Driving or walking through The Junction, you can’t miss the distinctive exterior touches that continue on the former Neilsen Florist location that’s becoming Shadowland. We e-mailed its proprietors last week to ask how their timeline is looking; they are currently hoping to open in the first half of next month, if all goes well with finishing touches and required inspections. (For those wondering what Shadowland will serve, we had some info in a September update, second part of this post.)
“Distinctive exterior touches.” That’s one way to put it. No disrespect meant, and good luck to them, but what were they thinking with this paint job? The color choices are bad enough, but those frilly, repeated bow-like graphics look horrible. One of the most distinctive corners on California has been turned into an eyesore.
Bull…I suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I like the artwork, and am looking forward to seeing the end product. It’s much better looking than seeing peeling paint up there….:)
ohhhh…guess I need to proofread first – lol…that’s supposed to say Bill, not bull…my humble apologies – lol…..
Shadowland…sounds like a title for a vampire movie. I know it’s in honour of Francis Farmer, but the name doesn’t speak to me.
Maybe when the green sign is finished it will pull all of the paint design elements together. If not, I must agree with Bull (I mean Bill).
You cant swing a dead cat without hitting some ultra-hip, over the top, expensive bistro, ect in West Seattle now. Enough is enough. Is this the real West Seattle?
TIW…for those of us that have been here,like, forever, we’ve been saying/asking that for a long time. There was once a movie called “Things Change”…was great…and interated that change is inevitable, even if we don’t like it. I’m waiting for my daughter to move back to WS from Magnolia, and then they can do away with the viaduct, and maybe, just maybe, it’ll slow things down here :)
Why must all development be focused at the Junction??
I was passing by a cool fun brick building across from Alki Mortgage and not too far from the townhouses which caused a hubub . . . thinking now THAT would have been a great site for a building rehab. Ditto for a couple of other buildings down the road.
I’ve known the new owners for some time here in WS. They are real good people so give them a chance. I think the name “Shadowland” is a comic strip theme. (Maybe Ben or Joe can elaborate more on this) I like it when people are different and not stuck in a circle.
Ari, I am glad to hear that they are from West Seattle. I also will give them a chance, BUT if being 37 and married and having a 4 year old means fighting a bunch of 21-22 year olds with disposable income, for a $8 martini, then well, they can have it, I will go to the Elliot Bay Brewery.
West Seattle is the new Ballard. Ballard is the new Fremont. Fremont is the new Belltown. Belltown is the new Pioneer Square. ect ect ect.
my biggest fear for West Seattle is that it will eventually become as crowded as Capitol Hill. Yes, I like the eclectic buildings up there in amongst the older houses, etc., but…parking? you have to pay…everywhere, because street parking is just about non-existent, just about anywhere around there. Growth is great…to a point.
We do like to eat here, don’t we? hehe…and Shadowland is definitely on my list. I like that the newer places are trying to have as fresh, as fresh, and as local and as sustainable as they possibly can. A definite plus for me.
Jan…its called progress. There’s nothing you can do to stop growth. :)
Ari…yes, true…but one can hope :) Unfortunately, it’s not all positive growth…
The idea that West Seattle is still some quaint little quasi-suburb with blocks of little houses and space enough so that everyone can have a car and space to park is about as dead as that seal that washed up on the rocks the other day. West Seattle is growing ever denser, requiring us to change in myriad ways. Minimizing the use of cars in our limited geopgraphy is going to be key to maintaining some degree of livability.
The bottom line is that you have to learn to adapt, if you can’t, you won’t make it in the real world.
Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder. When I look at Shadowland, my eyes behold a design scheme I find extremely ugly. Chacun a son goût!
Yeah, at first I thought the design looked really nice with the gray ‘shadow’ boxes. Then, suddenly, it seemed there was a Christmas motif going on with the red and green missile shaped design. And the gold script really put it over the top for me. I’m hoping the neon sign pulls it all together, but I honestly can’t imagine how it could.
That being said, I’m glad to see they’re trying something different/unique. I’d much rather have Shadowland in the neighborhood than another blight like Super Supplements. Talk about ruining a distinctive corner of the Junction.
Shadowlands is a book by Francis Farmer’s sister. She wrote it to clear up any misunderstandings about Francis’s life. Francis was one of West Seattle’s first famous people. It’s a very interesting read.She did not, as many imply, have a lobotomy. I found it at the West Seattle library. The author is Edith Farmer.
I agree -I’m hoping that something happens to “pull it all together” because every time I go by it now I think “Yikes! What the heck are they thinking?”
That being said, I am looking forward to checking it out when they do open.
The thing is that the more controversy it creates the more the people will go and check it out. It surely is an eye opener or whatever you call it.
I agree with villagegreen – I’d rather see something unique than generic minimall chain garbage. Having said that, I don’t quite “get” Shadowlands’ look in its current state, but I’m curious to see how it’ll all work when complete, inside and out.
I wonder if they will be ready to open bt Halloween. Its only fitting with that look to it.
Hopefully Shadowlands will cater to a bit of an older crowd. But, that type of demographic seems to just sort itself out in new establishment. Cactus and Coyote are a great example of ‘survival of the..uhm…oldest?’
:)
definition of “older crowd”, please? I’m…ummm…way older, but I have friends who are way younger than me…20’s, early 30’s…so…would we all qualify? Age is just a number, anyway….right? That’s what I keep telling myself – lol…
lol, jan.. I’m 48, and have lots of friend in their mid 20’s and 30’s.
I guess what I mean is that the 21-30 party till you drop crowd isn’t who I particularily enjoy spending time out with.
then again..the ‘dinner at 5:30 crowd’ ain’t my type either :)
I, for one, am glad to see a locally owned business that will be “walkable” from the neighborhood. I want to support businesses owned by folks in West Seattle – no chains PLEASE!!! I like a mix of different age groups too. I also like the idea of “small plate” menu items. I think it will be an asset for the area and I’m looking forward to stopping in!
shadowland is doing something interesting with their building, that could actually be considered “design”. it makes the neighborhood look a heck of a lot nicer than the strip mall, chain store design that has been prevalent among other recent additions.
did you critique the exterior design of Garlic Jim’s when they were opening?
I’m excited for Shadowland and prefer a newly painted storefront to one in decay (unless it is in Venice) any day. I don’t think Shadowland will be the end of West Seattle life as we know it. . . . . . that comes when the Office Depot opens a couple blocks away. . . . .
well…the new sign is…uhm…errr..and ‘interesting’ choice of fonts/colors..
Office Depot – do you mean the quarry at the corner of 41st and Alaska? Try living on 41st. The west side of the street is closed to parking except for the workers who roll up around 6:30 a.m. then sleep in their idling monster trucks until start time (7 a.m. 6 days per week). Not to mention the non-stop road trains up and down the street. I could deal with this if it was a public works project, but tearing up the neighborhood for a totally unnecessary project is irritating to say the least. The most ridiculous part is that they tore down a video store and that’s the one thing the Junction doesn’t have. Do they really think all of the 20-something Yups moving into the cookie cutter condos have home offices and can support a big box office supply store? Maybe when it goes out of business they’ll turn it into something useful like a Trader Joe’s.
Sorry, comment time is over.
| 32 COMMENTS