West Seattle, Washington
25 Thursday
Thanks for the tips about the fenced-off closure of the play structure at Alki’s Whale Tail Park. There’s no fully explanatory signage, so we asked Seattle Parks on Wednesday about the situation. We got the info today from Parks spokesperson Karen O’Connor:
The “whale tail” play area on the north end of the park had a damaged slide. When we received the replacement slide, it was the wrong specs and could not be installed. We have ordered another. Once we receive the slide, we will re-install and open this section of the play area. We anticipate it will be re-open by mid-September.
O’Connor says they’ll get a sign posted so visitors know what’s going on.
P.S. We also asked her about the schedule for replacing long-closed Lincoln Park South and Westcrest Park play areas, since the construction contract has now been officially awarded. She’s hoping to have that information post-holiday.
(WSB photo, Sunday evening)
We went back to visit Bruun Idun, the giant troll newly installed at Lincoln Park by artist Thomas Dambo with private funding and volunteer help, and have been watching for her to turn up on the Northwest Trolls website. Today, she’s there, along with the full poem that Dambo debuted at the troll-“unveiling” event Friday (WSB coverage here). She’s now also on the worldwide map of Dambo’s trolls. Bruun Idun (Idun, pronounced like Eden, in short) is the third of six he’s installing around the Northwest; the first two are in Portland and on Bainbridge Island, and the next three will be introduced in Issaquah this weekend and on Vashon Island and in Ballard in mid-September. (If you haven’t been to see Bruun Idun yet, she’s right behind Colman Pool.)
(WSB file photo)
A reminder as summer ebbs: All but one of West Seattle’s wading pools have already closed for the season, but Lincoln Park‘s wading pool is open through Labor Day – and that’s also the final day for the two other city-run outdoor aquatics facilities open right now in West Seattle: Saltwater, beachfront Colman Pool and Highland Park Spraypark. Unless there’s major bad weather sometime between now and Labor Day (Monday, September 4th), all three will be open daily – noon to 7 pm for Colman Pool and the Lincoln Park wading pool (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW), 11 am to 8 pm for the spraypark (1100 SW Cloverdale).
From a reader who wanted to be anonymous:
I think it’s important for the public to be aware of this (for lack of a better word)… insanity occurring in places that are generally considered safe.
Police Call Reference Number 23-246390.
There was a guy at the park who was either high out of his mind, or very mentally impaired. Around noon he emerged from the playground area bathroom completely naked, exposing himself to lots of kids that were present. An agitated woman who I do not know told me her son just went in the bathroom where this naked guy was just weirdly hanging out and he was pretty shaken up.
Several people called the police. We did not engage him as we weren’t sure if he was violent.
For the next hour, no police showed up. A couple of Park Services people showed up and tried to contain the guy to the bathroom area, but they were pretty helpless. Anyways, this guy continued to go in and out of the bathroom and walk by the play area, where people were trying to shield their kids.
After an hour of no police response, a few people eventually had enough of this guy, decided he wasn’t physically violent, and chased him away. He walked over to Westwood Village, still naked.
Two hours after the police were called and we left the scene, I got this text:
“The officers searched the area for your incident but were unable to locate the incident or person(s). We appreciate your help in keeping our community safe.”
It’s frustrating that a drugged-out naked guy can hang out at a playground for 2 hours before law enforcement shows up.
We were away from the scanner much of today while at the Admiral festival, so we didn’t hear the related radio traffic, and the Broadcastify audio archives are missing significant chunks of time prior to 4:15 pm today. The Twitter/X call logs did time-stamp this call – usually the time when it was received, not necessarily when it was dispatched – at 12:04 pm, and show a separate “lewd/flashing/exposing” call at Westwood Village, 23-246448, at 1:01 pm.
4:17 PM: At an invitation-only (but crowded) event under way right now, West Seattle’s troll Bruun Idun has just been “unveiled.”
As we first reported back in June, with a followup when troll-building began last week, this is one of six trolls that Danish artist Thomas Dambo is making from recycled materials and installing around the Northwest – first one was in Portland, then Bainbridge Island, now West Seattle (still to come are Issaquah, Vashon Island, and Ballard). Now that it’s been completed, its location at Lincoln Park has been revealed – right behind Colman Pool, where volunteers were still working to complete it this morning:
We took that photo after hiking in for a scheduled chance to talk briefly with the artist:
We also met John “Coyote” Halliday, a Muckleshoot Tribe artist who is contributing decorations to the troll, made primarily from bark and shells.
More photos and info to come – including the troll’s story (Dambo told us it’s meant to be “singing to the orcas”) – when we’re back from the event!
