diminishing interest, enthusiasm, or will on my part.  Rather it's the consequence a time commitment to the new managerial assignment I recently undertook at my day job (that's the one that pays the bills). Perhaps someday I will again achieve the four-postings-a-week level that was once the standard here. But in the meantime, I simply recommit to keeping Madison Park posted.

Thanks for your support!

March Police Blotter

Break-in Alert:  In the first couple weeks of April there have been numerous nighttime incidents of house, garage and office break-ins in Madison Park, as well as car break-ins and car and bike thefts.  We will be reporting on these in our next Police Blotter. This is just another reminder to be vigilant.

March was relatively calm on the crime front

There were only two house break-ins and one car prowl reported in Madison Park during March. The first home intrusion occurred In Broadmoor on March 19, on the 1900 block of Parkside Drive E. The homeowner reported to police that he had been out of town, though his nanny had been home minding his two kids. The home's security system had not been activated. Sometime during the period, someone had entered the house through an open door or window and stolen a laptop, digital camera and camera lens that were on his desk in the den. Additionally, a back pack had been stolen from the hallway near the den. Latent prints were found at the scene and there was the possibility of the laptop being traced through a GPS application.

A second home burglary occurred on March 30 on the 1400 block of 42nd Avenue E. The homeowner reported that during the night someone had entered her unlocked garage and stolen two bikes and a power hand tool.  Anecdotally, we understand that in that incident the thief or thieves did not remove the beer or steaks from the in-garage refrigerator.  But they did take the chocolate milk.

The one car break-in that took place happened on March 24th on the 2500 block of Canterbury Lane.

There were multiple reports of property damage (paint-can icons on map above) and several incidents of trespassing.  In one of those incidents someone stole a sign from the Madison Park bath house.  In another incident, three black males entered an apartment building on the 2300 block of 43rd Avenue E. though a door that had been propped open.  When confronted by a tenant, they claimed to be salesmen but immediately fled the scene.  That incident occurred on March 26. Another trespass incident took place on the 4100 block of E. Highland St. on March 17.

Finally, there was a domestic dispute that was broken up by police on the 1800 block of E. Galer St. on March 19.  In that incident a woman and her former boyfriend got into a yelling match, but the police determined that there had been no violence requiring further action once the couple had been separated.

[On the map above, the blue icon with the big black blob represents an harassment/illegal dumping case that happened on the 4100 block of E. Lynn St. on March 19.  The green dollar bill icons represent cases of theft, and the green dollar sign icon represents an incident of fraud or identity theft reported to police.]

Bus changes a non-event for Madison Park

Although some bus riders around Seattle may be getting agitated about proposed changes to King County Metro's bus routes, Madison Parkers can rest easy that our own Route 11 is facing only a very (and we mean very) slight alteration in service. That, at least, is based on the recommendations from Metro Transit that will be going to the King County Council in September.

Essentially the whole story for those using Route 11 is that instead of having the option of disembarking the bus on 3rd Avenue between Pike and Pine Streets downtown, the new option will be to get off on 2nd Avenue between those two streets.  In the official parlance of Metro, the "turnaround loop" for Route 11 has been extended by one block.

This should result in better service, according to Metro, since the Route 11 bus will not longer link with Route 125, thus improving Route 11's "reliability." Metro's second rationale for this minor route change is that it will further limit bus traffic on the supposedly congested Third Avenue corridor. Other bus routes are also being rechanneled from Third Avenue. No other service changes have been recommended to Route 11.  So, essentially, this is a no-story-here story.

Those who utilize Route 11 to access other Metro routes within the County may be interested in learning more about the proposed changes (information about which is provided here). And if you're really ticked off (or even excited and supportive) you can give your input by attending a public hearing of the King County Council’s Transportation, Economy and Environment Committee tomorrow, Monday, April 16, from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm at Sound Transit’s Board Room at Union Station (401 S. Jackson Street).

Stay of execution for Arboretum ramps

Still doomed, but temporarily reprieved

The original plan for the western approach to the new 520 floating bridge called for the the westbound exit to Lake Washington Boulevard to be demolished later this year and for the eastbound entrance (along with the infamous "ramps to nowhere") to be demolished at the end of construction in 2015.  Now that timetable has been revised. The removal of the Arboretum ramps, neither of which will be replaced, has been delayed.

As a result of our request, the Washington State Department of Transportation has now clarified the ramp situation, noting that the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the 520 project "contains a construction timeline that shows westbound Lake Washington Boulevard ramps closed to traffic and removed in 2014 and eastbound Lake Washington Boulevard ramps closed and removed in 2015."

