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The Bite on Broadway, the first big event for a grassroots group of Broadway merchants, drew light attendance on a rainy Sunday night. Some images from the event are below. Rather than critique the event itself, let's step it up a level. As a Capitol Hill consumer, what types of promotions do you want to be part of? Are events like the Bite up your alley? Do we need to close a street like Portland?
I feel very fortunate to live right in the heart of the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. I am never quite sure about Seattle - truth be told - as I find the weather very difficult to handle around here. That being said, I love my neighborhood. It's urban, hip, eclectic, young, alternative, busy, and changing right before my eyes everyday. After all, the Beehive faces the new light rail station. Everyday, the crew moves closer to completing this massive project. Even though this neighborhood is about as urban as you are going to get in Seattle, it really feels like a true neighborhood for the community who call this area home. In the park, I see the same faces, have gotten to know the dogs in the neighborhood, know the people who live on my block, etc. I love the fact that we get to have this neighborhood feel at the very same time that we can walk to cool shops, restaurants, and run errands, such as the grocery store, post office, bank, all within an easy walk. It's not too often you find such a sweet spot,...
Shawn- Broadway & Denny
Shawn had just returned from a backpacking trip through Turkey and Greece when I passed him on Broadway. You might see him on your next train ride down to Portland. He serves the drinks in bar car on the Seattle-Eugene route for Amtrak. More street style photos at www.itsmydarlin.com This week, the crow learns that the "young" in "young republican" stands for "cupcake." What did you learn?
Do you have time to answer a few questions for CHS? Seriously?! I can just make something up? Country singer Toby Keith? You mean, like, ironically? Dunno… Somehow, I wouldn’t have pegged you as a Toby Keith fan. Wow. You don’t find a lot of Young Republicans working at cupcake shops on Capitol Hill. Good point. What are some of your favorite hangouts on The Hill? Okay, you don’t like the food. What about local bars, or cafes, or music venues? What do you like least about Capitol Hill? You have some strong opinions. What do you like best about working on the Hill?
Why did you pick this neighborhood? Has it lived up to your expectations? Do you have a favorite restaurant in your ‘hood? What do you think is the sexiest place on the Hill? What do you do for a living? That’s adorable.
Are you an artist yourself? I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess that you go to Burning Man. Are you a Seattle native? What brought you here? What do you do for a living? This place is known for its beer selection. Are you a big connoisseur of the hops? Continuing Education in Beer is not a bad job perk. So I have to ask -- and I promise CHS readers this is the last time I’ll ever use this question -- Beers: Marry, Boff, Kill. Go! The hard-to-get aspect isn’t good for a marriage. Marry? A good quality in a beer-wife. Kill? When you’re not working, do you have any favorite haunts on the hill? What do you like best about working on Capitol Hill? Thanks to Suzi Pratt for the picture of Joseph! Previously from CHS Crow: 
The Seattle Art Museum has commissioned a new Capitol Hill mural on the side of The Stumbling Monk. We've seen what it will look like. It will look like a pretty cool ad for Seattle Art Museum. Weirdo's work is worth checking out. And, if you do, there's a big social media contest with a page or so of rules that you can enter to win tickets to SAM.
This Sunday, Capitol Hill-based contemporary jazz dance company 3rd Shift Dance presents Whacked! A Night of Killer Dance at Velocity Dance Center. An evening of brand spanking new dances featuring choreography by Alyza DelPan-Monley, April Torneby and Xaviera Vandermay including the world premier of Whacking Walt. 7pm Featuring 3SD, Fusion, and Electriq Dance. This all ages version is suitable for viewing for ages 10 and up. 9pm Featuring 3SD, DASS Dance, and Xclusive. For this ages 21 and up showing we will be launching our Cans for Cans program. Bring a can of food for Northwest Harvest and trade it for a can of PBR to sip on during the show!
Tickets available through Brown Paper Tickets. $5 advanced, $10 DOS exact change only
If you're well schooled on Capitol Hill history, you know these origin stories: David Denny began selling and leasing John Nagle's property along Broadway in 1880, and James Moore developed the Capitol Hill area near Volunteer Park after 1900. We're going to talk about the period in between, a piece of early streetcar history that has not been chronicled. A Ridge Too Far Before all of that civil engineering madness Seattle was Pioneer Square, surrounded by mudflats to the south, a rise culminating in Denny Hill to the north, and a ridge running from Brooklyn (University Bridge) all the way south to Orilla (I-5/405 interchange). Some smart landowners who had visited San Francisco decided to put a cable car up and over First Hill and Second Hill, and down the back side to Lake Washington -- the Lake Washington cable car on Yesler Way. 1887. Next over the ridge was the Madison Street cable car, up over the peak of the hill and again all the way to Lake Washington. 1890. Investors on James Street decided to try something different. They ran a very short cable car from Pioneer Square just up to Broadway. From there, several small streetcars headed to parks to the north (Broadway) and south (Beacon Hill) on the ridge, as well as out to beaches on Lake Washington (Madrona). They called the system the Union Trunk Line. It was paid for by Seattle investors for the growth of Seattle, and everything down to the wheels was built in Seattle. 1891.
