My Ballard

A little after 2 a.m., a house pulled out of its parking spot on Palatine Ave. in Fremont and headed to its new home ten blocks away. Literally.

As you might imagine, it was a slow, painstaking process. The truck moved only a couple miles per hour, and it stopped every few feet as crews checked the house, surrounding trees and overhanging wires from every angle.

It moved down 36th St. and up Phinney Ave. to its new home at 4020 Evanston.

While it was scheduled to arrive at 7 a.m., crews began backing the house into the lot at 11 a.m. Lots more coverage and photos on Fremont Universe.

We’ve received many emails over the last few months from our Fremont readers about expanding to their neighborhood. So we’ve launched FremontUniverse.com for the Center of the Universe. We’ll continue to post the occasional Fremont story on My Ballard, but everything else will go on Fremont Universe. And if you see something happening in Fremont, please drop us a line at tips@fremontuniverse.com. If you’re curious, by the way, this is our last new blog for the immediate future.

By the way, we’ll be on a City Club panel this Thursday evening with a few other neighborhood bloggers. More info here.

If you look in the windows of what used to be Olivine along Ballard Ave., you’ll see bare floors and empty walls.

The popular boutique in Old Ballard closed late last month. The owner moved to Fremont and just opened a new shop called Show Pony on 36th St.

And now a Fremont boutique is planning to move into Olivine’s empty space. Horseshoe is a women’s boutique on 35th St. (photo above) that’s busting at the seams. When it’s owner, Jill Renae Anderson, heard that Olivine was closing, she jumped at the chance to move into the larger space. She plans to close the Fremont shop at the end of the month and open in Ballard in October.

Update: While Show Pony appeared to be open when we went by on Labor Day, the website and voicemail both say the boutique will open on the 13th.

To curb drug use, drug dealings and other crime in alleys, Mayor Greg Nickels is proposing a dumpster-free downtown. Starting in the spring, the downtown area may test a program that will replace trash bins with colored plastic bags for recycling and waste. The plan is to then expand to other neighborhoods such as Fremont. Businesses have concerns that range from cost ($5 a bag) to the mess caused from rodents and birds. Police, on the other hand, tell the Seattle Times that it makes the alleys safer, “from a public perspective, it looks safer. They can see what they’re walking into.” Lt. James M. Fitzgerald says.

A dumpster and assorted trash across from the Rocket.

Up until now, Starbucks was silently testing the Clover in three Seattle stores. Now, the Ballard-made specialty coffee machine is available in ten local Starbucks stores — but not in Ballard, Fremont, Phinney Ridge or Greenwood. (The closest are in Green Lake and Queen Anne.) If you want Clover coffee in Ballard, Aster on 24th near Market St. remains your only choice.

Fremont Oktoberfest is quickly approaching (it’s in September, not October, you know), and advance tickets have gone on sale. This year, there are a few new twists to Fremont’s annual event including the Miss Buxom contest (”all contestants must be dressed up in funky, fun German attire”) and the BMX keg jump. Sounds like a party. As always, there’s a full line-up of bands, a comedy show, the Brew HA-HA 5K Run and Walk and lots and lots of microbrews. Mark your calendar for September 19-21st, and get tickets here.

That former bed-and-breakfast on Palatine in Fremont will be saved from demolition crews and moved to a new lot.

Musician Steven Flynn scrambled to secure the financing and permits to move the home 10 blocks away. He’s tearing down his small, flimsy home on the lot to make room for the new arrival. The developers were scheduled to demolish the home a week and a half ago, but they cooperated with Flynn to make it happen. The move will take place 2 a.m. on September 7th.

As of 2:30 a.m.the results of the “top two” primary are: John Burbank, 42.21%, Reuven Carlyle, 41.53% and Leslie Bloss, 16.26%. As expected, Burbank and Carlyle are neck-and-neck, and the two Democrats will proceed to the general election where they’ll face off for the 36th district legislative seat. Get ready for a lot more signs around the neighborhood.

Nana’s Soup House, a popular soup and sandwich joint in the U-District is packing up and moving to Fremont. The gal who answered the phone told us that the owner is closing the current location the end of August and hopes to open in Fremont by the middle of September. The new space is located just across the street from Taco Guaymas.

After the Seattle DOT conducted a couple of parking studies in Fremont, they confirmed what many of us already know - there’s never any parking in Fremont. The two studies, done in 2005 and 2008, found that the majority of blocks were more than 75% full most of the day. Now the city wants to change the parking structure in the neighborhood. They’re proposing 2-hour paid parking in the core of the business district, 10-hour parking on the outskirts and residential parking zones. A map of the proposed changes is here. Whether you’re for the changes or against them, the city wants to hear from you by October 3. Call or email project manager Stephanie Parkins at (206) 684-8186 or stephanie.parkins@seattle.gov. (Thanks Theresa for the tip!)

Hundreds of Patches Pals flocked to Fremont today for the unveiling of the J.P. Patches statue, “Late for the Interurban.”

There were lots of people who grew up in the Seattle area who loved watching JP Patches during the show’s run on KIRO from 1958 to 1981.

Governor Gregoire, Congressman Jim McDermott, King County Executive Ron Sims were among the politicians on hand for the ceremony.

The crowd was filled with Patches Pals who wore red noses to honor JP (chris Wedes) and Gertrude (Bob Newman).

The statue was designed by a local artist Kevin Pettelle. And… here it is…

JP and Gertrude were mobbed by the crowd as they unveiled the statue while the news media and the rest of us tried to get a photo of the pair. The permanent statue is located just east of the Waiting for the Interurban statue on 34th Ave in Fremont and is a collection site for donations to Children’s Hospital.


Hours after the ceremony crowds were still milling around and taking pictures at the statue.

A week ago, workers severely trimmed a weeping poplar tree in Fremont, days after the tree received “Heritage Tree” status from the city of Seattle.

The tree lives on the border of two properties. One side is owned by Patricia Halsell, who nominated the tree for Heritage status. The other by business owner Dan Cawdrey, who ordered workers to cut down the massive branches on his side of the property because he said he was worried someone would get “hurt.” The branches hung over a pay parking lot.

This weekend, a memorial of candles, flowers and messages is growing around the base of the tree. We spoke to Halsell and another neighbor, who said Cawdrey worked quickly to trim the tree after he learned it was nominated.

For his part, Cawdrey told the PI that he loves trees and was sorry, but “let’s move on… the tree is still here.” Perhaps not for long. The Seattle city arborist says it may not survive the drastic trimming.