Dispatches from Ravenna, a neighborhood in Northeast Seattle
As is our custom, we took a stroll through Picardo P-Patch at the beginning of the month to capture some autumnal farm foliage pictures. Here they are, for your Saturday Brunch pleasure*:
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
And, what the heck. Here’s a set of pictures from fall of 2010:
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
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*Unless you’re using an iOS device. Which we do. So, clearly, we need to find another slideshow solution, darn it.
The new Fire Station 38 (4004 NE 55th Street) is nearly ready. In my last email with Helen Fitzpatrick, spokeswoman of the Seattle Fire Department, a tentative move-in date in early February was given.
And once the firefighters move in and get settled, there will be an OPEN HOUSE.
Before doing a little grocery shopping across the street on Sunday, a took a few pictures of the station’s exterior and interior.
Starting on the south side of the station: Two bays for fire department vehicles (Engine 38 +1), the doors of which face NE 55th Street.
View straight up from ground level of the red corrugated metal siding on the south side of the station.
View inside the doors. I believe I can safely say, though I did not have my tape measure with me, that the old Station 38 could fit inside the new station’s vehicle bay.
The “front door” of the new station, at the southwest corner. There is a doorbell, and the red box conceals a telephone. This entry can be reached via stairs (railing visible) or by a ramp (to the right, out of the frame of the picture).
The flag pole near the entrance is already sporting an American flag.
On the west side of the station now (the 40th Avenue NE side). Looks as though the plants adjacent to the station are watered by rain collected from the roof and west side of the building.
Close up of the gutter at the base of the wall (catches water running down the side of the building) and the pipe (bringing runoff down from the roof) which both empty into a V-shaped cement structure (which allows the water to seep into the surrounding soil).
Oregon grape planted in the NE 4oth Avenue parking strip seems happy to be here.
North side of the station. It looks as though Engine 38 can come back from a call and drive straight into the station, no blocking traffic on NE 55th Street to back in.
This concludes our tour! Stay tuned to the Ravenna Blog for more information on Fire Station 38 (old and new).
The tricked-out grill of Engine 38 thanks you for your time.
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A little new Fire Station 38 background:
Seattle P-I reporter Casey McNerthney did a story on the ground breaking and the impetus of the new station back in September 2009 (“Chief, mayor break ground for new fire station“).
And the fate of little old Station 38 (5503 33rd Avenue NE), once it’s empty? The city is expected to sell it. For how much? Well, McNerthney’s article states that the property was appraised at just over a million dollars*, according to King County property records in 2009. Save your pennies!
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*I think this figure dashes any plans that former Ravenna resident now Camano Island blogger Jeff and I had for buying the old firehouse and turning it into a little neigborhood pub called the Ravenna Hole.
Round 2: Some pictures taken on the way to and fro the View Ridge PCC, where my Thanksgiving Turkey was awaiting pick-up.
Fountain of ICE
There’s a house down the street from me with a rather fascinating collection of yard art, among which is this fountain.
You can’t quite see the ice in this still photograph, but let me tell you: Everything but that horizontal jet of water is FROZEN. Can’t wait to see what the fountain looks like tomorrow!
Festive flora
These are a couple of savvy sledders at about NE 68th St and 28th Ave NE. Note the presence of helmets, keeping their noggins both warm AND safe.
Northeast Library
"It's STILL fall!" they shouted, as we walked past.
Headed back home, with turkey in tow
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Round 1: Just back from a brief walk-about. Here are some of my pictures.
East-bound NE 65th St, in front of The Herbalist
Close-up of NE 65th St - bare and wet on the roadway most traveled
There’s a lot of side streets in this part of Ravenna that make for great sledding. And I would consider NE 68th Street as it crosses 20th Avenue NE to be the biggest and best.
Downward and west-bound, and sliding through NE 68th St and 20th Ave NE
But in order to slide it safely, you need a couple of responsible-types to stand on 20th to hold traffic.
Guard Number 1, for north-bound traffic on 20th Ave NE
Guard Number 2, watching for south-bound traffic on 20th Ave NE
The snow-covered hilly streets around here are a pain for drivers, but perfect for snow days like today. And, on a personal note, I just love seeing everyone coming out to play, and keeping it safe for everyone.
Yard waste bin sledding "marker" at NE 70th St and 21st Ave NE (looking west)
I saw a few of these on my walk as well: Big plastic bins or tubs in the center of intersections, at the bottoms of sledding hills. Definitely not as safe as having an actual person looking out for traffic, though.
UPDATE (Monday evening): Two LOVELY photos from reader Annie (click images to view full size).
UPDATE (Monday morning): I took a Ravenna snow picture to start things off.
The car in the driveway at 7 am.
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As I write this, from a church basement in downtown Seattle, it is snowing in Ravenna.
The lens on my camera is not *quite* good enough to catch any shots of snow in Northeast Seattle from here, but if YOU have any good pictures, feel free to send them in.
In times of interesting weather, I’d love to have an open post going on the site that we can keep update with pictures from the neighborhood.
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