The Photograph We're looking at the cable car portion of UTL on James Street. Notice how the ground below it is a wide wood road, and not just rails? The cable ran below that, pulling the car up towards the powerhouse at Broadway. The James cable was built from January to May 1891. A photo of this same car -- #12 Spokane -- just a few feet up the road with all of the same passengers in the same attire was printed in the October, 1891 edition of Street Railway Review. Definitely 1891. Besides the streetcar, two buildings are visible in this scene at the intersection of James and Broadway. Up on the right is the old powerhouse, which was destroyed in 1960 to create James Way, the curved connection between Broadway and 12th. You can step on over to Central District News to read an installment of CD Rewind about that. So we can skip that topic. On the left is Castlemount, one of the few named homes in Seattle's history. It was the first mansion on First Hill, in a peaceful setting that was pretty much ruined by the construction of the junction of Union Trunk Line's branches. Paul Dorpat already covered the house and it's owner, G. O. Haller in Now & Then Vol. 2, and has posted it to HistoryLink. So we can skip that topic, too.
The Broadway Branch We care about the north spur of the Union Trunk Line. Called the Broadway branch or Broadway line, it ran to City Park and the Masonic cemetery. You know them as Volunteer Park and Lake View Cemetery (discussed in this Re:Take). The streetcar ended at Lynn Street -- then known as Havens -- at the northern boundary of the City of Seattle. Capitol Hill was hardly settled at all, and more than a decade away from being called "Capitol Hill." In the 1890 directory, the Masonic cemetery is simply described as "East side Lake Union near north end Broadway." And it was still half-wild, as the Street Railway Review illustrates:
A 1954 Seattle Times article even related the tale that the conductors carried rifles to protect themselves from cougars. Union Trunk Line had a vision to change that sylvan image. Today the city is building a separated bikeway on Broadway. UTL wanted something much more dramatic, a streetcar boulevard:
It's not clear how much of the boulevard was actually built. But the article goes on to describe ornate brackets planned for the electric poles. You can see that they were actually installed: one of them is in the center of our picture, with "UTL" monogrammed on each side. Although David Denny had been busy leasing and then selling John Nagle's land along Broadway, there is little available evidence of any sort of community on Capitol Hill before the Union Trunk Line opened access. I'll Have My Name in Lights
There was a long list of men involved in the financing, construction and operation of the Union Trunk Line. Reviewing the Articles of Incorporation, the city franchise agreement, newspaper articles, and other sources reveals a confusing array which makes you wonder who was really running the show. The Street Railway Review helpfully focuses on the officers: E. F. Wittler, president; James D. Lowman, secretary and manager; Joseph F. McNaught, vp; R. R. Spencer, treasurer. Lowman was a nephew of Henry Yesler, and managed his affairs after 1886. This included a large property north of Roy Street along Broadway. Lowman and Yesler are also listed along with McNaught and Leigh S. J. Hunt as the four men who wrote loans to the Union Trunk Line to subsidize the creation of the Broadway branch. McNaught was a successful lawyer who was even more successful in real estate. Outside of his Seattle investments, he created the city of Anacortes and built and sold wheat farms on the Palouse. Hunt was the owner of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and later got rich (again) with a literal gold mine in Korea. While living in Germany he decided to get involved in large-scale cotton farming in Egypt. He made headlines by falsely claiming that Booker T. Washington was going to help settle workers with a "back to Africa" campaign. While we're on the subject of restless men with kooky stories, it would be a shame to not mention Ernest Hussey. Hussey was a consulting engineer in Seattle, who took the job of General Superintendent of the Union Trunk Line in 1892 when Andrew Jackson moved on. Hussey was born in 1865 on his father's merchant sailing ship off the mouth of the Saigon River in French Indochina. At the