In the early morning hours of February 25^th, 911 dispatchers for the Seattle Fire Alarm Center received multiple calls about a 2-story apartment building fire in the 3600 block of Woodland Park Ave. N., in the Fremont/Wallingford neutral zone.  Three engine units arrived to find visible flames and heavy smoke coming from the front-left side of the building’s first and second floors.   According to the SFD Fireline Blog:

“…firefighters evacuated the entire building and made entry into the second floor, however they confirmed the seat of the fire was directly below them. Additional crews made entry into a …

The words “wine country” bring to mind certain defining locations along the West Coast:  Napa Valley. Sonoma Valley. Willamette Valley. Yakima. Walla Walla. Wallingford.

Wait, what?

I am an avid—and only occasionally, concerning—wine drinker.  My house wines admittedly lean toward the boxed variety (please don’t judge). But when I heard that Wallyhood had a winery:  well, I had to find out more.

It’s true.  Wallingford (Tangletown, actually) has its own licensed winery:  Sound Goods.  But before you begin searching Google Earth for the rolling field of grape vines somehow hidden in the shadow of Green Lake—this is a winery that …

Here’s an update on a Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) project that the Urbanist and Wallyhood described last October.

The project, shown in greater detail below, would improve pedestrian safety and bicycle access along NE 45^th between Wallingford and the newish light rail station in the U District. When we last reported on this in the fall, SDOT had dropped the project from its plans for transit improvement along the corridor, citing concerns about traffic and transit impacts, as well as cost. This prompted a letter to the Seattle City Council (SCC) from the Urbanist, the Transit Riders Union, …

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any more depressing than Betty White not making it to her 100^th…then today (4 January) this happened to the Guild 45^th Theatre:

The end, or more accurately, the latest low point in a long and steady decline for the Guild 45^th since it closed “for renovation” in 2017, came unexpectedly for most of us in the neighborhood.  While it had sat dark, forlorn, and tagged for quite some time, there was no advance (public) notice of a pending demolition activity.  I was running errands and drove past this afternoon …

Situated just outside the eastern border of Wallingford on the “other” side of the freeway, Ladd & Lass Brewing is about to re-open in the space formerly occupied by Floating Bridge…and before that, the Rainbow Tavern.  New owners and husband-and-wife team Nick Ladd and Jessie Quan are doing a soft opening beginning on Wednesday, December 22^nd (that’s today!) and continuing through the holidays.  Their hours during the opening are here.  Wallyhood wishes them the best!…

I took advantage of a seemingly rare break in our recent nasty weather to get out to the southern border of the ‘hood.  That welcome excursion provided a few observations and insights—not enough to warrant individual articles, but this being a slow news weekend, I thought I would lump them into a rambling post for you.

Oil Spill on Lake Union

In my recent former life, I responded to oil spills for NOAA.  When I heard through the grapevine that there was one in my own back yard here in Wallingford, of course I had to go have …

Just in time for the darkest days of the year:  Historic Seattle is hosting a free holiday light experience at the Good Shepherd Center for the duration of December.  This is a partnership with Alliance Française and the Meridian School (two tenants in the building, which Historic Seattle owns).  Go get a little light therapy while we count down the days to the solstice and the new year!…