The Final EIS was issued last June, and we admit that we missed that hidden nugget of information about the delay the removal of the Westbound ramp until 2014.  That's a two-year reprieve--a pretty big deal for many commuters, and something we have not seen reported by the media. But that's not even the whole story. According to WSDOT, "funding and legislative developments since publication of the Final EIS will likely change the schedule for closing and removing the ramps."

The reason for this is that the Final EIS "assumed full funding of all project elements," WSDOT reports.  However, as has been fully reported in the media, the State has no funding at present for anything other than the new floating bridge and the Eastside approaches. "Engrossed House Bill 2814 requires that the Legislature authorize tolling on I-90 and/or other funding sufficient to complete construction of the SR 520 Program before construction can begin west of the floating bridge and landings work," says WSDOT spokesperson Jeff Switzer.  "The requirements expire June 30, 2014. This means that we cannot start the next construction phase before July 1, 2014, unless other funding conditions are met. If we cannot meet these funding conditions, it is unlikely that we will be able to close and remove the Lake Washington Boulevard ramps as early as 2014."

SR 520 Arboretum ramps slated for removal, including the "ramps to nowhere" 

Switzer further notes that WSDOT has applied for a federal loan to cover the costs of completing the "SR 520 Bridge Replacement and HOV Project," and if the federal money comes through the State will be able to "fund the next phase of construction west of the floating bridge, which would likely begin after July 2014 when the requirements of EHB 2814 expire. We will be able to develop an updated timeline for Lake Washington Boulevard ramp closing and subsequent removal if and when we receive the [federal] loan and/or other additional funding for project elements from I-5 to the floating bridge."

So there you have it.  The Arboretum will still ultimately become free of freeways, but not for many years to come.

[Upper photo courtesy of WSDOT.]

'Pop-up' art gallery makes its debut

Art Messer's having a show (and you're invited)

In his own eccentric way, Art Messer is something of a neighborhood institution. He's been around the place in one guise or other since at least 1979, when he opened an art gallery and frame shop on E. Madison (in the building later to become infamous as Constance Gillespie's "black hole").  Messer's also an artist, raconteur, gadabout, and longtime resident of the Park who can often be seen sauntering around "The Village" or at ease in one of various neighborhood hangouts, talking to friends and passersby.  When not engaged in one of these activities he paints.

It's been over two decades since Messer had a gallery in the Park.  He closed up shop in 1990 in order to devote his time to travel and painting (preferably in tendem).  Since then he's shown his works in at least 100 shows. And though he travels to get inspiration (Paris is his next destination), it's Madison Park and his tiny apartment/studio across the street from Best Buds to which he always returns.

On April 1, Messer opened a "pop-up" (meaning temporary-in-the-space) gallery next to the Bank of America branch, a space that recently housed a "pop-up" antique store (4110 E. Madison Street). His show is entitled "Still Lifes and Romance" and/or "Spring Romance" and features a mix of old and new works, including 20 originals and 20 prints priced at $500-$2,000.

Messer places himself squarely in the Fauvist school (think Matisse), with paintings that are bright, energizing, and somewhat less than (or more than, depending on your viewpoint) representational.  His current collection is mix of landcape, portraiture, and still lifes.

Messer is hosting a wine-and-hors d'oeuvres reception at the gallery on Tuesday evening, April 10, 6-9 pm.  The artist enjoys the support of several local patrons who, we understand, will be on hand to expound on the virtues of Messer's art.  And, of course, there will be Art himself, who is not known for being at a loss for words.


Here's a sample of Art talking about his art: "When I paint, I prefer simple compositions. This allows me to express with color a fun, even humorous, view of life. When I can say a painting gives me a happy feeling, I know that I have reached my goal."  He invites the neighborhood to come be happy with him.

The show ends on April 28, so you better get in before the good stuff is gone.  Of course, as Art will tell you, it's all good stuff.

A picture-perfect Easter Sunday

It was one of those all-too-rare glorious Spring days in Madison Park today; and believe it or not, kids were actually able to hunt for Easter eggs outdoors and in sunshine!   These are some of the egg gatherers at the Annual 39th Street Easter Egg Hunt held in Canterbury.  It's not clear whether little Buttercup, below,  participated in the hunt or was just assigned to guard the bubbly.

[Photos courtesy of Corrine Crabs]

The return of the box

The block style rides a wave

In the go-go years of speculative home building in Madison Park (say, prior to 2010) there was a lot of teeth gnashing by certain traditionalists over the fact that cute little cottages were being torn down by developers for the purpose of building large box-like structures that did not conform to supposed neighborhood values.  The idealized character of the neighborhood as "a lakeside village" was, according to this attitude, being disrupted by outsiders who really had no appreciation of the history or ambiance of the Park.