age of three he was shipwrecked with his father for six months in Brazil after their ship burned at sea. He spent his formative years in Yokohama, Japan and left for Boston a couple of years after the Satsuma Rebellion. In Massachusetts he apprenticed under several civil engineers, learning his trade on the job. All of these men were Seattle pioneers™. Through their investment and efforts, Broadway steadily developed and grew. In 1893's financial panic, though, many of them lost their Union Trunk Line holdings along with their fortunes. One of the men waiting to profit from their loss was Marcellus Harwood Young. Young Man, 'Cuz You're In a New Town His name does not appear in any known document from the creation of the Union Trunk Line. Suddenly, though, in 1893 he became president, taking that spot from Wittler. One clue is a 1907 lawsuit, which described him as the holder of Henry Yesler's loan to the Union Trunk Line, and explained that Lowman had sold much of Yesler's real estate holdings under financial pressure. Possibly Young acquired other control of UTL and stepped in to lead the company during the financial collapse. In 1899, UTL was one of the first companies to sell out to Seattle Electric Company. Jacob Furth methodically purchased every streetcar in Seattle for the national power and rail conglomerate Stone & Webster. UTL was one of only two SEC acquisitions to never enter bankruptcy, a testament to Young's leadership. Young stayed as one of the executives at SEC, and oversaw the rebuilding and partial dismantling of UTL. The rails were upgraded, and new cars put into service. SEC took advantage of the municipal regrade of Pike Street to run rails directly from downtown, up Pike and north on Broadway, alleviating the need for a transfer at the top of the James Cable. This discontinued streetcar service from James to Pike, commencing a century-long gap in rail connection between the two hills. The city bought out SEC in 1919, and streetcars disappeared from Broadway entirely in 1940. But let's save the Pike-Broadway streetcar story for another day.
Viking Ship Burial His daughter Josephine Young married Thomas Fransioli in 1901. They lived in a couple of apartments and then built a house in the north Broadway neighborhood (now Harvard-Belmont) when their first child was born. The birth of their second, Thomas, Jr., spurred them to hire a nanny and maid. They were living every young mom and dad's dream. It got even better. In 1909, Grandfather Young gave up on Beacon Hill. Maybe he wanted to spend more time with his grand kids now that he was retired. Maybe his old house was inaccessible after the destruction of the ridge to Beacon Hill during the Dearborn and Jackson regrades. Whatever the cause, he built a mansion a block away from his daughter at Broadway and Prospect. It's condominiums now. It's also on page 146 of Classic Houses of Seattle, written by Seattle Central's Caroline Swope.
Soon after moving to North Broadway Young crossed paths with Joseph Glasgow, a character from the very first CHS Re:Take, Hidden Stories of Love. In Bagley's History of Seattle, the pinnacle of Glasgow's career is described as the defense of one Peter Miller. Miller had been convicted of burglaries and murder in and around Seattle and Tacoma. Glasgow had all of the convictions overturned, arguing that Miller had confessed under duress. One of the homes burgled was Young's brand new mansion in June of 1909, during the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition. It was the first of Miller's crimes that resulted in conviction. Sadly, M. H. Young did not live to see Miller convicted of the burglary for the second time. Young died in January, 1913, and Miller was reconvicted in September, 1913. But Young died in marvelous fashion. Here was a man that led the Union Trunk Line for almost a decade, and himself lived on and commuted on the line for his entire time in Seattle. Even if he wasn't involved in its construction, he was pivotal to its success. So it is poetic the way that Young died. He spent the evening with his daughter Josephine Fransioli, playing cards at the home of his friend Howard Thomas at Broadway and Columbia. Around midnight they walked to Pike and boarded the streetcar for the ride home. He and Josephine chatted idly. Suddenly Young gasped and leaned back in his seat. He was dead almost immediately of a heart attack. Addendum: He Did What?