7:06 PM: Turns out Bruun Idun (“Idun” for short – pronounced like “Eden”) is playing a flute with a song for the orcas. Each troll has a poem, and Dambo read part of this one at the podium, including the line, “She played for them the orca song, to ask them where they all had gone.” Artist Coyote, meantime, explained that his creations are adorning Bruun Idun’s flute. He and Dambo had an “artist exchange” as part of this, including a visit by Coyote to Denmark, where he painted a killer whale on Dambo’s house. He and Dambo also exchanged gifts today.
This is all shown in our video of the program, which was emceed by Visit Seattle‘s Tracey Wickersham – a West Seattleite.
Guest speakers included Mayor Bruce Harrell, who talked with the artist before everyone moved to the portable podium:
The program began with a song by the Muckleshoot canoe family.
As underscored by the listing of partnerships at the end, this was a privately funded project. More information about Bruun Idun should appear soon on the nwtrolls.org website, as it has for the Portland troll Ole Bolle and the Bainbridge troll Pia. Dambo said this all was intended to happen a few years ago, but the pandemic interrupted the timeline. He has installed 121 “environmental sculptures” around the world and has more on the drawing board – even as this one was being built, he flew briefly to Austin, Texas, for meetings about a series planned next year.
P.S. As explained in our earlier interview with the artist – video above – no, they are NOT left to decompose; at some point the site host (Seattle Parks for this one) will decide when to dismantle it and recycle its components.
(Editor’s note: Troll’s name corrected post-publication to reflect that Bruun Idun is two words, not one as originally reported)
2:33 PM: The season is over a bit early for the EC Hughes wading pool, which was scheduled to have its last day of the season today. Seattle Parks and Recreation just announced all of its wading pools citywide will be closed for the rest of the day – including daily-operation pools such as Lincoln Park – “due to the poor air quality.” No other aquatics closures have been announced so far.
7:58 PM: For the record, Parks announced belatedly that it had closed other outdoor aquatic facilities early including Colman Pool.
(WSB file photo)
While Hiawatha Community Center and Playfield await their future, if you’re interested, tomorrow (Saturday, August 19th) brings a unique chance to learn about Hiawatha’s century-plus-long history. Friends of Seattle’s Olmsted Parks invites you to a free walking tour, 10 am-noon. All they ask is that you RSVP – the link for that, and details of the tour, are here.
Thanks to Brian for the tip: The Solstice Park tennis courts will be resurfaced soon. And that work will include adding pickleball lines to three of the six courts. Though the work was scheduled to start next week, Parks tells us the start date may slide because, “The contractor who will doing this project is currently working on resurfacing the courts at Volunteer Park, which has been delayed some this week due to the change in the weather. It has to be dry for the surfacing to dry or cure properly between the layers of color.” Once the Volunteer Park work is complete, Parks says, then the Solstice Park work can begin. Meantime, regarding the plan to add pickleball stripes to three of the courts: “It will be the north three courts so that the Lock Box we plan to install will be easily accessed from the north court gate. We will be purchasing 6 temporary nets there to be used at Solstice Park.”
P.S. While researching this, we noted that the city is still proceeding with a plan to add “dedicated pickleball sites,” including Hiawatha; while that plan suggested there would be community “engagement” this month about that, Parks told us it’s now more likely to happen this fall.
(File photo, courtesy Flutes in the Forest)
Before we get to what’s up for today/tonight, here’s a “set your calendar” note – Flutes in the Forest is returning this year! Here’s the announcement we received to share with you:
FLUTES IN THE FOREST continues in 2023 with free outdoor classical music concerts. Enjoy the sounds of the JBC Rose Flute Trio on Saturday afternoon, August 19, from 2:00-3:00 pm in Schmitz Park. Jennie Goldberg, Barb Cotton, and Carolyn Hoppe-Denend will play classical music from various eras as well as arrangements of popular tunes.
Bring your own chair or blanket; stay as long as you’d like. Enter Schmitz Park off SW Admiral Way and SW Stevens Way. Walk the paved road 300 feet to the sound of flutes in the forest. Plenty of street parking along SW Stevens.
Right next to Constellation Park/Charles Richey Viewpoint is a bit of public land that’s actually separate – known as Shoreline Street End #7, technically the end of SW Spokane Street. Volunteers are invited to join in restoration work there this Saturday morning – here’s the invitation:
A community effort supported by the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) and Friends of Street Ends to restore approximately 11,000 square feet of right-of-way for shoreline access, views, and habitat: The project is located at Shoreline Street End #7, SW Spokane St, in West Seattle (3555R Beach Dr SW). The site is one of 141 Shoreline Street Ends designated by Seattle City Council.
