The city is looking for information about a mysterious memorial plaque that’s on the bench outside Tully’s on the corner of NW Market St and 22nd Ave NW. The business wants the bench removed but no one seems to know where the plaque on the bench came from.
A sign that was taped on the bench by the Seattle Department of Transportation reads:
“This memorial plaque was placed without the knowledge of the city. The adjacent business is concerned about misuse of the bench and asked for it to be removed. SDOT is seeking information on the origin of the plaque prior to removing or relocating the bench. Please contact SDOT at (206) 684-8501 or SDOTpermits@seattle.gov”
The memorial plaque is for Edwin K. Davis 3-9-28 to 9-3-88. Marybeth Turner from SDOT tells us, “The bench was installed in 1989 with a permit approved by the Board of Public Works, but we don’t have a record of the memorial plaque. At this point we are looking for information about the plaque, and have not yet made a decision about the bench.”
Updated: Tully’s returned our call. We spoke with Scott Earle, the VP of Marketing, who tells us that the bench was originally placed about 12 to 15 feet from the door and somewhere along the line it was moved within inches of their front door and bolted down. He says that people sit and smoke on the bench all day, breaking the smoking ordinance in the city. “As you can imagine, we get a lot of people complaining,” Earle says, “It’s as if people are smoking inside the store.”
Earle tells us that Tully’s has asked the city to move the bench to either its original location or to an other location. Before doing so, the city is trying to track down information on the origin of the memorial.