West Seattle, Washington
27 Saturday
First night of summer, last day of school, whatever the case, a little edgy down along Alki Beach just after sunset — we were out for a simple “scenic drive” en route home from downtown, but things bottlenecked right around the Pepperdock — at least half a dozen police cars blocking off a side street, officers walking warily around the edge of a fairly thick crowd on the beach side of the street. Hard to tell if any actual trouble had brewed, but with the crowd so close to the traffic lanes, we felt a bit nervous. I know Alki’s been a gathering place for The Young Folks since the dawn of time, but this density seemed a little unfamiliar.
Thanks to a tipster for calling our attention to a CitiFinancial branch that’s just opened on 42nd, south of Alaska, across from Jefferson Square. As the tipster notes, it’s a banking boom in WS these days — with Viking Bank building a branch at the old Burger King site further down Alaska, and First Mutual opening its new building on Cali Ave north of the Junction. Maybe the attraction is all the new construction? Or perhaps just the people moving here to live in the new construction …
This first day of summer is also the last day of school for Seattle Public Schools kids.
Congrats to all for making it through another school year!
(No holiday for the school-closure hearings, though; the next round is next week, including two stops on our side of the bay, at Fairmount Park and Pathfinder/Genesee; then the final recommendations come out just in time to ignite their own round of pre-4th fireworks.)
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