Big day at the Alki Point Lighthouse – its 100th anniversary, and the first day of this year’s summer season of free 1-4 pm tours on Saturday and Sunday. Local US Coast Guard Auxiliary volunteers are the people who staff the lighthouse for those tours. Today, you can even see knot-tying demonstrated outside the gate:

Also till 4 pm, a celebration at the Log House Museum just half a mile away – including lighthouse coloring sheets for kids, which are being put up as they’re completed:

The now-famous handmade lighthouse cookies are ready and waiting at the museum too, while they last:

More photos and info to come, including our conversation with RADM Keith Taylor, who, as USCG 13th District commander, lives on the lighthouse grounds, but not for much longer, as he’s retiring later this month. (This’ll be a separate story on Sunday.)

(Photo by Joan Stover; courtesy Southwest Seattle Historical Society)
It’s not a party without cookies – and this Saturday’s Alki Point Lighthouse centennial celebration will have them, provided you stop by the Log House Museum as well as the lighthouse during the two-location celebration. Above, that’s Carol Vincent, membership secretary for the museum’s parent organization, the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, taking a break after leading a baking team in creating the first batch of Alki Lighthouse cookies to be given away there on Saturday afternoon. (Not pictured, but just as busy: Marcy Johnsen, board president; Joan Stover, board treasurer, and Kerry Korsgaard, board trustee.)

We first reported on the centennial celebration back on May 21st. Now that it’s almost here, the final details are in. SWSHS executive director Clay Eals says the “prime candidates” to get the cookies are kids who stop by the Log House Museum (61st/Stevens, just half a mile from the lighthouse) to color a special Alki Lighthouse coloring sheet; they’re hoping for a hundred.

A special exhibit is debuting at the museum, “Alki Centennial Summer: From Lantern to Lighthouse,” celebrating the lighthouse’s 100th anniversary. It’s an expansion of a pre-existing “mini-exhibit” about the lighthouse that’s been in the museum’s smaller gallery, expanding now to the big gallery with, according to the LHM’s official announcement, “newly displayed artifacts, rare vintage photos, artwork and other memorabilia to tell the inspiring story of how the lighthouse came to be, how it has operated as an aid to navigation over the years and how it continues to be a symbol of hope for all of West Seattle and beyond. The exhibit also will cover the decades prior to the construction of the lighthouse, when a single lantern provided the same function of aiding the navigation of sailing ships and steering them away from danger.”

Museum manager Sarah Baylinson curated the exhibit with SWSHS collection/exhibit volunteers, and it’ll be on display all summer long, with some new items, activities, and interpretive programs added from time to time.

But for Saturday – the schedule goes like this:
*Noon – Log House Museum opens
*1 pm – Lighthouse opens (first weekend tour day of the season, too)
*2 pm – Special program at the Log House Museum, with speakers including former SWSHS president Merrilee Hagen and West Seattle maritime author Joe Follansbee
*4 pm – Lighthouse and museum both close

By closing time, all 100 or more of the coloring creations will be on display at the museum. Questions? loghousemuseum.info or 206-938-5293.

Last night, Judy Burbrink (above left) hosted her final guests as operator of the Villa Heidelberg bed and breakfast southwest of The Junction. Three years after first listing it, she has finally sold the stately century-old view home, with the help of Prudential Northwest Realty‘s Jeralee Knittel (above right).

(King County Archives photo)
But the new owners will not be operating it as a B&B; it will go back to its origins as a family home. Judy is moving into a condo that just doesn’t have enough room for everything she’s built up over 14 years of operating the B&B – considering, as she says, she moved in with 23 years of stuff from her previous home on Gatewood Hill – so a big three-day “estate sale” (“living estate sale,” Judy jokes, “since nobody died”) starts later this week. When we stopped by this afternoon, the packing and sale preparations were already under way, but we were invited to look around:

Furniture – including six bedrooms’ worth! – serving ware, even Christmas decorations will be on sale

Some items are already gone – Burbrink says some of the guests have snapped up certain items and traveled back home with them, so “little bits (of Villa Heidelberg) are all over the country.”

40 lawn chairs and even appliances and rugs are part of the sale, scheduled for 10 am-6 pm Thursday and Friday (May 30-31), then skipping a day and concluding noon-6 pm Sunday (June 2nd).

