Looking southeast from 6th and Blanchard in Seattle's Denny Triangle neighborhood, June 22, 2010, 5:30pm (click image to enlarge)


History layers the city with stories. This scene on the northern edge of downtown Seattle reveals a story with an ending that now seems obviously inevitable, but was once well obscured by a combination of intoxication and denial. If the story had followed the fantasy script, the view in the photo would be blocked by the rising frame of a 24-story, 650-unit apartment building.

Lurking in the background of the photo are several examples of supporting characters in the peak-to-crash plot line: Escala , the ex-WaMu Center, 1521 2nd Ave, and Columbia Center.

Closer at hand, we see a zone in the midst of transition. What was once a small office, now occupied by a nouveau donut shop; a classic car-oriented motel, where it's possible to park your car right in front of your room; a one-story cinder block commercial building with parking on the roof.

High-rises loom, eyeing the underutilized land yet to be conquered. Because these stories don't ever really end, and life is singularly unpredictable.

What happens next?