Central Park Poster and Awards

Look for this poster or a version of it in print and around Capitol Hill in the coming weeks! Counting the organizers behind the event, we currently have ten parks registered (profiles coming soon) and have lots of emails out trying to find more participants. If you're interested, let us know.


[image by morgan greenseth]

And if occupying the lot for a day isn't good enough, what about the chance to win a super-secret trophy AND $200 as the grand prize? Gifts donated by local businesses such as Gamma Ray Games, Spine and Crown, and Victrola (and more...) will be awarded to runner up parks around the city.

Park #5, Michael Smith of Castanes Architecture

Thanks to Michael Smith of Castanes Architects for submitting his registration form to be the fifth park in the Park(ing) Day central park. His firm is known for quality architecture ranging from hand-twisted iron fences (I live in this building), to high-visibility remodels, to beautiful stand-alone houses, and we're excited to see what Mike does with his park!

Park #4, Office Nomads

Office Nomads sent in their registration form last night, making them the fourth park confirmed for Park(ing) Day. If you've never been to their great co-working space, I suggest you check it out; the co-working park they're creating for Park(ing) Day will give you an idea of what their small business is all about. Already work in an office? Well, that's okay, because Sustainable Capitol Hill often meets there and is open to everyone.

Park #3, Capitol Hill Housing

Earlier today I received a completed registration form for our third Park(ing) Day park from Capitol Hill Housing. I probably don't need to explain what they do but I'll borrow a quote from their website just in case you haven't heard of them:

Capitol Hill Housing is an affordable housing provider that has been in existence for 33 years. We now own 42 buildings in Seattle concentrated mostly in the diverse and vibrant Capitol Hill neighborhood.

We are dedicated to providing clean and affordable apartments where individuals and families can comfortably exist in an increasingly cost prohibitive urban environment.

I'm very glad to have them as participants in our central park!

The Parking Lots Were Alive!

At 15th and Pine, Gert's made its first showing, a few months after I first heard the lot owners were interested in street food vendors.



Unfortunately, this spot is a bit off the beaten path but I was happy to see some folks stopping in. I also understand that Marination Mobile had considered setting up on this lot but decided against it, in part because of its location. Perhaps Gert's reputation for excellent barbeque will be enough to get people to walk a little further than usual?

Next up is Cap to the Hill's 500 E Pine Party. I snapped the quick photo below but you can see some better ones by Matt Hickey on Line Out (as well as some commentary about the actual event).


And speaking of the actual event, I went down but the line was crazy so I just took a few photos over the fence. The projected photo of the old block was great:


And the inconveniently long line that turned at least five people, including myself, away.


The turnout inside Havana looked great; lots of people, some of them dancing. The part outside that was supposed to be the old block was a little less active but it probably livened up after I left: the line was still long and people were hopping the fence to get in.

Unfortunately, the real 500 block of E Pine still looked like this earlier today:

Second Park Confirmed

Just received another registration form from a group of three landscape architects from Portland -- Lisa Town, Jason King, and Brett Milligan -- who are joining our Park(ing) Day event. Three professional designers in one park promises to result in an interesting installation. Welcome!

First Park Confirmed

SVR Design, a local integrated design service that specializes in civil engineering, landscape architecture, planning, and environmental restoration, is the first group to return their Park(ing) Day Application. We are happy to have representatives from a firm with a reputation for commitment to innovation and sustainability!

Park(ing) Day Central Park Registration!

Click the links below to download forms for registering your park.

Registration Form
Map of Site (you should check this out whether or not you're participating)
Ten Easy Park Ideas

Official Park(ing) Day Posters and Hillebrity Judges

Or, if you prefer, PDF versions of are posted here. A really good place to post a few (read, a ton) of these would probably be 11th and Pine.


View Larger Map

The deadline to sign up for a space on the street is this coming Thursday, August 20th. Email Elaine [at] feetfirst [dot] info to sign up. As always, more parks are welcome on the lot, just email and let us know you want a space. We have fifteen parks confirmed so it should be a good time.

We would also like to announce that Justin of the CHS Blog and Jen Graves of the Stranger are our first two judges for the best park. More details on the judges, prizes, etc. as they develop.

Skip Conversions

Some great temporary installation photos from the UK can be found here.

