It’s a gray, cloudy November day in the East Precinct of Seattle.  Here’s the scoop:

Neighbors – be aware of your surroundings and especially so in the more “high profile” intersections of the hood. Have a safe Thanksgiving weekend all. chi-town

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/389292_shootings25.html

For folks interested in learning more about the Central District, one local expert is Dr. Quintard Taylor, a historian at the University of Washington.

Dr. Taylor has created an impressive on-line encyclopedia of African-American history in the west, available at Blackpast.org.  Several prominent CD landmarks are listed among other places at  >http://www.blackpast.org/?q=view/vignettesWEST_places 

Here’s one of the entries, about our YMCA.

Enjoy!

Meredith Mathews East Madison YMCA

This Seattle branch of the YMCA is located at 23rd Avenue and East Madison Street. The site was formerly used as a tennis club by members of the community. The property was owned by the Colman family, long-time supporters of the YMCA. Members of the black community persuaded the owners to deed the property to the YMCA and in 1936 the modest building and grounds became a new branch of the Seattle YMCAs.

During the World War II years the East Madison YMCA became an Armed Services YMCA for black servicemen and catered largely to them. Under the leadership of John Copeland in the mid 1940s, the Y reached out to the schools and with increased youth programs began to attract more and more young people. The programs and facility grew even more under the leadership of Meredith Mathews.

In 1965 a sturdy, modern structure, designed by black architect Leon Bridges, was built to include a gymnasium, swimming pool, activity rooms and offices.
It was remodeled and enlarged in 1991.

In December 1993, the YMCA of Greater Seattle Board of Directors named the branch the Meredith Mathews East Madison Branch of the YMCA in recognition of Mr. Mathews’ outstanding contribution to the YMCA and to the Seattle community. This is the first YMCA facility of Greater Seattle to be named for an individual.

Sources:
Mary T. Henry, Tribute: Seattle Public Places Named for Black People (Seattle: Statice Press, 1997).

Contributor(s):
Henry, Mary
Independent Historian

It’s Monday before Thanksgiving in Seattle’s East Precinct.  Will we see any turkey theiving?  A break in the traditional holiday truce between Pilgrims and Indians?  Stay tuned….

Curbside In The CD: I pass this car every day but hesitated photographing because I did not want to upset the proud owner. In the year or so I’ve lived in the CD, I have not seen this ship of the streets move. The tabs are current and the car looks to be in excellent condition. So either the owner has lost the desire to drive it or it may need some simple tune-uppy items to get it rolling again. How many of you have sheepishly walked up to the home of this car’s owner and made an offer?

What we have here is a 1969 (maybe 1970) Cadillac Sedan de Ville. I don’t need to look into the crystal ball of Wikipedia to sprinkle some data in this article because I once owned a 1969 de Ville! It came with a 472 cubic inch motor that generated nearly 400 horsepower. That’s 7.7 liters Central Districtonians; forget about those Chrysler 300Ms with 22 inch rims and Buick Regals because nothing on the road is this awesome. This car does not have a B-pillar either, so you had a wide open space with all the windows rolled down. I drove mine very tenderly because I did not want to break anything. This soft driving returned fuel mileage of 12 to 14 mpg. Not too bad for a car that has the equivalent of 4 Toyota Corolla motors.

This de Ville has a parking pass to Andrews Air Force base in Maryland. That is where the Government keeps Air Force One. Maybe this car was driven by the highest ranking general of all time or the pilot of the plane that flew Nixon to China.

We try to report every bit of news we can find in the neighborhood – good and bad. I know some of you worry that our crime reporting will give the neighborhood a bad name vs. places with less coverage.   So consider this a friendly reminder that there’s plenty of violence to go around, and only a small part of it happens on our streets:

John emailed to say he was listening to his scanner tonight and heard about this in the South precinct:

About 7:39 SFD dispatch to 8630 Rainier Ave S, Assault w weapon/14 per.  It appears to be the minimart. Reports on the scene, 2 victims shot, one shot in the forearm, one in the upper thigh.  Both male teens.  Seems like lots of police headed that way.  Traffic closed on Rainier from Cloverdale to Henderson.  Suspect description, Black Male, 20-30, 6’0″, slender build.  

I went back to our scanner recordings and heard the suspect described as a black male, 20-30, 6′ tall, slender build, in a black coat over a gray hoody, and with a dark hat.  He was last seen eastbound on foot on S. Cloverdale.

