Tag: seattle washington

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Beautiful Neighborhood

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This week I will be meandering through the disappearing Cascade Neighborhood in Seattle documenting what’s left of it before it’s swallowed up by Amazon and development by Vulcan Real Estate. Cascade is slowly losing its identity as a neighborhood distinct from the rest of South Lake Union as Amazon expands and Paul Allen’s vision of the area comes to fruition. Only a few of the older residential and light industrial structures of historic Cascade retain their original uses today; the historic Immanuel Lutheran Church and St. Spiridon Russian Orthodox Cathedral remain. Elsewhere around South Lake Union the picture is similar. Although there are few new gems on the block (I will highlight them), and quite a few older buildings survive, few retain their historic uses.

Amazon has recently announced it will spend over $1 billion to purchase its South Lake Union corporate headquarters. Next month, the Seattle City Council will undoubtedly pass new zoning rules for South Lake Union that will allow companies like Vulcan Real Estate to build taller buildings. In the center of all this is The Cascade Playground (now also known as Cascade Park), originally the playground of the now-demolished Cascade School. Sharing a city block with the playground and P-Patch is the Cascade People’s Center, a volunteer organization that partners with over 100 businesses, churches, organizations, and community groups to address advocacy for social and economic justice. It will be interesting to see how this wonderful little neighborhood survives and if it can maintain its charm and authenticity. Meanwhile I’ll enjoy the visuals where past meets present and future.

p patch entrance
Entrance to the Cascade P-Patch. Delightful community
garden to walk through in the middle of an urban area
home to one of the largest global companies Amazon.com.

scarecrow
Creative scarecrows dot the p-patch landscape.

p patch and church
Cascade Playground+P-Patch with historic
Immanuel Lutheran Church.

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Beautiful Red

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There is no denying the power of RED.
Seattle City Hall has these fantastic red doors
that dazzle in sunlight. The first two images are
taken from inside; the third image is an exterior view.
Awesome indeed.
city hall interior red doors1 city hall interiors red doors 2 city hall exterior red

Symbolism of the Color Red

Red is the color of fire and blood. Hebrew words for blood and red have the same origin: “dm” means red and “dom” means blood. Blood and fire have both positive and negative connotations: bloodshed, aggression, war, and hate are on one side, and love, warmth and compassion on the other side. In ancient Egypt, red was the color of life and of victory. During celebrations, Egyptians would paint their bodies with red ochre. The normal skin tone of Egyptian men was depicted as red, without any negative connotation.

Ancient Greeks associated the bright, luminous red with the male principle. Red was also the color of the Greek gods of war, Phoebus and Ares. In prehistoric cultures, however, red was associated with the female principle. Mother Earth provided the Neolithic peoples with red ochre, which was credited with life-giving powers. The association of the red color with the female principle in Japan survives to the present day.

10_henri matisse_harmony_in_red_red room 1908
Henri Matisse, The Dessert: Harmony in Red, 1908

piet mondrian Composition with Red Yellow blue 1919
Piet Mondrian, Composition Red Yellow Blue, 1919

Short History of Red Pigments

The oldest pigment was probably red ochre, which was used in cave art. The ancient world had red madder lake, artificially-made red lead, and vermilion (natural mineral cinnabar). Artificially-made vermilion was the most prominent red pigment until the manufacture of cadmium red in 1907.

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Beautiful Blue

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Coolest catwalk I’ve walked across is in
Seattle City Hall. Blue Glass Passage,
it symbolizes a bridge over water.
blue catwalk

Symbolism of the Color Blue

Blue is the color of sky and water. From the time of the ancient Egyptians, the blue depths of water personified the female principle, while sky blue was associated with the male principle. Blue is the color of all heavenly gods and stands for distance, for the divine, and for the spiritual. Blue is also the symbol of fidelity. Blue flowers, such as forget-me-nots and violets, symbolize faithfulness. According to an old English custom, a bride wears blue ribbons on her wedding gown and a blue sapphire in her wedding ring.

In the English language, blue sometimes refers to sadness. The phrase “feeling blue” is linked to a custom amongst old sailing ships. If a ship loses her captain, she would fly blue flags when returning to home port.

In German, to be “blue” (blau sein) is to be drunk. This derives from the ancient use of urine (which is produced copiously by the human body after drinking alcohol) in dyeing cloth blue with woad or indigo.

Picasso the blue room
Picasso, The Blue Room, 1901

van gogh starry night
Vincent van Gogh, Starry Night, 1889

Short History of Blue Pigments

The first blue pigment was azurite, a natural mineral. Soon thereafter, Egyptians manufactured Egyptian blue, which quickly spread throughout the ancient world. During the Middle Ages, the recipe for Egyptian blue was lost, so azurite and expensive ultramarine from Afghanistan were the only sources of blue available. In the 15th century, smalt, a finely ground blue glass, came into use for painting. The first pigment produced due to the advancement of modern chemistry was a blue, Prussian blue, which was soon followed by cobalt blue and cerulean blue.