Mural removed from King’s Hardware

Posted by Geeky Swedes on August 8th, 2008

Back in May, this mural promoting Pabst Blue Ribbon beer appeared on the brick wall outside King’s Hardware. The Ballard Ave. Landmark District Board, which was asked retroactively for permission, wasn’t very happy about it.

We just noticed that it’s now been removed.

Tags: Ballard Facebook

Angelatini

I know that it's been adopted by the rockabilly culture and all, but it tastes like crap. Bye bye giant Pabst ad!

MonkeyPilot

Ha! PBR. Adopted by hipsters as the retro beer of choice, it's entirely a brand, not a brewery. This great article in the NYTimes magazine describes its success with the "in" crowd.

What I find especially funny is that Pabst no longer brews beer. It's strictly marketing and sales.

boardbrown

Blah Blah Blah

It was a lame mural anyway...and that's coming from a PBR drinker.

Steph

Pabst paid King's Hardware to paint an ad on the side of their building in a historic district.

If they won't follow the rules of the Landmark District Board, are they following the rules of King County's Public Health department? You decide:

Facility Details
Business Name KINGS HARDWARE
Address 5225 BALLARD AV NW
SEATTLE, WA 98107
Phone 206-850-0998

Inspection Type

Date

Score
.
Routine Inspection/Field Review

05/07/2008

10
-Toxic substances improperly identified, stored and used
.
Routine Inspection/Field Review

01/23/2008

25
-Water, drinking ice not made from an approved source
-Improper cold holding temperatures (>45° F)
.
Routine Inspection/Field Review

10/04/2007

17
-Improper cold holding temperatures (>45° F)
-Wiping cloths improperly used, stored
-Permit not posted; mobile vehicle name not easily visible
.
Consultation/Education - Field

06/14/2007

N/A
.
Routine Inspection/Field Review

02/08/2007

5
-Wiping cloths improperly used, stored
.

Here's the source: http://www.decadeonline.com/main.phtml?agency=skc

Deepie

It's not a painting, it's an advertisement. The reason Ballard Avenue looks the way it does, instead of like Aurora, is there is no advertising on the sides of the historic brick buildings, among other things. Keeping an historic district intact requires lots of rules, and I'm thankful we have the board to enforce them, since obviously some business owners are going to try to see what they can get away with.

Evan

I completely agree that it comes with the territory- just seems a bit harsh.

pioggia

Businesses who choose to open within Historic Landmark Districts need to accept that the price of that location is that you have to ask first. I doubt there would have been any problem if they hadn't decided they didn't need to follow the rules.

Evan

This is a good example of how historical districts sometimes stifle the character and vibrancy of older areas by preventing them from changing at all.

I recognize that they need to strictly limit what is built/painted - but they should also allow innovation within those limits.

The impression I get is that they were primary upset about the way the painting was completed (without permission).