Eastlake neighbors gathered at the newly renovated Roanoke Park (E. Roanoke and Fairview E.) on Saturday, March 31, to put in new plants.

Despite cold and rain, a group of about two dozen volunteers gathered to do the planting. Amanda Bailey, a local landscape designer, did the planting design for the park, which was renovated by the city. Carsten Stinn, a local resident and project manager at Perkins+Will, spearheaded the project. Perkins+Will allowed Stinn and others to work on the project as part of the firm's committment to the community.

The project was sponsored by the Eastlake Social Club with the support of the Eastlake Community Council, the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department and the Seattle Department of Transportation. Funding for the $50,000 project is coming from the city.

A second piece of Roanoke Park, which faces Mallard Cove, remains to be renovated. Funding for that project isn't yet available.

Thanks to Carsten Stinn for providing the photos.

Eastlake businesses were open this morning and traffic was moving on Eastlake Ave. despite the snow. A good two to three inches of snow had fallen by lunch time.

It looks like most businesses are open although it's always a good idea to call ahead to check. I noted that Louisa's Cafe Bakery, Voxx Coffee, the 14 Carrot Cafe and Starbucks were open, as were numerous other stores on Eastlake Avenue E. Ed Wyse Beauty Supplies was open but just closed due to lack of customers.

Little Water Cantina says they're open.

If your business is open, add it to the comment list below.

Traffic was moving on Eastlake (check out our video) and buses were appearing, although I'm not sure if they're on schedule or not. Metro has noted that all buses will remain on snow routes today. There have been some route cancellations but none that affect Eastlake.

Side streets are still slick and tricky. Try to avoid driving if you can. The Lynn Street hill was bedeviling drivers earlier this morning so you might want to try to avoid it.

There won't be any garbage, yard waste or recycling pickups today. 

What's it like in your part of the neighborhood? Share what you're up to in the comments or note where there are problems. 

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Eastlake's neighborhood fire station on E. Roanoke was busier than usual as area residents toured the facility Saturday during Neighbor Appreciation Day.

Firefighter Yonsuck Cho said there had been more visitors than usual for the event. He offered us a tour of the facility.

Sixteen firefighters are stationed at Fire Station No. 22, Cho explained. They work in teams of four, living at the station for 24 hours at a time. Fire Station 22's service area is roughly Roy Street North, east to 24th E. and then down into Eastlake. In case of a major fire, however, the station's crew might be deployed anywhere in the city but if you live in Eastlake and call in a fire, chances are good that it's firefighters from Station 22 who will be responding.

The station has one engine (capable of pumping water to fight fires) and a command vehicle that can be set up as a headquarters at major events.

The station is fairly compact. There's a watch office where on-duty firefighters monitor emergency channels and receive orders. Cho says the name "watch office" goes back to the days when firefighters would actually spend much of their time looking over the city for smoke that meant a fire needed their attention.

The station also includes an office for the commander, a small kitchen and dining area, an exercise room in the tiny basement, a tower to dry hoses out in, sleeping quarters and a lounge area with a TV. Cho noted that the firefighters used their own money to buy a new TV and that they also pay for personal internet access.

Neighbor Appreciation Day comes every February and all of the city's fire stations are open during the event.

Tour Fire Station 22 at 901 E. Roanoke from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 12., as part of the Neighbor Appreciation Day celebration sponsored by the city's Department of Neighborhoods.

The Department of Neighborhoods website says this is "the day when we reach out, create new bonds, and express thanks to those who live or work around us." Stop by and meet the fire crews who keep Eastlake safe.

As we noted in a post about last year's event:

Photos of Fire Station 22, both now and in 1916 when it was located at 11th N. and E. Howe, can be seen on the SFD's Web site.

MOHAI has a terrific photo of Fire Station 22 taken around 1910. MOHAI says the original station housed firemen and a horse-drawn hose wagon. A motor pumper replaced the horses in 1924. The location on top of Capitol Hill was an advantage, MOHAI says, because it made it easier for the horses to race downhill to a fire.

The station in the MOHAI photo was replaced with the new station on Roanoke in the 1960s.

The snow fell and then stopped and then fell again on Eastlake today. Here are a few photos taken during a short and very cold walk about the neighborhood in mid-afternoon.

Historian and former Eastlake resident Paul Dorpat will be speaking and showing photos on Eastlake's history at a free public meeting 6:30-9 p.m. this coming Wednesday, April 28, at the Tyee Yacht Club, 3229 Fairview Ave. E.

Refreshments will be served by Ravishing Radish Catering ($5 donation suggested).

Dorpat has published numerous books on Seattle's history. He also writes the popular "Now and Then" column in the Sunday Seattle Times where he compares historic photos with contemporary views of the same scene, unearthing historical nuggets in the process.

