12th Avenue Neighborhood & Business District

We are moving the 12th Avenue blog so please update your bookmarks to this page: www.12thaveseattle.com

The new page also features the brand new 12th Avenue walking map and info about upcoming neighborhood events.

SDOT will be repaving 12th Avenue between Pike and Madison Streets on July 20-21. Looks like they plan to keep one lane open to traffic during this time and the sidewalks will also remain open.

That means that the The 12th Avenue Neighborhood Festival will be home to a freshly paved and beautiful street!

Questions about the repaving? Check out the SDOT website.

Izilla Toys is celebrating their move to their new, street level space this Saturday, July 17th. Festivities will include face painting, magic show, a raffle, cupcakes, ice cream, and 20% off all merchandise!

Check out their website here.

Check out the fun at 1419 12th Avenue (between Pike and Madison).

Cloud mock-up

The 12th Avenue Stewardship Committee got together last night for a great discussion about the James Court Park. Seattle Parks and the design team (Hewitt Architects and Ellen Sollod) presented 2 schemes for the park.  The majority of folks preferred the first scheme, as pictured above.  This includes a really cool feature called "the cloud," which is a flexible mesh material suspended above the center of the park on wires from adjacent poles.  In the "cloud" will be situated a series of (possibly) convex mirrored pieces that will reflect people and patterns from the ground as well as be see-through so that people can see through to the sky, creating different qualities of light for those under the "cloud."  I personally think it is a fantastically cool idea which will really set this park apart from others in Seattle.  Details are being figured out regarding the actual materials chosen and how the "cloud" will be illuminated at night.  There could be lights on the poles aimed at the cloud or perhaps the lights could be incorporated as part of the cloud.

The blue area in the scheme is not a water feature but instead a raised mound that can act as a stage or seating area. Plans are still coming together for what this piece looks like and how it might be used. Additional movable tables and chairs will be located throughout the park. The trees on the eastern side will act as a buffer against the single family residence adjacent to the park. The planters around the trees will also create seating options.

The full presentation, including the 2nd scheme is attached below. Stay tuned for a 3rd meeting on this park’s design, late August or early September.

Parks Presentation 2

Please join the Parks Department,  design team, and 12th Avenue community for a meeting next Tuesday, July 13th to discuss the design for the James Court Park. The team will be showing us several schematic designs for the park based on input from the community meeting back in May.  Click here for more information that came out of that meeting.

Please join us next week and share your thoughts. Refreshments will be provided.

Tuesday, July 13
5:30pm
Seattle University Alumni & Admissions Building
824 12th Avenue

Back in May the 12th Avenue Stewardship Committee met with the Parks Department and members of the design team at Hewitt to discuss ideas for the James Court Park. Below are some images from an exercise at that meeting. Community members were given green dots to place on elements that they would like to see in the new park. Red dots indicate elements that people did not want to see in the park.

Hewitt’s presentation from the meeting with more pictures and inspiration for the park can be found below. The next meeting will be Tuesday, July 13th at 5:30pm at the Seattle University Alumni and Admissions building at 12th and Marion. Please join us and share your ideas for the James Court Park!
James Court Park Presentation

Please join us and our neighborhood friends for a party to celebrate Pike/Pine next Wednesday. The party is geared to reach out to folks who live and work in the neighborhood and also to those who just plain love Pike/Pine. The evening will feature a variety of tastes at tiny prices from some of the new restaurateurs in Liz Dunn’s Melrose Market as well as Rosebud Restaurant, beer from the Elysian, and the Molly Moon ice cream truck!

Please join us upstairs at Ragen & Associates, off Pike Street at Belmont (just upstairs from City Home Store).

Wednesday, June 23rd at 5:30pm

517 E Pike Street (upstairs)

The 12th Avenue Stewardship Committee put together an application to the Seattle Parks Department a couple months ago for funding for the James Court woonerf project. (Woonerf, a Dutch word, describes a street where bikes and pedestrians have priority over cars and is used as a way to slow down traffic and enhance the streetscape).  We have been invited by Parks to present more information as part of the application process so hopefully this is a good sign that we’re high up in the running for funding! If you are interested, the application is below, which includes more information about the project and the woonerf concept.

Woonerf Application

On Sunday, August 15th we’ll be closing down 12th Avenue between Pike and Madison Streets from noon to 6pm to celebrate the 12th Avenue and Pike Pine neighborhoods in style. You won’t be able to get the usual strawberry shortcake or ear of corn from this street festival though! Fantastic local restaurants will offer international flavors from Italy, France, Mexico and Ethiopia…just to name a few. There will be booths featuring wares from great independent retailers and information from local yoga studios, salons, and theatres. The Festival will feature a beer and wine garden, roving buskers entertaining the crowd, and a fun-filled space just for kids. Come celebrate and support the great local businesses and organizations that make 12th Avenue and Pike Pine such fantastic urban neighborhoods!

For more information, please contact Cecelia Gunn at 206-204-3832 or cgunn@capitolhillhousing.org.

The East Precinct is holding a street party this Saturday on 12th between Pike and Pine Streets. Come by to eat some food, say hi to your neighbors, and meet your local police officers. I hear that there may also be some K-9 dogs and police horses. Hope to see you there!

East Precinct Picnic
Saturday, June 19
Noon - 7pm