Arbitrary Art Grant Photos

A few photos for your viewing pleasure; I think it's pretty obvious how the winner was selected:

Artwork for Tonight

Below you can see a fine piece of art that I will be donning for the Arbitrary Art Grant at 6 pm on the lot. It is photo documentation of my desk after attempting to create a spectacular, original, and unique work using pennies, scrabble tiles, fabric, advertisements from an IKEA catalog and used car magazine from 7-11, and some engineering drawings on colored cardstock...a cacophony of materials that I could not arrange into anything coherent.

Instead, I took a digital photo of the mess, printed it out six times at Bartell's and affixed it to my cardboard and shoestring frame. Hope to see you all there.

I also encourage anyone with an interest in cityscapes to head to Grey Gallery for the opening of Rachel Maxi's exhibit, Lay of the Land.

Arbitrary Art Grant

The interwebs are abuzz about the arbitrary art grant proceedings on the lot this Thursday. Marination Mobile will be making its debut on the lot as well so the evening promises to be interesting. See you there.

Congrats Marination Mobile!

Congrats to Marination Mobile for negotiating a lease with Murray Franklyn, to park Big Blue on the lot Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and serve up tasty treats. PPL is happy and proud to have put them in touch with the right folks at Murray Franklyn!

Unfortunately, logistics (read, getting their vehicle on the lot) have delayed their debut until Thursday, 8/13. Bummer but it's worth the wait.

Follow them on twitter here.

Small Biz at Park(ing) Day/After Hours Park(ing)

Received word from Rebar, the creators of Park(ing) Day, that it's okay for small businesses to host parks in our central park, and to display their names (in a tasteful fashion, of course). The main restriction is that there may be no commercial activity (buying and selling, distributing coupons, etc.). So if you're a small biz and would like to participate, please get in touch.

So far, interested small businesses include:

Spine and Crown
Office Nomads
Madison Market (mobile park)
Wall of Sound
Gamma Ray Games
Blue Bottle

Additionally, representatives from some architecture and design firms will be setting up parks. I'll refrain from posting their names at present because I am unclear as to whether the firms themselves are sponsoring the parks, or if the employees are participating separately.

So, if your a small biz and you consider any of the aforementioned businesses your peers, you're welcome to join the roster. If you're an architecture or design group interested in participating, rest assured that you will not be the only one (there are three at present). And of course, community groups and neighbors are also invited.

Already planning a Capitol Hill park, on the street somewhere? Great! Wonderful! Please proceed as planned! We would love to have you on the lot, of course, but since the backbone of Park(ing) Day is parks on the street, we do not want to pull anyone out of such spaces.

Also, per city rules, all parks on streets must close down at 3 pm; we are inviting all participants to come and join central park at this time because we feel this is a bit early. More details to come.

CH /IAS

How would you like to see "The Passage" on Capitol Hill?


(Photo borrowed from hugeasscity)

I recently spoke with the team behind B /IAS and this might be an option. Of course, organizing such a space would be a huge endeavor, and one that I'm not able to undertake on my own (in case you didn't know: I'm unemployed and have been since before I started this blog; I'm starting a PhD program at UW in the fall and will therefore have less time). Evidently the city of Seattle is very interested in such a project, and the folks behind B /IAS have set a precedent, received international praise their accomplishment, and are willing to serve as guides for a Capitol Hill incarnation.

Big Money for Park(ing) Day

Big thanks to Web Crowell and Unpaving Paradise -- a division of the Capitol Hill Community Council -- for helping us win a $750 smART ventures grant from the Seattle Arts Commission. With this money, we can afford insurance coverage for the Park(ing) Day Central Park and can pay for traditional advertising. We had hoped to us a portion of the grant as cash awards for the best parks but, per the grant guidelines, are not allowed. No matter though, we are very appreciative of the award and are seeking alternative ways to raise a little money for awards.

For anyone that is interested in participating in the event, whether on the People's Parking Lot or elsewhere, take note that an informational meeting is scheduled for next week:

Thursday, 8/6.
6:30 to 7:30 PM at the Officer's Club in the Armory at Lake Union Park,
860 Terry Ave N
Second Floor

From the informational email:

We will discuss how to get involved with PARKing Day, how to set up
your spot, including information on permits, rules and how to decorate
your park.

If you are interested in coming along then please drop me an email to
confirm. (elaine@feetfirst.info)

I will also be in attendance to share our plan for the central park and connection to other Capitol Hill parks. As of now, eight parks are confirmed for our space and we hope for many more. If you'd like to set up on the site, please send an email and let us know. Also, if you are an acoustic or self-powered musician, and are interested in performing, get in touch.