We already know the streetcar was built in 1891, not 1895. The quote comes straight from the usually-reliable Don Sherwood park history file, so I don't blame the city. But did Young really name Beacon Hill? Here's what HistoryLink has to say:
The Don Sherwood document listed is a source for the article. The only other trustworthy source is Clarence Bagley. In 1916's History of Seattle, Bagley erroneously listed M. H. Young as one of the founders of the Union Trunk Line. Bagley said, "On November 10, 1891, the Union Trunk Line was organized by J. D. Lowman, M. H. Young, E. H. Wittler and associates." The date is wrong. Wittler and Lowman along with a host of other important Seattle men funded, built and operated the Trunk Line. But, Young doesn't enter the UTL paper trail until 1893. So we can't trust Bagley. M. H. Young did not build a streetcar line connecting Beacon Hill to downtown. But did he really name Beacon Hill? The Seattle Department of Neighborhoods Beacon Hill Historic Context Statement puts it this way:
In his obituary in 1913, his family says he moved to Seattle in 1890. Various histories of Seattle say that he moved here in January, 1890. He didn't move to Beacon Hill until about 1894. The name of the company he represented in Seattle was New England Northwestern Investment Company, not that variant. It's strange that in a citation-heavy document, no source is listed for information about Young. This is extremely suspect. But did he name Beacon Hill? You Have No Reason to Believe There should be an easy paper trail if it was Young. During 1889 or 1890 he would have needed to make a major marketing splash with a large real estate development. Otherwise, why would they put "Beacon Hill" on the front of the Union Trunk Line streetcars in 1891? Getting Closure What is completely clear and certainly not up for debate is that the Union Trunk Line was pivotal in developing Broadway from Volunteer Park to First Hill -- as well as developing north Beacon Hill and Madrona. In 1891 these far-flung pastures and woods were suddenly directly connected to the heart of the city. It was the birth of the neighborhoods we know and love. Special thanks to Richard Wilkens for sharing UTL documents. Also to the rest of the nascent Seattle Street Railway Historical Society (email seattlestreetrailwayhistory@gmail.com for meeting info). Thanks to Dotty Decoster for spotting the historic photo. And of course SPL and SMA. In case you missed them, here are the last few Re:Takes on CHS:
Local history expert Rob Ketcherside shares his vision of the past and present with his Re:Take series of works on CHS and other Seattle sites. Friday is Bike to Work Day, and there will be bike commute stations set up all over the region to give people passing by a little boost or a place to rest. Many commuters will make their way to City Hall for an 8 a.m. rally. For more details on Bike to Work Day festivities, see this post over at Seattle Bike Blog. Stations around the neighborhood include one on Seattle U's campus, Stevens Elementary, Top Pot at Lakeview and Belmont and Eltana Bagels at Schemata Workshop on 12th Ave. A map from Cascade Bicycle Club is below.
There's already a lot going on around Capitol Hill this weekend -- but let us know if we're missing your special event. You can always add items to the free CHS Events Calendar here. Don't forget to stop by the Bite on Broadway on Sunday, the first big event for the Broadway Business Owners Association. Thursday 5/17
Saturday 5/19
Maggie Thorpe is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory. CHS is proud to feature the work of promising young journalists provided by the lab. The bright and colorful pop tunes thump away. The sounds are familiar, but have a unique rhythm. They encourage listeners to sway to the music. Eventually something becomes apparent: “Wait, this isn’t English!” For those who are unfamiliar with the increasingly popular music from Asia, it is most likely K-pop -- Korean pop -- or J-pop -- Japanese pop.
“I’d been toying around with the concept of a J-pop/K-pop dance party, primarily because I wanted to see if there was a thriving fan base of people in that particular genre of music,” said Reese Umbaugh, also known as DJ Bishie. “I’ve known Alex Thomas, DJ BabyLoveCrash, for years and knew she really loved Japanese music and culture, and I met Allen Huang, DJ Hojo, and immediately sparked up a conversation about K-pop with him, and it all just kind of came together from there.” The monthly event was born in the Alibi Room near Pike Place Market, but it outgrew that location, organizers said. With the power of word-of-mouth and the Internet, JK Pop Night has steadily been gaining fans. The niche fan base was what attracted the DJs to collaborate, mainly because of their frustrations in trying to share the foreign music. “We were tired of bombarding our friends with links to video and dancing in our chairs at work, so we decided to reserve a space for a dance night. And then another one. And then another one. Really, we don’t see a reason to stop,” said Hojo. “I would dance every day in my car and apartment to K-pop, wishing I could show off these sweet moves in a club,” said BabyLoveCrash. “I resigned to myself that I would have to save up to dance in a club in Korean one day, although they probably wouldn’t play the exact songs I wanted to hear.” The DJs guarantee that there will be an even mix of fresh songs and classics with plenty of remixes. While Bishie and BabyLoveCrash focus more on K-pop, Hojo will focus on J-pop. “J-pop has been a secret love of mine for forever,” said Hojo. “Right now, the electro-pop and dance music scenes in Japan seem to be really firing on all cylinders, doing stuff that’s really unique