Goals
• Improve and maintain shoreline access and views
• Enhance shoreline habitat
• Build partnerships and encourage stewardship through community partnersWork party will focus on removing invasive plants, spreading mulch, installing new plantings
Work Party Dates
August 12th, 2023 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Spokane St SWTo RSVP for Work Part!es:
seattle.gov/trees/events.html
206-615-1668 | TreeAmbassador@seattle.gov
(Westcrest Park, reader photo by Jon from May 2021)
Two long-delayed West Seattle play-area projects are another step closer to finally happening. As we reported back in June, the Lincoln Park South and Westcrest Park play-area projects, bundled together, went out to bid. Bidding closed in mid-June with three bids received, but for weeks, the next step – awarding a contract – hadn’t been taken. Finally, the city bidding site shows, last week notice was given that the city intends to award the contract to the low bidder, LW Sundstrom, which bid $1,192,820. Seattle Parks spokesperson Karen O’Connor told us that “Our best estimate at this time is that construction may start late summer. Means & methods are to be determined by the contractor, so we do not know at this time which play area will be first.” Lincoln Park South has been awaiting replacement play equipment for six years; the closed structure at Westcrest has been awaiting a replacement for two years. Our archives show LW Sundstrom’s previous projects include the High Point Play Area renovation in 2018.
We just received this report from Chelsea:
This morning between the hours of 6-10 am, my husband’s shaved-ice stand that he runs through his non-profit, Enigma ASD Services, was vandalized and demolished. The shaved-ice stand is located next to Colman Pool in Lincoln Park. The stand provides first job opportunities for people with disabilities. It has been damaged beyond being able to reopen this season.
It was undamaged when he went on his morning run at 6 this morning. We are surprised by the amount of damage considering the beach/park/path are crowded with people fishing this morning.
This is the third incident involving the stand and theft/destruction.
It is a sad day for the employees who won’t have a job to go to this afternoon and this summer.
We asked Chelsea what people could do to help. First, if you were in the park early and saw anything, this has been reported to police, though so far they just have a tracking number (T23017099) pending the official incident number. You can also donate to Enigma.
(Seattle Parks photo)
Right now, Delridge Community Center is open Mondays-Fridays, 9:30 am-6:30 pm. The city announced today that its hours will expand starting Monday, September 11th, to Mondays-Fridays, 9:30 am-9 pm, plus Saturdays, 9:30 am-6 pm. It’s one of eight community centers around the city that will get added hours with Seattle Park District funding; it’s one of West Seattle’s only two city-run community centers currently in operation, as Hiawatha CC is closed for eventual renovation and Alki CC has only been in use for child care.
(WSB file photo of Colman Pool)
If you’re thinking about swimming at Colman Pool – the city-run beachfront saltwater pool at Lincoln Park – tomorrow (Saturday, July 29th), be forewarned: It’s closing early “for a staff event,” Seattle Parks says – 3:15 pm. It’ll be back to normal hours on Sunday.
That photo of a mostly-stripped beach bench was sent by Stephanie, who told us after an Alki walk this morning: “One of the Honey Buckets is tipped over this morning. Another regular morning walker told me he saw older kids push it over then take off in a car, laughing. Two benches are also ripped up. This is around 59th and Alki.” The other “ripped up” bench was not stripped of most of its wood, but instead left with one board on the ground and two rearranged as sides of a triangle. We checked in with Seattle Parks to ask about repair plans; spokesperson Rachel Schulkin tells WSB, “We will make those repairs in the next couple weeks (hopefully less).”
That’s the tent to look for in Junction Plaza Park (42nd/Alaska) until 2 pm today if you have questions about Seattle Parks‘ list of potential future off-leash-area sites, including two in West Seattle, and/or want to offer your opinion. Easels include closeup looks at the two options in West Seattle – one south of West Seattle Stadium:
And one in Lincoln Park:
The Parks reps at the pop-up told us the online survey will be extended into mid-August – and that update will appear online this week (right now, the survey page – linked from this page – still says it closes July 31st).
Reminder – tomorrow in The Junction, you can talk with Seattle Parks reps about where you think West Seattle’s second off-leash area (aka dog park) should be. Two locations are under consideration, as first reported here last month: Upper Lincoln Park or just south of West Seattle Stadium.
So far, we haven’t heard of organized opposition to the stadium-adjacent site, but wildlife advocates have been lining up against the Lincoln Park site. Whatever you think, you’re invited to drop by Parks’ pop-up 10 am-2 pm tomorrow (Sunday, July 23rd) in The Junction. Note: The original Parks announcement said they’ll be at Junction Plaza Park (42nd/Alaska), while a subsequent reminder said the Farmers’ Market – so look there if you don’t find them in the park. If you haven’t already answered the online survey, that’s supposed to stay open through the end of this month – find the link, and details of the city’s proposals, by going here.
As first reported here one month ago, Seattle Parks is proposing two site options for a new dog park (aka Off-Leash Area) in West Seattle: Upper Lincoln Park or just south of West Seattle Stadium.
Your next chance to tell Parks which you prefer has just been announced – a pop-up 10 am-2 pm Sunday, July 23rd, at Junction Plaza Park (42nd/Alaska). They’re also continuing the online survey through the end of this month – find the link, and more information about the city’s proposals, by going here.
