Posted Mon, Apr 9, 10:16 a.m.

talisker is not the first to connect Walt Disney to the history of American urban planning. The idea has been around at least since the 1970's. Disney's environment looks backwards to walled cities,gated communities and steam engines and forward to modern transportation systems such as the Monorail, another feature shared ...

Posted Mon, Mar 19, 4:43 p.m.

The Brewster-Berger exhange is interesting. Of course, the 1962 was itself a repeat of what had happened in 1909, although not much more than the campus plan survived at the UW's Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. Oddly, the failure to plan what was to happen after the fair encouraged the creation of the ...

Posted Tue, Feb 21, 10:22 a.m.

What about all the money the city is spending on The Next 50, Seattle Center's pat-me-on-the-back celebration of the 1962 Seattle World's Fair? This is really the year to reinvent our civic center and its historic Coliseum (aka Key Arena). Mayor Mike has definitely cast his eyes the other way.

Posted Mon, Sep 19, 10:21 a.m.

Very nice piece underscoring the ambivalent tension in worlds fairs as they wove webs that tried to define the future while leaning on the past. The display of "primitive" folks did this too since their conversion to modern ways (as their pay in Seattle predicted)was implicit even at the "1904" ...

Posted Wed, Jun 29, 9:40 a.m.

So, do folks at the city actually talk to one another? A longhouse with similar functions as the building now proposed for Seattle Center has long been in the plans for the new park at South Lake Union. (of course, the project has stalled and may have been abandoned by ...

Posted Sun, May 2, 9:02 p.m.

It is great to see our friend Walt and his good works praised here. Knowing Walt only in his last years, I relished his love of Washington state, the pleasure he took having paintings by his mother exhibited at MOHAI and his abiding excitement sharing his World War II experiences ...

Posted Tue, Apr 13, 11:55 a.m.

Terrific piece. The topic is very interesting especially for those of us who were in elementary school in the 50's and learning about our atomic vulnerability with every passing drill. We once even spent time figuring out how long we'd have to take shelter (in our suburban schools) when Times ...

Posted Fri, Mar 19, 8:44 a.m.

Dear Skip, Although a bit long, the article obviously triggered a lot of pent up hostility. It tells us more about the money in play and the ferocity of the players than about the fairness of the process. Doyle served well as the voodoo doll, but she is hardly alone. ...

Posted Thu, Mar 11, 6:45 p.m.

Mossyback surely provoked the gang with this article. Buried deep in the subtext is the subtle question, what is art? The glass community has faced this issue since the beginning. Whether or not you like Chihuly's work, the huge production of marvelous glass work created in Seattle since the 1970's ...

Posted Mon, Nov 30, 10:32 a.m.

Superb overview. Thanks for your critical thinking and your phenomenal ability to go to the heart of local history and its future.

Posted Wed, Oct 7, 10:08 a.m.

Praise Crosscut! We have an architectural critic in 'print' again. Thanks for this insightful piece. It saves me at least one trip across the lake! I look forward to many more wonderful opinions from Mr. Cheek.

Posted Tue, Oct 6, 10:32 a.m.

Poor Joe! He's served so many mayors well and unobtrusively. Bodyguard though he be, he been a very personable link across the years from mayor to mayor.

Posted Wed, Aug 26, 9:53 a.m.

http://www.ayp100.org/1909/a-y-p-resources/norway-day-video Here is living proof Uhlman shaved his upper lip in office. He did have a hairy upper lip the last time I saw him though.

Posted Fri, Aug 14, 10:35 a.m.

Dear Mossback, Culture may be a bit like pornography. Its definition lies in the eye of the beholder.

Posted Wed, Jul 15, 5:15 p.m.

Joe Follensbee is absolutely correct “the voice of heritage is a squeak.” He is also right when he notes that financial slogging is really hard for heritage groups, be they large or small. He misconstrues the situation when he ties their hard times to the financial downturn. In good times ...

Posted Thu, Jun 25, 10:12 a.m.

Barbara Stenson Spaeth makes a wonderful case for why we need to preserve the down-home vernacular architecture that marks our neighborhoods and makes our city special. It may be that teaching us about the rich character of historic homes, as B.S.S.begins to do here, will do more to protect our ...