compared to the rest of the world.” J-pop and K-pop’s influence in the United States is growing. Earlier this year, Girls’ Generation, one of the front-runners for K-pop, performed on “The Late Show with David Letterman.” With little to no promotion in the U.S., K-pop has even been charting on the U.S. Billboard. “I see a small, but devoted fan base growing bigger and bigger as K-pop and J-pop gets better and better,” said Hojo. “It’d be amazing to hear stuff like Big Bang right next to Rihanna on Top 40 radio, but I’m not holding my breath for that." Of course, fans of J-pop and K-pop should definitely come to the event, but for casual listeners and those who have not heard of this genre before, Bishie said, “JK Pop! Nights are really fun, unpretentious, and you’ll see a lot of uncontrollable dancing. We just want people to have a great time, and I think that our efforts show.” So get your kawaii clothes on and do an aegyo pose and get ready for, as DJ Hojo calls it, “the best night of the month.” Are you a fan of an outside-the-mainstream DJ night on the Hill that others should know about? Let us know in comments. The Monster at the End of this Book, today, of course has an app. CHS is fairly certain it can produce as many giggles as the original. There's a celebration of stories like that and the people who love them this Saturday at Elliott Bay Book Co. Here are the details on the First Book Seattle Read-a-Thon sent to us by Tamara Bunnell:
Day-of Reading Schedule: 11:10 AM Poet Daemond Arrindell reading Where The Wild Things Are
Staff members are collecting art donations for a killer art auction with all proceeds going to GeekGirlCon, a nonprofit organization that celebrates and honors the legacy of women contributing to science and technology; comics, arts and literature; and game play and game design. Think of it like an in-person eBay*! Mix and mingle. Then bid on some awesome art. Details and cheat codes: When: Saturday, May 19th *Fine print: You must be present to “win.” All art must be taken home, carted away, or otherwise claimed by the winning bidders by 10:30 p.m. the of the event. All art is sold as is. Contact Kelly at specialevents@geekgirlcon.com if you have art to donate or have questions. Thank you to...
The Broadway Alley mall is inconspicuous from the outside. You might assume that it’s simply two adjacent restaurants: HaNa and Americana, which used to be Table 219 and before that, El Greco. The folding signs out front on the sidewalk advertise the shops and restaurants within, but beyond that it’s probably word of mouth that’s brought you here. Last week, CHS looked at how some of the newest retail space on Broadway is faring. Here's a look at some of the oldest. Built in 1918, the Alley has weathered a long lifetime of changes and seen many businesses come and go. The longest running business currently open is the sushi restaurant HaNa. Yoshi Hori and his partner Ken Wada have operated it since 1989. If you’ve ever walked through the Alley from the entrance to the back you’ve probably noticed either Wada or Chef Takashi preparing sushi through the glass walls, and you’ve noticed how the restaurant is often full. Takashi was a student of Seattle’s celebrated chef Shiro Kashiba, and he’s been making sushi for 25 years. Takashi condescends to make spider rolls and other trendy dishes, but as he said, “we try to keep it traditional as much as we can.”
Across from HaNa is Americana, formerly Table 219, formerly El Greco. They’ve been Americana since December 2011. Chef/Owner Jeffrey Wilson says, “it’s a twist on comfort food.” Alcoholic milkshakes are on the menu as are dishes like a chicken andouille sausage corn dogs, and of course, their variant of mac and cheese. on May 20th Americana will be involved with the Bite on Broadway along with other members of the Broadway Business Owners Association. Being one of the two street side businesses in the Alley, Americana will also have a booth extending into the street for Pride, with outdoor seating for the event. “I’m surviving on the people who already know me,” he said. His main concern is landlords increasing rents on Capitol Hill. He contends that the increases are coming too early. With the light rail still years away, he sees major increases here and now as opportunistic. With the Alley mall valued at over three million dollars as of 2010, his concerns over rent increases are perhaps not without justification.
“I have no plans to expand,” Mustafa said. “My only plan is to survive, make a living, and raise a family.” At the end of the Alley on the left is Guanaco’s Tacos Pupuseria. It’s Capitol Hill’s best (and only) pupuseria. Pupusas are Salvadorian street food. (If you haven’t had one, you’re lucky, because you get to try one for the first time.) It’s a stuffed tortilla that’s fried, and you eat it with a spicy cabbage slaw. Order a couple -- they’re good, and inexpensive. The Capitol Hill location has been open for about two years, and their original location in the U District is coming up on its fifth year. The U-Dist location remains the more profitable location. Owner Eduardo Revelo concedes that it’s a bit of a handicap to not be more visible from the street. “We are working on some signage that will hopefully point that we are in the back of the building,” he said. It’s all word of mouth when you are a hidden restaurant. “I try to make sure new people are happy so they will tell other people and come back.” Upstairs in the Alley there’s the sadly absent Pilot Books, the vacant space now taken over by an alkaline water business. adjacent to them is Broadway Nails, which has been open for thirteen years. After getting your nails did, you could stop by Laughing Buddha next door and get some ink, or a piercing.
