Cle Elum Realtor Kitty Wallace has sold everything from single wides to million- dollar homes. In her nearly 20 years of experience she’s seen Kittitas County become unaffordable for many of its year-round residents. Vacation homes sell for over $1 million, a 51% increase from 2020 to 2021. But Wallace argues that affordable housing is crucial even in a luxury market.
From burning cities to the Boeing recession, the state’s history is a litany of tough times and meeting challenges. Fifty years ago, Seattle was in the middle of a major economic crisis. Boeing had massive layoffs and the future of Seattle looked bleak. Despite setbacks, the city made major progress in shaping itself into the city we know today. We've faced tough times before the current pandemic and economic downturn and, each time, the people of the Pacific Northwest have risen above the challenges. Join host Knute Berger for a special look at the grit and resilience of our region's history, told through the stories of the people and places that have faced adversity in the past — and the lessons learned for today.
Photographer Eirik Johnson is an artist in search of transformation. Often, he finds it in hidden places. Sometimes it is out in the open. And every once in a while it is impossible to ignore. That was the case with his most recent project, in which the Seattle native recorded the last days of the Alaskan Way Viaduct as it was unwoven from the fabric of the city. In the fall of 2018, the city's Office of Arts and Culture commissioned Johnson to document the demolition of the iconic structure, which was systematically torn down over the course of eight months in 2019, the climax of a massive yearslong waterfront redevelopment. In the latest installment of The Teardown, he discusses his approach to his work and contemplates what comes next for the waterfront.
Architect David Miller has lived his entire life in proximity of Seattle’s Viaduct. As a child, he traveled its concrete decks with his family and in his adult life he has peered out over the elevated highway from his office at work and his downtown apartment. And now that the Viaduct is coming down – or being “undone” in his words – Miller is playing a role in determining what comes after.
Baso Fibonacci has lived and made art next to the Alaskan Way Viaduct for 10 years. The 90,000 cars that used the elevated highway each day served as soundtrack and inspiration. But the city has closed the viaduct and in a few months it will be completely torn down. What will happen to Baso and his art is an open question. But before the columns come down, the artist put on one last art show.
Rewind nearly a century, to a time when Puget Sound was a battleground between cyclists and drivers. Who’s responsible for Seattle’s early road network? And what’s the deal with spandex bike wear?
If you think traffic is bad now, just imagine Seattle at the turn of the century: Cyclists, pedestrians, and an army of wagons all competed for space on the downtown streets. Then, along came the automobile. Knute Berger chronicles the car’s bumpy ride in early Seattle — and how it came to dominate the road.
People in Seattle often wonder: why did we wait so long for mass transit? Why don’t we have a central park? Why isn't this city more walkable? The answer: we voted against it. Seattle has a history of saying “no” to grand ideas.