Paul Hayden Kirk: Architect of the Northwest

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“Paul Hayden Kirk was one of the most well-known Pacific Northwest architects of his time. When he passed away at the age of 80 in May of 1995, his obituary credited him with shaping the Northwest style — ‘boxy shapes, unadorned designs, big windows to capture nature views and practical interiors,’ wrote The Seattle Times.

Kirk moved to Seattle from Salt Lake City, Utah when he was eight years old. He was stricken with polio as a child, affecting the use of his right arm and forcing him to use crutches throughout his life. After graduating from Roosevelt High School, he studied architecture at University of Washington. In 1939, just two years after graduating, he opened his own architecture firm in Seattle. That same year he married Helen Richardson. His brother served as best man at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral. Classic family man with a gift for architecture. Just look at the guy:”

Check out Kirk’s AMAZING homes. READ the full article here.

Paul Hayden Kirk. Seattle Architect.

Paul Kirk with architectural rendering, Seattle, 1968. Photo: MOHAI

A Short History of the Chinese in Seattle

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Photo: IMLS Digital Collections and Content/Flickr

“While most local businesses prepare for the Christmas frenzy, Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty and Tiger Oak Publications are getting ready for the Year of the Monkey. The two companies have combined forces to develop Seattle Luxury Living, a real estate magazine targeting affluent, Mandarin-speaking readers. The magazine’s launch date is set to coincide with the February 2016 Chinese New Year celebration in Seattle, a popular time for Chinese tourism in the Pacific Northwest….”

“Although Seattle-based businesses now cater to Chinese immigrants, the City of Seattle did not always offer such a warm reception. In the 1860s, large groups of Chinese men began arriving in Seattle to escape the war, famine and persecution that was killing millions in southern China. They were drawn by the abundant labor market — laying railroad, canning salmon and working in the mines were just a few of the many available opportunities.”

Read the full article here.

 

Magical Seattle Houseboats to Build a Dream On

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“Seattle has hosted houseboats and floating homes on its beautiful lakes for over a century. According to HistoryLink, the first houseboat residents in the early 1900s were unemployed laborers and viewed as “squalid, lawless nests of anarchic outcasts, rowdy riff-raff, and the flotsam of society,” by the upper classes. An amazing contrast to today, when a floating home on Lake Union can list for over $3 million.”

Read the rest of the houseboat story here!

Seattle-houseboat-2

“PEACE” 2401 N. Northlake Way #E-1. Seattle, WA

Waiting for the World to End in Seattle

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“On November 16th, 1961 President John F. Kennedy came to Seattle and gave an address at the University of Washington’s 100th Anniversary Program in Edmundson Pavilion. He emphasized the danger of a nuclear holocaust if American diplomacy failed with Russia. Frightened by terrifying images of mushroom clouds and radiation, Washingtonians began preparing for the worst.”

Seattle is home to the only fallout shelter under a freeway. It’s frightening relic of the Cold War. To read more and see pictures, read the full article here.

Family fallout shelter billboard, December 1959. Photo: Werner Lenggenhager via Seattle Public Library

Family fallout shelter billboard, December 1959. Photo: Werner Lenggenhager via Seattle Public Library

Seattle City Council Lays Groundwork for New Affordable Housing

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Seattle City Council takes first steps today toward implementing two new affordable housing programs. Read the full article here.

Fremont Troll

An estimated 45,000 households in Seattle spend more than half their incomes on housing and about 2,800 people sleep outside each night. Currently, only around 700 income-restricted homes are built in Seattle each year. Check out this infographic by City Council Member Mike O’Brien for a more in-depth look at the affordable housing crisis.

Redmond Apartment Buildings Sell for $126 million. Also, Pirate Treehouse.

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“Redmond is kind of like the nerdy kid you knew in high school who shows up to the 10 year reunion in a Lamborghini. After decades of being stuffed in lockers and picked last for kickball, Redmond is finally blossoming out of it’s awkward stage into a hot urban center. At least out-of-towners seem to think so.”

Read the article for information on the record setting sales in Redmond, WA. But more importantly, get the details on this glorious Pirate Tree House.

Redmond Tree House

Homelessness State of Emergency Declared in Seattle and King County

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“You don’t have to walk far in Seattle to pass a person suffering on the street. These members of the community are forced by poverty, lack of affordable housing, domestic abuse, addiction, mental illness, discrimination and host of other challenges to go without basic human necessities. Their plight has not gone entirely unnoticed. On Monday morning, Seattle Mayor Murray and King County Executive Dow Constantine signed a Proclamation of Civil Emergency in response to the growing homelessness crisis in King County.” Read the full article here.

Facts about homelessness in King County from One Night Count:

One Night Chart

Old Houses in Seattle Where You Can Eat, Drink and Be Merry

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“While tech moguls build up shiny, new office buildings in Seattle’s South Lake Union, many local businesses have taken a different route and set up shop in old, historic homes. From coffee shops to recording studios, here are seven Seattle businesses that operate out of cozy old homes.”

Read the rest here:

Old Houses in Seattle Where You Can Eat, Drink and Be Merry

Totem House

Photo: Werner Lenggenhager via Seattle Public Library

How to Sell a Haunted House

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“It’s just another dreary day in your haunted mansion. The wind howls. A murder of crows scurries across the roof. You pour a cup of coffee. It tastes like blood. So what? You add a little cream. The ghosts are creaking around on your secret stairway again. Eerie children’s laughter echoes in the halls. After the fourth banshee scream from the basement, you think to yourself, “you know what, maybe it’s finally time to put this house on the market…” Read the rest here. 

I passed by these terrifying Halloween decorations in a neighbor’s yard. Some of them are hyper-realistic. Like this human foot…

Scary Decoration

And these weird baby hands….

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This strange human head…

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And his beautiful lover…

Scary Decoration

For more creepy tricks and treats, check out my article: 

How to Sell a Haunted House

First Look at Discovery Park’s Restored Fort Lawton Homes

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Homes at Fort Lawton

On a gorgeous early fall day, I walked from my new digs in Fremont to Discovery Park by way of the Ballard Bridge to cover the recently refurbished homes at Fort Lawton for Curbed Seattle.

The idyllic homes are surrounded by Discovery Park, Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains. Fantasies of frolicking through grassy fields singing, the Sound of Music before retiring to my wraparound porch for a cool glass of ice tea came to mind. To learn more about the fascinating history of the area (POWs! Jane Fonda!) and the homes, read the full story here.