In addition to a sister shop in California, the owner of Laughing Buddha also owns a shop in Bellingham, and Evolve Body Jewelry. “[It’s] an organic jewelry distributor,” said tattoo artist and jewelry designer Chris, who has worked in the Alley for two and a half years. LB has been open for thirteen years. Piercings make up a lot of the business, as they’re quick. Chris says that people visiting the Hill are there as often as locals getting work done. “Over the last couple of years there’s been good and bad, but I stay busy, for the most part,” he said. These days, the building is owned by Ron Amundson who also owns buildings throughout Pike/Pine. He paid $3.7 million for the stuffed-with-tenants Alley in 2008. Amundson is known around the Hill as a set it and let it landlord. There haven't been a lot of changes to his properties even as Capitol Hill development has exploded.
The nooks and crannies are filled with more commerce. There’s a T-Mobile shop, Tacos Chukis taqueria upstairs, the Kimchi Bistro across from Guanaco’s -- many business are housed in this old building. If the goal is high density of business per acre, then the Broadway Alley mall is an organic example of what that looks like. It is entrepreneurs and restaurateurs who have figured out how to last, or who are still in the process of learning. When the building turns one hundred in 2018 it might be all new businesses, but perhaps some of today's tenants will continue, and with luck, thrive. Daytona has the 500. Monte Carlo has the Grand Prix. Now, Capitol Hill has a racing classic of its very own. Saturday marked the First Annual Beer Can Derby, held at The Pine Box on Melrose Ave. One of the ten gadzillion events in the 2012 Seattle Beer Week (surely you remember reading about this in CHS last week?), the siren call of empty beer cans on wheels drew in a crowd of more than 150 spectators and 31+ contestants from all corners of the city and state. Yes, it is one Seattle’s seven or eight Semi-Annual Sunny Days, but we’re sitting in the black-ceilinged, gothic-chandeliered loading dock of what is arguably the Hill's very best coffin-themed bar that used to be a mortuary. (Morbid Fun Fact: We’re in the exact location where Steve McQueen, James Coburn, and other less-famous-people-we-don’t-care-about once carried Bruce Lee’s casket to a hearse.) “The sun is overrated,” said Mike Clancy, a Seattle native whose beer-can car -- a sleek, phallic design that resembles something you might find in the window of Babeland -- was a winner of several early heats in the derby. Like the vast majority of participants, Clancy is a) male b) an engineer and c) very, very pale. And, for the record, very, very nice. But unlike so many NASCAR or Formula One racers, the life of a champion hasn’t gone straight to his head. (Just wait until he gets a sponsorship deal...) The Grand Champion of the event was Mike Besser, the eponymous papa of Brewdad.com, a beer blogger who traveled all the way from Olympia to participate in the Derby. Besser’s stylish and aerodynamic car swept several of the races -- but not without a hint of controversy. “His car was on a pine wood setting,” said Dean Hudgins, one of the owners of The Pine Box. “This is our first time doing this, so we didn’t specify cars couldn't have pine-frame tracks, versus the regular tracks. The wooden axles run more smoothly, which gives them a slight advantage. That was our fault, but next year, we’ll be more clear in the rules.” The highly successful (i.e., many people would rather do this than sit in a sunny park on one of the nicest days of the year) Beer Can Derby was the combined brainchild of Ian Roberts, co-owner of The Pine Box, and Steve Wood of New Belgium Beer. “It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time,” said Roberts, when asked how he got the idea, and if he was, in fact, loaded at the time (amazingly, he was not). In the Overall category, Mike “Brewdad” Besser took home the Grand Prize (some sort of Nerf gun?). The third place accolades went to Dori McGuire Guy, a.k.a., “The Danica Patrick of the Beer Can Derby circuit.” A math teacher at Seattle Central Community College, Ms. McGuire Guy recruited several of her students -- including second place winner Justin Scott -- to participate in the contest. The races included an “exhibition race” made up of cars built by New Belgium. One of the crowd favorites was the adorable “Yes We Can” (get it? ‘cause it’s a can?) car, which celebrated same-sex marriage by featuring two grooms taking vows under a pink-feathered chuppah. In what I sincerely hope is not an omen for the future of gay marriage legislation in Washington, the befeathered, bedazzled car came in last place. But I think we can all agree that it took home the prize for fabulousness.