Update: More from the SPD blog:

On November 23 at approximately 7:37 P.M. officers responded to multiple calls of shots fired near the parking lot of an apartment building in the 8600 block of Rainier Avenue South. Officers arrived on scene and discovered two juvenile male gunshot victims. One victim was shot in the arm and the other victim was shot in the leg. Both victims were treated at the scene by SFD Medics and transported to an area hospital. The suspect fled the scene on foot and is described as a young black male, approximately six feet tall, slim build, and wearing a black coat over a gray hoodie. Homicide and Gang Unit Detectives responded to the scene and are actively investigating.

And via Capitol Hill Seattle, a man was shot dead in a bar last night on First Hill:

On November 23 at approximately 12:06 A.M. officers responded to a call of shots fired inside a nightclub in the 900 block of Madison Street. Officers arrived on scene and found one male victim with a fatal gunshot wound. The victim was apparently shot inside the club. Homicide, Gang, and CSI Detectives all responded to the scene to investigate. The suspect remains at large. Homicide Detectives are actively investigating.

And of course there was the big mall shoot-em-up down at Southcenter yesterday: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/389051_mallshooting23.ht

There is a common thread in many of these, and it is the same one that brought the death of Quincy Coleman here on Halloween.  We’ve got an escalating problem in the Seattle region with gang-involved kids that have access to guns and no qualms about killing their rivals over the smallest of issues. I doubt there will be any quick fix, but it seems like time to try everything we can.

Dear M.L. of Renton –

I was raking up leaves in my front yard today when I found the contents of your purse and/or wallet partially hidden under a rock. It includes your driver’s license, social security card, bank cards, Safeway Card, and various other retail discount cards. It’s all a little damp and dirty.

The operator at the police department said they were busy today and that it would be OK if I just mailed it to the address on your driver’s license.  I’ll drop it into the mailbox tomorrow.

Sorry you lost it, and I hope you can at least feel better that it’s not out there running free.

Sincerely, 

Scott

For the life of me, I don’t understand graffiti. Especially when some punks spray paint the sidewalk for cryin’ out loud. That terrific “art” now adorns part of the pavement out in front of our house. Anyone had any success or got any suggestions on how to get it off concrete? (Bonus if it’s not something heavy on chemicals.) Apprecish.

The building at 12th and E. Marion, for many years the site of Plasteel Frames, was acquired earlier this year by Seattle University which proposes to renovate and expand the building. The University plans the site to house the Office of Admissions and the Office of Alumni Relations.

On Monday, November 24, S.U. will present the site’s plans to the Citizens’ Advisory Committee (CAC) for the University’s Major Institution Master Plan (MIMP). All interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting, at 5:30 P.M. at the S. U. Facilities office at 1218 E. Cherry.

The project was presented at earlier CAC meetings where committee members were generally impressed by the building’s design. However committee members expressed the concern that, even though the renovated and expanded building would present a greatly improved appearance, the University did not propose to include any space for retail use. CAC members, and many in the neighborhood, are looking for uses on 12th Avenue that continue to increase the pedestrian vitality of the street both day and night.

In a recent letter to the CAC, Michael Kerns, the Associate Vice President for Facilities Administration stated that the “University did review the program to determine if private retail use would be compatible for the programs identified for the facility. Due to the size of the project and nature of the programs, it does not appear that private retail use is a good fit for this facility.”

S.U. argues that the building will be an attractive and lively place on the street, serving as the “primary orientation and welcoming site for prospective students, returning alumni, and members of the greater S.U. community.” … “Space will also be provided for a new museum and the relocation of the Kinsey Art Gallery from an interior building on campus. The venue promises to be an attractive location for university and community meetings, receptions and events.”

The project’s scope will expand the existing 8,500 squre-foot building to a toal size of 11,300 square feet. The surface parking lot and the 12th Avenue curb cut will be eliminated.

All meetings of the CAC are open to the public. To request to receive notices and copies of the agenda of future meetings send an e-mail to Steve Sheppard of the Department of Neighborhoods at [email protected].

6:30 PM at Meany Middle School Library. I will attend. Anyone is welcome to join!

1265 Republican Street. The old Service Laundry Building. It is a Historic Landmark: http://web1.seattle.gov/dpd/historicalsite/QueryResult.aspx?

Design Review Early Design Guidance application proposing a residential and retail building with accessory parking. Historic Landmark building to remain.

I do not have plans for this project as of yet. I will update if I get them. Here is a link to the permit: http://web1.seattle.gov/DPD/permitstatus/Project.aspx?id=300

Does anyone have any comments or suggestions as to how this building could/should be acknowledged in its conversion process?