Opinion
From Grungy to Glamorous
PubliCola asked a number of local personalities to answer the question: "How Has Seattle Changed?"
It was an open-ended question. How has the city changed for better or worse; on a grand scale or on a personal scale; in the last 10 years or in the last 10 minutes?—Eds
Not too long ago I found myself for the first time in the new Beacon Hill library. I was there doing a TV interview for the Seattle Channel. I was struck by how smart and stylish the space was, both inside and out. It's such a beautiful landmark for the neighborhood. The same can be said, in fact, of the many other new branches I've visited or stumbled upon since the voters approved a big overhaul of the system in 1998. They are hard miss, and even harder not to like. Great architecture and great design. [pullquote]In the last 15 years, we have gone from grungy to glamorous.[/pullquote]
And it's not just our new libraries. I have the same reaction to the new community centers that have been built and improved in recent years, including Yesler and Northgate. And the very impressive renovated schools throughout Seattle. And the new fire stations too. There’s also the nice Municipal Justice Center. And the new City Hall, quite a grand place, where I’ve worked since it opened in 2003. And, certainly, the two very impressive performance halls (McCaw and Benaroya) that the public invested millions of dollars to build.
What’s changed about Seattle in the last ten to fifteen years? The quality of our public buildings and civic spaces. We have gone from grungy to, well, glamorous.
So many of these structures used to be embarrassments (remember the former City Hall?); tired and drab (pretty much every pre-renovated Seattle Public School); even unsafe (many of the fire stations). But now, instead of being ugly dinosaurs, the dozens and dozens of new and improved public buildings are some of the best architectural structures in their neighborhoods. Have you driven by the renovated Garfield High School lately? Have you seen the new downtown Fire Station? [pullquote]Is there any comparison between the stylish neighborhood library branches and the typical awkward condo or apartment building going up near them?[/pullquote]
All this has come at a high cost, of course. Since 1995 the City residents have approved over $1.65 billion in bonds and levies for these upgrades. And that doesn’t include the non-voter approved money that has been spent (on City Hall, the new Justice Center, and Benaroya), which totals another $210 million.
And there's also an additional $344 million the public approved on two occasions for parks. To me, the design and layout of those open space projects has been just as impressive as the aforementioned “built” structures.
Can you find a better example of a neighborhood green space than Cal Anderson Park, which was created when the Capitol Hill reservoir was lidded with levy money few years back?
(The notable exceptions to all of this are the County-owned buildings within Seattle. The old Courthouse is aching for an upgrade. And the new department buildings nearby are quite uninspired.)
This massive City infrastructure boom of recent years, over $2.2 billion when you add it all up, was not the result of some grand coordinated plan. Rather, it was the haphazard outcome of a number of decisions made separately to improve structures and spaces that had somewhat coincidentally worn out at the same time. But somehow, there's a common denominator to these disparate projects: Like the Beacon Hill library, top quality architecture. In most cases, these new buildings are leading the way to improve our neighborhoods, not holding them back.
Voter Approved Bonds and Levies Since 1995 for Civic Infrastructure:
Libraries Bond (1998): $196 million
Community Centers and Seattle Center Levy (1999): $72 million
Fire Station Levy (2003): $167 million
Schools Building Levy (1995): $330 million
Schools Building Levy (2001): $398 million
Schools Building Bond (2007): $490 million
Total: $1.65 billion
Recent Parks and Open Space Levies:
Pro Parks Levy (2000): $198 million
Parks and Green Space Levy (2008): $146 million
Total: $344 million
Non-Voter Approved Civic Infrastructure Projects:
City Hall: $77 million
Justice Center: $92 million
Benaroya Hall: $41 million
Total: $210 million
C.R. Douglas is the longtime civic affairs and news host on the Seattle Channel, the city's Emmy Award-winning cable channel (Douglas has won three of those Emmys.)
It was an open-ended question. How has the city changed for better or worse; on a grand scale or on a personal scale; in the last 10 years or in the last 10 minutes?—Eds
Not too long ago I found myself for the first time in the new Beacon Hill library. I was there doing a TV interview for the Seattle Channel. I was struck by how smart and stylish the space was, both inside and out. It's such a beautiful landmark for the neighborhood. The same can be said, in fact, of the many other new branches I've visited or stumbled upon since the voters approved a big overhaul of the system in 1998. They are hard miss, and even harder not to like. Great architecture and great design. [pullquote]In the last 15 years, we have gone from grungy to glamorous.[/pullquote]
And it's not just our new libraries. I have the same reaction to the new community centers that have been built and improved in recent years, including Yesler and Northgate. And the very impressive renovated schools throughout Seattle. And the new fire stations too. There’s also the nice Municipal Justice Center. And the new City Hall, quite a grand place, where I’ve worked since it opened in 2003. And, certainly, the two very impressive performance halls (McCaw and Benaroya) that the public invested millions of dollars to build.
What’s changed about Seattle in the last ten to fifteen years? The quality of our public buildings and civic spaces. We have gone from grungy to, well, glamorous.
So many of these structures used to be embarrassments (remember the former City Hall?); tired and drab (pretty much every pre-renovated Seattle Public School); even unsafe (many of the fire stations). But now, instead of being ugly dinosaurs, the dozens and dozens of new and improved public buildings are some of the best architectural structures in their neighborhoods. Have you driven by the renovated Garfield High School lately? Have you seen the new downtown Fire Station? [pullquote]Is there any comparison between the stylish neighborhood library branches and the typical awkward condo or apartment building going up near them?[/pullquote]
All this has come at a high cost, of course. Since 1995 the City residents have approved over $1.65 billion in bonds and levies for these upgrades. And that doesn’t include the non-voter approved money that has been spent (on City Hall, the new Justice Center, and Benaroya), which totals another $210 million.
And there's also an additional $344 million the public approved on two occasions for parks. To me, the design and layout of those open space projects has been just as impressive as the aforementioned “built” structures.
Can you find a better example of a neighborhood green space than Cal Anderson Park, which was created when the Capitol Hill reservoir was lidded with levy money few years back?
(The notable exceptions to all of this are the County-owned buildings within Seattle. The old Courthouse is aching for an upgrade. And the new department buildings nearby are quite uninspired.)
This massive City infrastructure boom of recent years, over $2.2 billion when you add it all up, was not the result of some grand coordinated plan. Rather, it was the haphazard outcome of a number of decisions made separately to improve structures and spaces that had somewhat coincidentally worn out at the same time. But somehow, there's a common denominator to these disparate projects: Like the Beacon Hill library, top quality architecture. In most cases, these new buildings are leading the way to improve our neighborhoods, not holding them back.
Voter Approved Bonds and Levies Since 1995 for Civic Infrastructure:
Libraries Bond (1998): $196 million
Community Centers and Seattle Center Levy (1999): $72 million
Fire Station Levy (2003): $167 million
Schools Building Levy (1995): $330 million
Schools Building Levy (2001): $398 million
Schools Building Bond (2007): $490 million
Total: $1.65 billion
Recent Parks and Open Space Levies:
Pro Parks Levy (2000): $198 million
Parks and Green Space Levy (2008): $146 million
Total: $344 million
Non-Voter Approved Civic Infrastructure Projects:
City Hall: $77 million
Justice Center: $92 million
Benaroya Hall: $41 million
Total: $210 million
C.R. Douglas is the longtime civic affairs and news host on the Seattle Channel, the city's Emmy Award-winning cable channel (Douglas has won three of those Emmys.)