As a small sign out front notes, whatever you buy, you have to take away the same day. This closes 27 years of B&B operation on this site, according to Burbrink, who adds that it’s almost exactly 14 years since she took it over – her purchase closed on June 10th of 1999; she will be handing the house over on June 5th. “I’ll miss all the nice people,” she says wistfully. She was only the fifth owner of the home in its century-plus existence; it was built, as the history is told online, as a home for a family, which Judy says had eight kids, noting that the buyers have children too. P.S. If you plan to check out the sale, the house is at 4845 45th SW.

(April 2011 photo by Long Bach Nguyen, over Alki Lighthouse)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Every year, you get just a few chances for a close-up look at one of West Seattle’s true gems – the Alki Point Lighthouse.

This year, those chances start June 1st, when weekend afternoon tours resume. But that first day comes with something extra – a celebration of the lighthouse’s centennial.

US Coast Guard Auxiliary member and area resident Will Winter talked about it at last Thursday’s Alki Community Council meeting. (He’s at right in the photo below, taken by Liesbet T. and published here as the tour season wrapped up in 2011:)

The USCG Auxiliary volunteers staff the lighthouse for tours, and that’s why Winter joined.

He presented an overview of its history, as well as mentioning the low-key celebration that’s ahead, planned in conjunction with the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, which has a “complementary celebration” on deck that day:

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This story is from the “looks can be deceiving” file. Messages/questions we’ve received suggest that more than a few people who have seen those two real-estate shingles in the 4800 block of Beach Drive believe the “sold” sign means the historic-landmark Satterlee House/”Painted Lady of Beach Drive” finally has a buyer, after years on the market. No, the 107-year-old Satterlee House has NOT been sold; it is still on the market. The “sold” sign is for the house to the south, 4872 Beach Drive; we confirmed that with its selling agent, Dan Mullins, who tells WSB that while that house is not an official landmark, it has a long history of its own: “It was built about 100 years ago for the Chinese consulate.” He says the family buying it wants to “restore it to its original beauty.”

Meantime, a couple of people who e-mailed us also wondered about the work crew you see on the Satterlee House’s front lawn in the background of our photo, recalling that the “lawn” is actually on the books as three separate lots (which was part of the subject of the long court fight that ended at the state Supreme Court’s doorstep three years ago). According to the permit shown in online city records, it’s side-sewer-repair work.

P.S. Here’s the current listing for the Satterlee House, on the market right now for $1,595,000 (down more than $600,000 from its 2008-2009 listing price).

(Photos courtesy SWSHS executive director Clay Eals)
The sun came out for the Colman Estate tour presented Sunday afternoon by the Southwest Seattle Historical Society and Historic Seattle. Also out: 135 visitors!

Thanks to SWSHS executive director Clay Eals for sharing photos – see half a dozen more, ahead:
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(Photo courtesy Historic Seattle)
Southwest Seattle Historical Society executive director Clay Eals sends a reminder – if you want to join this Sunday’s rare tour of the historic Colman Estate in West Seattle, you need to sign up by Thursday!

The Laurence Colman Estate Tour is right around the corner, on Sunday, April 28. What better way to spend a spring afternoon in West Seattle?

Organized by Historic Seattle and co-sponsored by the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, this rare opportunity provides an in-person glimpse of the home of one of the legendary families of the Fauntleroy neighborhood, West Seattle and Seattle as a whole.

Under new ownership, the four-floor Colman Estate sparkles with panoramic views and a vivid rhododendron garden.

Southwest Seattle Historical Society members can register for the tour at a discount. Sign up now, while there are still slots available. The deadline is Thursday, April 25.

You don’t have to be a member to take the tour, though. For details and registration, go here.

With the Alki Elementary School centennial celebration a little more than one week away, Southwest Seattle Historical Society executive director Clay Eals shares this reminder about something you don’t want to leave till the last minute:

Did you ever attend or teach at Alki Elementary School? Are you coming to the school’s 100th birthday on Thursday evening, March 28? Make sure to dig up photos of yourself and your school for sharing at the event!

The Alki PTA and the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, co-sponsors of the celebration, are planning a variety of activities to engage students and community members of all ages. One is a sharing area, where people can share stories from their time at Alki with others. We’ll also have a video booth so we can capture memories on video.

“This will be a fun way to tell the stories and preserve the rich history of our school,” says Amy Bannister, who chairs the event for Alki PTA.”

