The big project to rehabilitate the Leschi boat marina is now in its final weeks, as contractors finish up work on rebuilding the breakwater for the north marina.

According to Gary Gibbons, a project manager in the Seattle Parks Department, the work had to take a hiatus during the summer months to comply with a state-mandated “fish window” which limits in-water construction during the salmon migration season. That window ended in September, and since then crews have been working to complete the project.

If all goes according to plan, the work should be finished up within the next few weeks.

The $2,000,000 project rebuilt the breakwaters for both the north and south marinas, created a new walkway in the north marina, repaired floating docks, and added new fire suppression systems. Gibbons says that “overall the project has gone rather well.”

Commenters on our story earlier in the year noted the poor condition of the marina, with one saying the city “should have been paying me for helping to hold the dock together with my boat!”

This is so cool. CDNews reader Richard G. saw our earlier story on the old photos of the northwest corner of 23rd & Cherry, and sent us some fantastic additional details and photos:

Love your posts with the historical photos!  Here are some additional photos you might want to post.  My wife’s great-grandfather, Hyman (Chaim) Handlin had a grocery/butcher shop, Handlin’s Grocery & Market, in the middle storefront on 23rd during the 30’s and 40’s.  Eventually, his son-in-law bought him out and moved the store to 34th and Union, where Domestic Furniture is now. 

Thanks Richard!

This morning we checked out the historical view of the southeast corner of 23rd & Cherry. Here’s the view across the street on the northwest corner, showing a building that’s still in place, if heavily altered, with historic 1937 businesses that include the East Cherry Street Tavern, Alaska Fuel company (selling coal), and what appears to be a vacant storefront further north on 23rd:

By 1954 the building had lost a lot of charm, with some of the upper windows filled in. But the tavern is still there, and a grocery store offering meat had taken up shop in the storefront to the north:

The tavern had a long life, but changed its name some time in the following ten years. Here’s a poorer quality photo from 1965, showing the Blue Bird Tavern and its offering of shuffleboard excitement, located in a more thoroughly modernized version of the same building:

And here’s the modern view, which is just a paint job, and awning, and a few trees different that 1965 (and substituting a barber shop for the tavern):

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Although the King County property records site is great for old photos of existing buildings, it sadly doesn’t include photos for buildings that once existed on a property but have since been torn down. So last week we took an afternoon trip over to talk with the helpful folks at the Washington State Archives in Bellevue, and did some research on the blocks around 23rd & Cherry.

Here’s the southeast corner of that intersection, the current home of the Garfield Community Center. This photo from 1937 appears to prove the adage that every corner in the neighborhood used to have at least one gas station, which in this case is a Gilmore Red Lion service station where you can get a flat tire fixed for 40 cents. The view is looking east across 23rd:

This second view in 1958 takes away a lot of charm and all of the gas station’s old neighboring buildings, looking south across Cherry with Garfield in the far background:

Here’s the current view via Google Maps:

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Last month a friend was raving about a jazz concert she caught at the Northwest African American Museum. It was part of the museum’s Jazzin’ on 15 series that features local musicians on the 15th of every month.

Now it’s once again the 15th, and tonight’s band is Michael Powers. Your $15 ticket also gets you entrance into the museum’s After Hours: The Joint is Jumpin’ exhibit, which chronicles the incredible history of Jazz in the Central District.

The event runs from 6pm to 8pm tonight (Friday), and reservations are recommended by calling 206-518-5237. 

Our friends at the BottleNeck (a CDNews sponsor) have posted an event on today’s calendar that sounds porktastically tasty. They’re starting up with a special small batch of Smoky Bacon Ale from the local Odin Brewing Company.

And their pairing that with Bacon Pop Pecorino, described as bacon fat stove-popped popcorn, further smothered in bacon and cheese. 

Any way I could get that for breakfast?

Here’s today’s exciting report from Seattle’s East Precinct.

Note: The scanner will be taking a bit of an extended break after today while we catch up on some other things

We stopped by 29th & Yesler today to see how the Brenton Memorial was shaping up after last Saturday’s big community work party.

The planting strip is fully excavated, and this week workers have made progress in building the border of the memorial using stone pavers. That work is scheduled to be finished in the next few days, and then next week a local memorial company will donate time and materials to build the stone badge that is the key feature of the design.

The memorial is a grassroots community project in remembrance of Officer Tim Brenton, who was murdered at 29th & Yesler on October 31st of last year.

The next opportunity for volunteers will be on Saturday October 23rd, where help will be needed to put the finishing touches on memorial before it’s dedication at the end of the month. Stay tuned for more details on that soon.

Your report from the sunny streets of Seattle’s East Precinct:

The long-vacant stretch of land along Jackson Street between 20th & 21st may be finally on track to see some development. 

Next week the city will be hosting a design review for a proposed low-income housing development there. Details are scarce at this stage, but we do know that they’re looking at a 5 story building of apartments for seniors.

Last year we reported on a tip that the proposed building would include 55 studios and would include space for homeless and mentally ill residents.

Previous permits filed by Pacific Housing NW in 2007 called for a five-story building with 100 residential units, 10 live/work units, and 1,500 square feet of commercial space.

The design review meeting is scheduled for next Wednesday October 20th at 6:30pm, at the Seattle U Alumni & Admissions building at 12th & Marion.