Quick notes from West Seattle’s southernmost “junction”:
MoCA’S NEW WEBSITE: The Morgan Community Association has relaunched its website at morganjunction.org after a hiatus. There you’ll find info about the group and upcoming Morgan-area events.
QUARTERLY MEETING NEXT WEEK: One of the events you can find out about is the quarterly MoCA meeting, set for 7 pm Wednesday, July 19th. It’ll happen online, and you’ll be able to find connection info here (as well as in our event calendar) pre-meeting. The agenda so far includes business and redevelopment updates, officer elections, and City Council candidates.
TAKEN THE PARK ADDITION SURVEY YET? Seattle Parks published a reminder today about its survey for the yet-to-be-developed addition to Morgan Junction Park. We first told you about the survey last month; it’s open until the end of the month. The park expansion was designed since four years ago, but since then, other community interest has bubbled up, particularly the desire for skating space. So the short survey asks what potential design elements you’d prioritize.
West Seattle’s Lincoln Park has more beauty than ever, thanks in part to a local student and her Eagle Scout project. The photos and report were sent by forest steward Lisa McGinty:
Last month we had the pleasure to work with a local WSHS student, Scout Troop 284 member Heidi Kestner (below, in red hat).
As her chosen Eagle Scout project, Heidi helped organize and lead 5 restoration and art events that included the painting of our new restoration toolbox located at the north parking lot entrance.
Heidi, along with other scout members, friends. and family, removed massive amounts of ivy and blackberry and helped create space for more native plants and trees.
It was a fun marathon of restoration, art and community.
Many thanks to Heidi, her family and all who came out to help!
Want to help at a future Lincoln Park restoration event? Watch this calendar (which features opportunities at other parks too).
3:58 PM: A reader suggested a reminder is in order that a swimming advisory is still in effect for the beach at Lincoln Park. We first reported last Friday that health authorities were warning of elevated bacteria levels and advising people to avoid contact with the water there. You can check its status via this map.
7:10 PM: As a commenter notes, Lincoln Park’s status has vanished from the state’s infomap in the hours since we published this. It has not been replaced by an “all clear” type of symbol, so we can’t assume that this means it’s OK now. We will check with state and county health/environmental authorities in the morning.
Thanks for the tips. We’re just back from Westcrest Park, where tow crews pulled a stolen Hyundai Elantra up from the park’s northeast slope.
Police told us the car was reported by a passerby. That happened to be Chris, who sent us this photo:
Chris reported spotting the car before 6 am: “Didn’t see any occupants but found it running and lots of windows broken. Looks like it came down from the top and crashed through the fence (and was) resting in a thicket of blackberries.” Chris also noted evidence of “donuts” in the big field on the park’s north end (atop the reservoir) – walking from the west parking lot, we noticed that too – a lot of it:
If you have any information, the SPD incident # is 23-179485.
You’ve likely heard of the Fremont Troll. Now get ready for the West Seattle Troll.
(Photos courtesy Scan Design Foundation. Above, Dambo troll installed in Dayton, Ohio)
As first reported by GeekWire, a Danish artist is going to install “six giant hand-built Nordic troll characters” around the Northwest later this summer – at sites in West Seattle, Ballard, Issaquah, Bainbridge and Vashon Islands, and Portland.
Artist Thomas Dambo has already installed ~100 trolls, made from recycled materials, around the world. (Currently he’s in New Jersey.) His Northwest project is being overseen by the Scan Design Foundation, whose announcement says Dambo’s work carries a “message of turning trash into treasure and building community through art” and will be “amplifying the network of cultural heritage between Coast Salish tribal communities and Danish and Scandinavian traditions (to reinforce) the shared values of environmental stewardship for watershed protection, restoration, and preservation of riparian habitats.” The artist is quoted as saying, “I want people to know that trash has value. My trolls do that, and also help me tell stories, like the legends I grew up with. In nature, there is no landfill. Nature is circular – everything has a meaning and everything is recycled.”
(Dambo troll installed in Breckenridge, Colorado)
So, you’re wondering, where will the West Seattle troll be? They’re not announcing specific locations yet but Seattle Parks is a “site partner” so it’ll be in a park; when the concept was circulated among neighborhood groups many months ago, Lincoln Park was mentioned as a possibility. The reveals are scheduled to happen between early August and mid-September – one per week, per the early concept discussion – and once complete, the trolls will remain in place “for at least three years.” As for “how big” is meant by “giant,” the early discussions suggested at least 20′ high. (The photos accompanying this story are three trolls installed at other sites in the U.S.)
(Dambo troll installed in Jackson Hole, Wyoming)
The regional project is titled “Northwest Trolls: Way of the Bird King” and has a website, including a list of who’s funding and sponsoring the project.
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