More than 200 volunteers fanned out across the area around Cal Anderson Park Saturday morning for the annual Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce Clean Sweep. It was a productive way to start a busy, sun-filled Saturday on Capitol Hill. Meanwhile, the midday for many was filled with picking through the living treasures offered up during the spring plant sale to benefit the Volunteer Park Conservatory. Nearby, the annual Cannabis Freedom March rally took place at the park's amphitheater in front of a notably small crowd as the debate swirls around I-502's legalization of medicinal marijuana. While a speaker made sure to note that marchers both pro and con were in attendance, the I-502 contingent had a significant table presence and, yes, shirts for sale. If you have pictures from the day, consider adding them to the CHS Flickr pool or adding a link in the comments.
Meanwhile, at Volunteer Park...
And one teaser: More images from The Pine Box's Can Derby soon. Scout's honor.
We've told you about some upcoming community events that are in need of musicians -- the upcoming Bite on Broadway and a summer Friday concert series at lower Pike's Pillars Park. But this time we're telling you for real. Capitol Hill needs music:
Look at how much fun these people are having. Looking for more to do? Check out this week's CHS On the List. This weekend marks the final performances of ReAct Theatre’s presentation of A Language of Their Own now showing at Hugo House -- that means two more nights for you to support a small Capitol Hill theater group and the LGBT community nonprofits it shares funds with. The play focuses on the topic of AIDS in the gay community as characters Oscar and Ming separate and begin new relationships. "I saw a production of [A Language of Their Own] in Seattle back in 1997 which was powerful,” ReAct’s director David Hsieh said. “We decided to produce it not only to do the play justice on stage.... but also... to see how the themes continue to play out, and how many things have changed over the last fifteen years."
A Language of Their Own, which Hsieh describes as “a classically gay play and a fascinating look at a period of gay history” was written by Chay Yew.
In the interview with Hsieh embedded below, the plays’ director Victor Pappas said, "It’s got intelligence but it’s not intellectually based, it’s heart based. It has a lot of truths, I think it will evoke a lot of human response in the audience.” Hsieh, who also works at Elliott Bay Book Co. said he started ReAct to celebrate diversity and support gay non-profits via the arts. The theater's neighborhood connections run deep. Director Pappas is also a Capitol Hill resident. A Language of Their Own, which started its run April 20th, ends this week with two performances tonight and Saturday at 8p at Richard Hugo House. This production supports the 2012 Run and Walk with Pride Charities, amongst other organizations and non-profits. To find out more, visit reacttheatre.org. You can also check out the interview between Hsieh and Pappas here: 
STG presents AMERICAN IDIOT June 5 – 10, 2012 at The Paramount Theatre. Direct from Broadway, the smash-hit musical AMERICAN IDIOT tells the story of three lifelong friends, forced to choose between their dreams and the safety of suburbia. Their quest for true meaning in a post 9/11 world leads them on the most exhilarating theatrical journey of the season. Based on Green Day's GRAMMY® Award-winning multi-platinum album, AMERICAN IDIOT boldly takes the American musical where it's never gone before. The result is an experience Charles Isherwood of The New York Times declares "thrilling, emotionally charged, and as moving as any Broadway musical I've seen this year!" Featuring the hits "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," "21 Guns," "Wake Me Up When September Ends," "Holiday" and the blockbuster title track, AMERICAN IDIOT features the music of Green Day and the lyrics of its lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong, direction by Tony Award® winner Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening), choreography by Olivier Award winner Steven Hoggett...
It's time again for the monthly Capitol Hill arts walk. We've called out a few highlights to check out below along with a full roster of weekend activities ranging from Pink Proms to the Cannabis Freedom March. Smells arty. Smells pink. Smells like marijuana. Smells like Capitol Hill. Happy Weekend. Tonight bring's May's Blitz! Art Walk. Newcomer Blindfold Gallery is exhibiting a new show, the Green Door artist studio has opened up its doors to Blitz! as well as The Compound artist studio. CHS recently spoke with Rare Medium, another collective -- this one made up of transplants from the 619 Western Building. Rare Medium, an artist collective run by Justin Mata, Cory Verellen, and Tali Edut has made settled nicely into its home here on the Hill and will be presenting the results of a recent performance/installation entitled "ENTRY" by author Ian Young. Young spent 30 hours in the studio creating a large scale written installation under the "surveillance" of passersby. " We were interested in the performative aspect," Mata said of the project. "We wanted to play off the fact that writing is a solitary and isolated act. We wanted to see how that could change in an environment with constant flow. This was the natural step after that." The piece incorporates elements of the solitary act of writing with the performative and aesthetic elements of visual arts. Young created all of the text on the spot, and incorporated a variety of inspirational objects to guide his narrative. (Among others you can find a childs glove, a fly swatter, and some "random clocks" wedged into paragraphs or placed gently to the side mimicking a footnote.) One of the best parts about the work? Young actually slept in the gallery during his thirty hour stint. Says Mata, "That particular weekend the weather was getting nice so it was really crazy in Cap Hill in terms of night life. Really big. People were banging on the windows at three or four am trying to wake him [Young] up."