The event will start with a group shot outside the school at 5 pm. You can stay connected with other event updates through this Facebook event page.

(Video and photos by Nick Adams for WSB)
The Alki Tavern‘s long farewell – dating back to the January announcement of its plan to close – ended late last night, with the last “last call” after 38 years. WSB contributing photojournalist Nick Adams was there; his video includes final thoughts from proprietor Gill McLynne, and scenes from the final night and weekend. We’ll be adding one last round of photos; in the meantime, if you missed any of these galleries from the final days/nights:
*Seafair Pirates’ visit
*Last ‘Taco Thursday’
*Wednesday night memorabilia auction

ADDED 10:16 AM: The last look at last night, in photos:

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After sailing their landlubbing vessel Moby Duck right behind the West Seattle High School Marching Band in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade downtown (as shown in our parade coverage), the Seafair Pirates brought it to this side of the bay for a visit to the Alki Tavern. Thanks to Don Brubeck for catching the scene as the Pirates reboarded and prepared to sail away before sunset. Tomorrow, as announced in January, is the tavern’s final day; the farewell festivities this past week have included a memorabilia auction Wednesday night (photos here) and the final Taco Thursday, motorcycle lineup and all (photos here). The site including the tavern and neighboring parcels has been sold and is expected to be redeveloped, though no formal proposal is filed with the city so far.

ADDED 9:32 PM: WSB contributing photojournalist Nick Adams was inside the tavern with the Pirates:

(added) … and outside:

(Pirates Lance English, left, and Shane Faucher)
Six more scenes of revelry – ahead:

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(Photo by Don Brubeck)
One last time, motorcycles lined the street outside Alki Tavern on Thursday night. A sign set aside the parking just for them:

(Photo by Cami MacNamara)
A wider view shows how many had arrived even before sunset, for one last tribute:

(Photo by Russ Walker)
One last … taco:

(This photo and others below by Cami MacNamara)
With the tavern closing after Sunday night, it was one more tradition to say farewell to.

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(Photos by Nick Adams for WSB)
Most business-fixture auctions are anti-climactic … days or weeks after the shutdown, with the business space a near-empty echo of its past. But Alki Tavern, ending its 38-year run this Sunday, decided not to do it that way. Tavern owner Gill McLynne (above) decided to auction off the memorabilia last night – in a raucous atmosphere among friends, with the tavern still open and rocking. WSB contributing photojournalist Nick Adams was there. No surprise, it drew a crowd:

Adam Price served as auctioneer:

Any winning bid was cause for celebration – here’s Marshall Thomas to celebrate:

Ahead, some of what was bid on – no, not all beer signs!

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(Photos by Glenn Gauthier)
A day to remember – and for remembering – at South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor). From communications director Kevin Maloney:

71 years ago today, former President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order that will never be forgotten. In 1942, Roosevelt signed executive order 9066, which authorized evacuation and incarceration of 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry, living on the West Coast; most of whom were U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents.

Today, SSCC hosted a series of events dedicated to that historic day that is known as Japanese-American Day of Remembrance. Above, actress Narea Kang starred in “Within the Silence.” The performance captured a first-hand account of a Seattle family affected by the order. Here’s Kang with SSCC’s May Lukens (left) and Chanda Ishisaka:

In addition to today’s events, South Seattle’s library will feature a collection of photos from the National Archives through the end of the month that captures life in the internment camps during World War II.

At the campus art gallery, you’ll find the exhibit “Meet Me at Higo”:

It includes artifacts from what Maloney explains was “a well-known dime store that served as a community meeting place for the Japanese community in the Seattle area.”

Log House Museum volunteers Bonnie and Andrew were among those enjoying free chili and cornbread on the museum’s porch this afternoon, during the Neighbor Appreciation Day celebration. (They turned out to be something of a Valentine’s Day story too – their love of West Seattle brought them together online, and now they’re married – as well as expressing their community caring through volunteering!) Right before serving chili, the Museum had hosted one of its monthly volunteer briefings, and new Southwest Seattle Historical Society executive director Clay Eals reports another good turnout. He mingled with museum visitors and volunteers this afternoon:

You don’t have to wait for a special occasion to visit the museum – it’s open noon-4 pm, Thursdays through Sundays, 61st and Stevens.