Of course Madison Park has always had a wide variety of housing types, especially when you throw into the mix the mansions in Broadmoor and Washington Park and the many "multi-family" apartment and condo structures that impact both the feel and the sightlines of the area "North of Madison."  We live in an eclectic neighborhood overall, and one that gives residential appraisers fits. That's because of the built-in difficulty of making valid value comparisons between houses that are even in close proximity to each other in the neighborhood.  House styles, sizes, and original construction dates are all over the map, even for any particular block. It's been many years since there was any kind of uniformity for much of the area that comprises Madison Park.

The recent tear-down of the "Rainbow House,"which we chronicled in December ("Another cottage comes down"), brought home for many the fact that the "village" ideal for any part of Madison Park is rapidly becoming outmoded. And as speculative development accelerates, we can assume that our neighborhood's level of eclecticness will be further enhanced.  That's because developers are more likely than otherwise to build angular structures that make use of most or all of the legally available footprint of the property.  Though not using all of the space technically available, the builder of the big abode that will replace the "Rainbow House" is using most of it.  But the company is simply creating in Madison Park what it believes a prospective buyer will demand.

A new rendering of the structure replacing the "Rainbow House"

In our real estate column for this month's edition of the Madison Park Times we quote the builder of the new 3,219 sq. ft. house as saying that the cottage that previously sat on the site was not the kind of residence people would desire in a place like Madison Park.  "We want to be around for the long term," said Isola Home's Colt Boehme, "so when we're building we need to take into account what the market wants. The buyer today is looking for efficiency and livability--and that's what we're hoping to deliver."

Isola also thinks that the style buyers are interested in is "contemporary."  For many spec builders this translates into a boxy modernism, though Isola itself claims to eschew boxes.  But as speculative building picks up in Madison Park, it's inevitable that more boxy structures will be added to the neighborhood mix. A good example of what we're talking about is this entry being constructed by another builder in the same general area as Isola's property:

A new spec house on 42nd Avenue E., North of Madison

There seems to be a bit of a trend here, and we're aware of other small houses that will soon be coming down to make way for larger, state-of-the-art structures. Not that there's necessarily anything wrong with it. But if these houses are easily sold, it may well portend the relatively quick end to the ideal of Madison Park as a village.

For now, what we do know where we've come from:

An "ungentrified" row North of Madison

What we don't know is exactly where we're headed.  It could be this:

Two full-footprint houses on 30-foot-wide lots in Washington Park

[Blogger's Note:  Before anyone accuses us of being anti-box or anti-spec house, take note that we ourselves live in a box (a New England saltbox, to be sure) which we purchased from a speculative builder in 2001.  The house, which holds 2,400 square feet, replaced a teardown cottage of perhaps 800 square feet. So if replacing the old and small with the big and new is a problem, we're part of it.]  


[Graphic courtesy of Isola Homes.]

Cormac becomes 'pilgrimage worthy'

Madison Park Conservatory's Cormac Mahoney has been named one of the ten Best New Chefs in the country by Food & Wine Magazine.  He was one of two Puget Sound area chefs so honored, the other being Blaine Wetzel of Willows Inn on Lummi Island. According to seattle.eater.com, which broke the story locally yesterday, the Best New Chef award is "one of the most coveted distinctions in the food business."  And it's apparently unprecedented for two Seattle-area chefs to make the list in a single year.

In its press release, Food & Wine, which is not modest about its annual list, states "this prestigious award recognizes talented chefs with a unique culinary vision." And Editor Diana Cowin goes on to say, "It is such a delight to honor these incredible chefs, who have made a tremendous impact on the culinary world in a short period of time. They’ve created truly pilgrimage-worthy restaurants."

Though the awards will not be featured in the print magazine until the July issue, you can read a lively synopsis of Mahoney's favorite things and an overview of from whence he has come at Food & Wine's on-line site here.  Trivia question: Cormac has cooked dinner for the President of which African country?

[Madison Park Conservatory is located at 1927 43rd Ave. E.]

Another pizza option! Just what we needed

Pagliacci Pizza to usurp Spotless Cleaners site

The Central District News, a neighboring blog, reported last week that Pagliacci Pizza will be invading Madison Valley later this year with a new store on Madison, just barely outside of Madison Park.

Pagliacci will be building a new, larger and LEED-certified building to replace the existing Spotless Cleaners structure at 3015 E. Madison St., according to the report. No date is given for anticipated completion.  Those with long memories may recall that prior to Spotless Cleaners, this was once the site of another fast-food restaurant: Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Pagliacci was founded in 1979, with its first store in the University District.  There are currently six pizzerias in the chain, plus 16 "delivery kitchens" in various locations in Seattle, the Eastside, and to the North.  This location will apparently be a full-service pizzeria which will deliver "all over the CD and Capitol Hill, even going as far south as Leschi."  Presumably Madison Park would also qualify.

