Happy WSAD
Yes, today’s the day – West Seattle Annexation Day: The 100th anniversary of WS getting annexed into The City … the reason Hizzoner dedicated the tree and the plaque before last week’s Hi-Yu Concert In The Park … the reason you’ve been seeing banners around town like the one at left. HistoryLink.org tells the tale, and also offers a more detailed history of our side of the bay. Today’s Times includes a small blurb with a cool old photo (bottom of this roundup). So … how should we celebrate? Or should we at all?ÂÂ
Alki Statue of Liberty: Next steps, new logo
Three meetings in less than two weeks, including the Alki Community Council last night, and now we know there won’t be a decision any sooner than fall about whether the Alki Statue of Liberty — removed for recasting exactly one year ago today — will return to its old base, or to a new plaza like this (all architects’ art here):
Both the couple leading a drive to restart the plaza project, Libby & Paul Carr, and the city Parks Department project manager for the statue, Pamela Kliment, are in difficult positions, to say the least. They all spoke at last night’s ACC meeting, but since it was just one item on a busy agenda, there wasn’t a ton of Q/A time. What’s difficult: For the Carrs, the fact they and their volunteer assistants are working hard on something completely unofficial, since the final say lies with the Parks Department; for Parks, the fact they have to be the “reality check” on a volunteer effort that inarguably is full of enthusiasm, vision, inspiration, and hope — Kliment noted that for one, it’s “distressing” that the statue spot is empty, after one full year, and for two, the situation is larger than the statue itself. Which the Carrs likely would not dispute, as they have a larger vision as well — they hope a grand new home for this “Little Sister of Liberty” could spark a nationwide revitalization project for the many other similar statues that have fallen into disrepair in the half-century since the Boy Scouts donated them. So for now, the Carrs and their group — which is not yet officially certified as a nonprofit — will continue their work, including a new logo they debuted last night (shown below; copyrighted by local artist Phil Jones) that they plan to put on fundraising items such as T-shirts and posters; and the Parks Department will look ahead to a public meeting announced last night, 7 pm Thursday, Sept. 13, location TBD (Kliment said she’s hoping for the Bathhouse but it’s got a “temporary hold” for that night).
Liberty sooner or Liberty later: Meeting #3 tonight
One year ago tomorrow, the old Alki Statue of Liberty was taken down and trucked away. 
Tonight at the monthly Alki Community Council meeting, it’s a third round of discussion about what could, should, and might happen next. (This follows two meetings in the past 8 days organized by community members Libby and Paul Carr, who are trying to re-start the project to build a plaza around the recast statue; here’s our report on the first meeting; a WSB reader’s observations from the second one is in the comments here.) Parks Department rep Pamela Kliment, who’s collecting public comment on all this, tells us she’ll be at this meeting after having to skip the last one; so will the Carrs. It’s an important debate about a West Seattle icon; get in on it by going tonight (7 pm, Alki Community Center) or by e-mailing Kliment (click here).
Your tree, your plaque
We didn’t get pix during the Concert in the Park last night … so here now for your viewing pleasure now, belatedly, are the tree and plaque on the south side of Hiawatha Community Center, officially dedicated last night by Hizzoner in honor of West Seattle’s annexation centennial (so now can we secede? j/k):ÂÂ
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Admiral evolution
If you haven’t been to the historic Admiral Theater lately, you may not have noticed it’s starting to expand what it offers — such as, more midnight movies than just the monthly Rocky Horror Picture Show on Saturday nights …
… tonight, for example (as per the marquee above – though the rest of it’s a bit out-of-date since we took the pic at midweek), it’s the burgeoning cult fave “Harold & Kumar.” Then there’s a new series of Sunday morning classics kicking off 10 am tomorrow with “Casablanca” (also ahead: “African Queen” and “Singin’ in the Rain”). The Admiral website has been inconsistent lately (the link went to a parking page at last check) but there’s lots of info posted out front at the theater itself, including updates on the fundraising project for major interior fixes (such as, they hope hundreds of people will pony up $40 each so they can buy new seats, which aren’t covered in the types of government grants they’re pursuing for landmark restoration.
P.S. While fishing for Admiral Theater history, we learned that today is a notable anniversary for the Admiral District in general.