Posted Tue, Jun 9, 8:58 a.m.

David Sucher got it right. Both promenades were built on abandoned railroads; both are excellent examples of historic preservation and adaptive reuse. When it comes to linear parks, we are blessed with the Burke Gilman Trail, also an abandoned railroad right of way with quite a few elevated segments. It ...

Posted Tue, Jun 2, 10:41 a.m.

Yup! Leave at half time. I got that far before losing my willing suspension of disbelief.

Posted Wed, May 20, 1:37 p.m.

Nom de bieu! Mossback you did it again! You touched on every stone and every important thing happening in Seattle's history this week. Next we'll be proud that the Igorot people will have returned after 100 years to reconstruct their A-Y-P village at the Filipino community's Pagdiriwang (Festal) Festival, June ...

Posted Fri, Apr 3, 11:07 a.m.

"There's one more mismatch in our rush to the big time. The creative economy, of which Seattle is one of the leaders, attracts a young, experimental, eclectic population — yet we have put nearly all our chips on a very middle class, older, and respectable set of institutions. Think for ...

Posted Tue, Mar 31, 12:35 p.m.

Larry Johnson is right. It belongs back where it started. What do the Sabey's think? They own the old P-I building on 6th. Would they want it? Would they pay for the move? Journalism park is an interesting idea, but not one that is going to get a lot of ...

Posted Mon, Feb 23, 9:29 a.m.

Dear Knute, I am struck that neither you not the other preservationist among the respondents, raised historic presevation issues in the context of this long piece on density. I look forward to seeing how the National Trust for Historic Preservation new 'Green Office,' (I am sure to have the name ...

Posted Thu, Jan 22, 3:17 p.m.

It was Ike who added "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance. It was downhill from there until Tuesday. Thanks for highlighting that important moment. It got my attention as it did yours.

Posted Wed, Dec 17, 9:35 a.m.

Thanks for this heads up. The preservation community will surely get behind this matter. What with the Space Needle, the Mural of the Mural Amphitheatre, the Science Center and its arches are among few distinctive buildings from the period in the city. For architectural and historic reasons, these buildings must ...

Posted Tue, Dec 9, 9:38 a.m.

Of course, dear Mossback, the sweet irony (for folks passionate about preserving the historic fabric of our city) is that Nixon in one neat sweep of his executive hand (Executive Order 11593 of May 6, 1971), did more to move the cause of historic preservation forward than any other president ...

Posted Tue, Nov 18, 9:39 a.m.

Dear Knute, This is a good start to a broader piece that actually goes into the issues. You wrote, "On the other hand, while preservation has been a boon for some cites, there's also risk that projects will not be integrated with the larger needs and realities of the city. ...

Posted Mon, Oct 20, 9:04 a.m.

To the editor: This is an excellent and balanced piece. Kudos on it. Knute proved himself again worthy of his recent preservation award. It betrays passion for the preservation cause while treating the opponents of the nomination with respect. The curious dynamic of a university that teaches historic preservation while ...

Posted Thu, Aug 28, 10:41 a.m.

Excellent piece: Trapnell's article is excellent and should be shared with every not-for-profit arts and cultural organization in town. My own 30 year career in managing arts and cultural organization leads me to nearly identical conclusions. I now have the priviledge of serving on boards and find that Trapnell's list ...

Posted Wed, Aug 27, 11:23 a.m.

Big Yearnings!: Dear DB, I too yearn for big projects in Seattle. It would help us if our fair city were the capital of the United States, if our government were centralized a la francaise, and if we had a weak legislature/strong president form of government where one person can ...

Posted Mon, Jul 7, 9:19 a.m.

Fire fire fire raging all about: I agree with earlier poster that this is a fine article. The generalizations based on numbers are intriguing although not yet convincing. It would be interesting to compare where the buildings in the counts are located. Portland was always ahead when it came to ...

Posted Tue, Jul 1, 9:52 a.m.

Beastly article made me laugh: Mossy, You made me laugh. I am glad arthritic knee will keep me out of the woods this summer, but I am sure going to be careful on my bike. I hear there were bare bikers at the Solstice Parade last weekend. I sure hope ...