For a full listing of the Blitz! Art Walk events, click here. Here's the rest of this week's On the List: Thursday 5/10
Friday 5/11
Saturday 5/12
Sunday 5/13
We're one month away from the 2012 Capitol Hill Garage Sale Day. Which means, for many of you, we're about three and a half weeks away from you deciding you really, really, really want to hold a sale and be part of the fun. Go for it. Live your life your own way. But if you would like to get a jump on things, sign up to be part of CHGSD today. You can add your own garage sale held anywhere around the Hill to the roster (for free!) or sign up for a space in the community sale lot (for 20 bucks!) at the future home of Broadway Hill Park at Federal and Republican. Thanks to the friends of the park and our pals at Capitol Hill-based Tieclip for helping out. All proceeds go to support the new Broadway Hill greenspace. By the way, if you want a warm-up for the garage sale shopping extravaganza, the West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day is this Saturday. We'll also be celebrating the one-month milestone at today's May CHS happy hour at Bimbos on E Pike starting at 4:30p. For more details on the Saturday, June 9th...
An organized tour of Pike/Pine designed to evoke the spirit of community activist Jane Jacobs on Thursday night only had 30 slots available. It's free but "sold out." But we'd bet that if you were to show up near 14th and Pine on Thursday, you might be able to put together a pretty interesting tour of your own. Leave the organized group alone and be inspired by the idea -- and then take to the streets with a group of stragglers. We're thinking you might end up on a pretty interesting tour that would have made Jacobs proud. The organized tour information is here -- maybe 2013 can include everybody. In the meantime, enjoy your walk and share what you know.
Spring bird migration is underway, and Wilson’s warblers have begun to arrive in Capitol Hill. Some of these birds are just stopping over to browse our shrubbery for bugs before flying farther north to Canada or Alaska. Many, however, will stay all summer, breeding here and eating our bugs for the duration. The Wilson’s warbler is easy to identify: a tiny bird with a black cap, bright yellow breast, and dirty olive-colored wings. It spends its winters in warmer climes—but don’t get too jealous. Every year, it makes the trip to Mexico or Central America and back on its own power. We’ve seen birds that fly up to 60 miles per hour; now we’re seeing birds that fly up to 5,000 miles. Before Wilson’s warblers migrate, they gain as much weight as they can—which isn’t much, as the heaviest top out around 8 grams. They’re nocturnal migrants, so they set out at dusk and fly until dawn. Because they’re so small, they frequently get blown off-course by storms. After a night’s flight, Wilson’s warblers stop at the first safe spot they can find. There they rest and feed to recuperate the weight they lost during their nighttime journey. Rest stops vary in length depending on stressors and food availability, but they can last a couple of weeks. Interested in learning more?
Previous Aviary Posts 
It was supposed to be a "30 in 30 Coffee, Community, & Congress" campaign swing for Andrew Hughes but, for CHS, he made it 31 in 30 and a few days. CHS stopped by E Pike's Kaladi Brothers coffee earlier this week to meet the person mounting an unusual campaign that pits a young Democrat against an elder statesmen of his party, 23-year 7th Congressional District veteran Jim McDermott. Andrew Hughes says he is running to win in 2012 in the district that stretches from Shoreline to Capitol Hill to Vashon Island even if others are asking why. For Hughes, it's about energy, drive and his belief that McDermott, who will turn 76 this December, is out of fresh ideas. Support for Poulsbo-native and Seattle U law-educated Hughes is currently thin. His campaign efforts are focused on bootstrapped efforts to get some attention without any endorsements or big backers. There was the coffee shop tour. But McDermott has done Capitol Hill coffee shops before. It's unlikely McDermott has ever tried the 30-year-old Hughes'...
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