(Photo by, and used with permission of, Paul Gordon)
Side note to our ongoing coverage of today’s announcement adding to the funding rounded up so far for a new South Park Bridge (see the latest details here): With one week to go till the old one is closed permanently: South Park residents have been planning a “wake” for shutdown night next Wednesday, and just sent the announcement with full details of what you’ll see if you head east to be part of the event:

The South Park community has organized a wake on Wednesday, June 30th from 6-10 pm to mark the closing of the South Park Bridge, the main thoroughfare over the Duwamish River into the South Park neighborhood. Unable to secure the necessary funding for replacement, King County deemed the severely deteriorated South Park Bridge as unsafe for the 20,000 vehicles that cross it daily.

Although the principal focus of the wake is to bemoan the loss of the bridge, South Park residents, including business owners, artists and musicians are stepping up to showcase the community’s diversity. The Duwamish Tribal drummers will cross the bridge in the minutes before its closure at 7 pm. Muralists from South Park Arts will be painting the bridge, “transforming the structure from defunct infrastructure into artistic force.” (South Park Arts website, www.southparkarts.org) Bagpipers will play during the final raising of the leaves, followed by music from a New Orleans Funeral Band, a Latino Roots/Folk band, and a Blues Band. South Park restaurants, like the popular Muy Macho, will be offering food specials, and local organizations will be tabling to showcase the variety of activities and services in the neighborhood.