Of course Madison Park itself is not without numerous existing pizza options (as we've pointed out before), but Pagliacci will arrive on the scene with a solid reputation, and its pizzas have won numerous awards.  So, one more pizza choice for the 'hood!

Pagliacci, by the way, should not be confused with Piecora's, which has a location on E. Madison St. in the Pike/Pine neighborhood.

[Photo of meatball pizza courtesy of Pagliacci Pizza's blog. Of course we are kindly using the term "usurp" in the sense of a legitimate, not illegitimate, takeover of the site.]

Snippets from the food & drink scene

Deli: moving from "too weird" to "family friendly" ?

The rumor was circulating earlier this month that Park Place Deli was up for sale, a story that seemed all too likely. Over the past few months we'd been getting reports of strange and inappropriate behavior by the deli's staff, which apparently included their yelling at each other and sometimes at the customers.  In fact the atmosphere in the place had apparently deteriorated to the point where at times it was, in the words of one former patron, "just too weird." The tense situation in the shop was compounded by stories, true or not, about the public behavior of owner John McCormick in the neighborhood.  So the idea that he had decided to throw in the towel after five years of owning the place did not seem farfetched.

As it happens, however, Park Place Deli is not for sale.  When we went in to check out the rumors we were met by a very friendly bunch of employees who reported that selling the store was under consideration "for about two hours."  But in the end, McCormick apparently decided to counter the deli's growing Seinfeldesque reputation by bringing back some old hands and conjuring up a "family friendly" environment.  Deli manager Nic Albice, in an email to us, confirms this scenario and reports that he himself had previously worked for John for three years, and other staffers are also former employees.  "The Deli is not for sale and is here to stay," he says. "I plan on changing a few things, giving the Deli a little makeover and a revamped menu." Patrons should expect "the same great deli with a new look and feel."

Stay tuned.

[Owner John McCormick has responded to this posting.  Click on "Comments" below to view his response.]

Kudos for MPC's Cormac Mahoney

Madison Park Conservatory's chef/maestro Cormac Mahoney came in for a pretty heady honor this month when Food & Wine Magazine named him as a "People's Best New Chef" nominee for the region.  The chefs from only ten restaurants across the "Northwest & Pacific" were nominated by the magazine for what was an on-line beauty contest, where anyone could vote.  The magazine's "regional" coupling of the Pacific Northwest with Hawaii is the first of its kind that we've seen--and in fact the winner turned out to be the one chef in the contest from Hawaii.

Nevertheless, the honor of the nomination is the thing.  Here's part of what F&W had to say about Mahoney:  "WHY HE’S AMAZING: Because his irreverent take on global cuisine is drawing crowds to Seattle’s tony Madison Park neighborhood."


Cafe Parco expanding seating

One of the great things about the old Madison Park Cafe was the fun of sitting outside on a warm, sunny day and enjoying the ambiance of Madison Park.  Since Cafe Parco took over the space last year, however, there has yet to be a single day on which that finely balanced combination warmth and sun was just right for outdoor dining.  We're sure that day will come.

In the meantime, Cafe Parco has embarked on an project to create a private dining room on the lower level of the building, where the restaurant had initially placed its racks of fine wines.  Some MPB readers had asked us what exactly had happened to those prominently displayed bottles, and Cafe Parco's blog provided the answer. Manager Nic Norton, who is doing the remodel work himself, reports that the new space will be used for small parties, which cannot be easily accommodated upstairs.  He also notes on the blog that lunch will be returning to the schedule April 11, though it will only be available on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The menu will be similar to the weekend brunch menu, he says.

In case you missed it, Cafe Parco, was the subject of a rather mixed two-star review in The Seattle Times last month.


Karen's next thing

And speaking of both Madison Park Cafe and wine bottles, Seattle Met Magazine reports that the Cafe's longtime owner, Karen Binder, is back from vacation and on to her next role as proprietor of wine shop Binder's Bottles. Its strictly an on-line affair where, according to the magazine, Karen states that patrons can get "anything they've tasted or seen in a shop or want me to find for them."

[Photo of Cormac Mahoney by Karen Loria, swiped from the Food & Wine website.  Park Place Deli is located at 4122 E. Madison St.; Madison Park Conservatory is located at 1927 43rd Ave. E.; and Cafe Parco is located at 1807 42nd Avenue E.]