Liberty sooner or Liberty later: A bit like Viaduct Vs. Tunnel
More than two dozen heat-braving souls just wrapped up the first of two meetings led by an earnest Alki couple, Libby and Paul Carr, who are trying to salvage the stalled Alki Statue of Liberty plaza project. Ultimately, the final say on the future of this West Seattle icon rests elsewhere …Read More
Exactly six months ago today
Are we SURE we really want to whine about the heat (97 at the official gauge at Sea-Tac as of 4 pm, a new record for this date)? Consider what had hit us half a year ago (photo from Upper Fauntleroy, Jan. 11, 2007):
Liberty sooner, or Liberty later?
Tomorrow (Wednesday) night, at the height of the heat, you can multitask by cooling off at Alki and joining in a meeting outside the Bathhouse, to help determine the future of the statue that might otherwise soon earn a nickname like “Liberty in Limbo.” Seems the replacement for the old one (Northwest Programs for the Arts photo at left) is done but fundraising for the “plaza” to surround the new one is not, so a community meeting is being called to discuss, among other things, whether to just install the new one and be done with it sooner, or carry on with the “plaza” project and see the installment happen later. Read the meeting organizers’ explanation, in their own words, after the click:Read More
Almost out of sight, but not out of mind
If you look between the townhomes almost complete on the controversial site across from Seattle International (formerly Gatewood Baptist) Church, you can still — for now — see the old house neighbors know as the “hunting lodge.”
But maybe not for long. The empty space, which was given the address 7204 Cali, is where two more townhouse buildings are supposed to go; those buildings probably would be as close to completion as their bookends, if not for feisty neighborhood pushback. First, neighbors protested the lack of environmental review of the townhouse projects (scroll down for details), which were processed separately rather than as one big new clump of housing. Then they chimed in about concerns that the “hunting lodge” will no longer be visible from Cali; their concerns are noted in this city memo about the project dated earlier this month. The latest ruling went against them and for the project, but an appeal’s been filed, and an “appeal hearing” is set for July 16.
Mayor to help celebrate Hi-Yu
Perhaps not surprising since WS is his backyard, of course, but still cool to hear the mayor will help commemorate West Seattle’s annexation centennial with a Hi-Yu appearance — click to read about it:Read More
The land that time forgot?
Someone in Florida who clearly has ties to Seattle includes descriptions of our city’s neighborhoods in this blogpost today, describing West Seattle as the essence of “old Seattle.” Though we still love WS fiercely and cherish its unique charms, we wonder if that atmosphere isn’t eroding a bit with the building boom, among other things. P.S. When you want to wallow in a little nostalgia for the bonafide “old Seattle,” check out the excellent new local-history blog, Vintage Seattle.
Giving it another go
Nine months after the landmark Painted Lady of Beach Drive (aka the Satterlee House) went up for sale again, we just noticed a change in signage outside the house and its front lawn. 
Now, with a change in listing companies, it’s offered as one “estate” again, though the blurb goes on to say, “this property is actually two parcels … the one the house sits on and the front parcel which has been short platted for three homes. Buy one or both!” Hadn’t realized the short-plat had gotten final approval but it seems that happened right before Christmas, on a day most of us had something else (like this) on our minds. So then how come somebody hasn’t snapped up the land already? (P.S. Dear John L. Scott, the new blurb is kind of over the top. “Coyly awaits restoration”? And it’s not “near Alki Point.” 1.5 miles, to be precise. Plus “flair” is the word you’re looking for, not “flare.” /nitpick)
Schoolhouse blues
On this busy spring Sunday, perhaps between your Farmers’ Market stop and your Water Taxi trip, take a little time to help ponder the future of the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse. A community open house is happening there 11 am-2 pm to facilitate and inspire that pondering. And there’s urgency — the school district still owns this 90-year-old treasure (the child-care center, events hall, and others based there are tenants) but is indicating it’s time to sell off this and other “surplus property.” If you have only driven by, perhaps heading to or from the nearby ferry dock, you may not realize how large the schoolhouse property is; as a result, as one reader wrote to us, “there are developers who are hovering over the property.” Will it be the next townhouse cluster — or will the community rally to preserve it? Drop by today to offer ideas … or absorb them … a rare chance to do something before it’s too late.
There’s a new development in Land Use Land regarding one of the first unique local buildings whose impending demise we lamented, 4532 42nd SW (
This Thursday night, the city’s Southwest 
lamented in extended posts a couple weeks back:
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