Dorpat will offer his unique views on Eastlake's history and will share photos from his own collection. The Eastlake Community Council, the event sponsor, will be showing some of their historic images. Those attending are encouraged to bring their own photos or clippings to share. (The ECC welcomes donations or loans to its archive of historic photos or documents.)

Paul Dorpat has a blog (doesn't everyone?). You'll find blog posts there and links to his... (more)

I discovered the lead photo on this post while searching through Google one night.

It shows a postcard view of Lake Union and points beyond taken from the Eastlake neighborhood. There's no date on the card but VintageSeattle.org, the source of the image, estimates it to be at least 100 years old (click here to see the photo on Vintage Seattle's site).

Joe Mabel, who graciously allowed me to use one of his photos last week, posted this image to Wikipedia Commons and added some notes: You can see Queen Anne on the left, Fremont roughly in the center of the photo and the future Gas Works Park along the lake off to the right. Far off in the distance is Ballard, which looks to be mostly denuded of trees.

Vintage Seattle says the card was published by Lowman & Hanford and printed in Germany. And the site shows you what was written on the back.

Vintage Seattle also had a photo of the same view in 1912, taken by Webster & Stevens and published in The Argus. In this image you can see the old Stone... (more)

UPDATE: This post has been changed since it was first published. A photo of Fire Station 22 has been added as well as a link to a historic photo of the station taken around 1910.

Seattle will be marking the 16th Annual Neighbor Appreciation Day on Saturday.

The event is "a special day to reach out to neighbors and express thanks to all who help make your neighborhood a great place," according to a press release from the city.

As part of the event, fire stations all over the city will be open to the public from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fire Station 22, 901 E. Roanoke, serves Eastlake. Stop by and meet the fire crews who keep Eastlake safe.

Photos of Fire Station 22, both now and in 1916 when it was located at 11th N. and E. Howe, can be seen on the SFD's Web site.

MOHAI has a terrific photo of Fire Station 22 taken around 1910. MOHAI says the original station housed firemen and a horse-drawn hose wagon. A motor pumper replaced the horses in 1924. The location on top of Capitol Hill was an advantage, MOHAI says, because it made it easier for the horses to race downhill to a fire.

The station in the MOHAI photo was replaced with the new station on Roanoke in the 1960s.

The Central District news has an excellent photo gallery online with pictures of the memorial procession for slain Seattle Police Officer Timothy Brenton. Click here to see the photos.

Scott from Central District News is live blogging the memorial service, which begins in just a few minutes.

Happy Halloween!

How are you celebrating? Any special events going on in the neighborhood? Post in the comments so everyone can see what's up.

If you take photos of Halloween events you can share them by uploading them to Eastlake Ave. (look for the "upload photos" under the "post" link above ... I'll connect them to this post later) or, if you're on Flickr, by joining our Flickr Group (it's free) and posting them there.

If you have problems uploading, let me know: curtmilton (at) comcast.net.

Boo!

Eastlake houseboats in 1962.
(Photo courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives)

How did I miss this one? There's an Eastlake group on Flickr . Lots of cool photos there from all over our neighborhood.

There are many contemporary images and also some from the Seattle Municipal Archives , including the image of houseboats at Fairview and Newton from 1962 that I've placed here.

I just joined and will be posting some neighborhood photos there.

What do you like taking pictures of in Eastlake? Do you post them on Flickr or somewhere else? Share you online images with us!

Went to opening day of the new Link Light rail on Saturday.  It's a nice smooth ride, and a fun time was had by all.  Lots of train excitement, live music, clowns and jugglers for the kiddos to entertain them in line.  For comparison, I also attended the opening day of Dallas' DART rail in the late 1990s, and I can say that Sound Transit did a much, much better job of crowd management.  In Dallas, we were packed on like sardines that first day, and you wondered if it was safe.   Here, they carefully controlled how many people got on to the platform at a time.

I took some pics of the festivities.  Hope you enjoy.  I predict lots of new interest in neighborhoods like Beacon Hill and Columbia City, as they'll be super convenient to downtown now.   My final shots are on the way back to Eastlake.  It was a rail day -- Streetcar to LInk and back. Here's the link to Flickr if you want full screen http://tinyurl.com/mpb49z

We ran into Curt and Tim yesterday at the Bouledrome.  Turns out all 3 of us shutterbugs had our cameras at the ready.  I think we have a photo club in the making.  It's been a lovely summer in Eastlake.  Hope you enjoy the pics.  If the full-screen feature isn't working, you can get them bigger at  http://tinyurl.com/lgzy3m

We've lived in Eastlake for 8 years and have always enjoyed taking walks and exploring the neighborhood (especially this time of year when the days are so long).  Sometimes I like to bring a camera along.  I took these one evening a couple of weeks ago.

The City saw fit to turn me loose without pay on Friday, part of this year's budget-cutting exercise.  Since it was so nice out, I didn't mind at all.  Here's how I spent the afternoon in Eastlake. Hope you enjoy.