GROWING VINE STREET & THE CISTERN STEPS
For information contact: Myke Woodwell, 441-7702
Belltown Cottage Diary I
by Glenn MacGilvra
courtesy of the Belltown Paper, Nov. 2002
It has been years and years and years, since the Cottage Park Project began, or to be more precise 1998, and so it might seem to be a little late to start its diary now. But early in November, the construction Porta-Potty showed up on the ragged dirty lot near Elliott and Vine, and ever since workmen have, at last, finally, begun working, so it seems to be as good a time as any and a beginning comes somewhere.
For those who walked in late, (the rest can skip ahead) the Belltown Cottages are three small (420 square feet each) houses that have been standing at 2512 Elliott since 1916. They were once a part of a group of 11 cottages on the two lots, jammed together. Families lived there, working people, children, and, per the 1920 census, in one cottage, 6 Croatian fishermen. Five cottages were torn down in the 50's to become a vacant lot and later the Belltown P-Patch. Three others were torn down at about the same time by Skyway Luggage Company, which now owned the property. Three were left standing for reasons known only to Skip Kotkins Sr., now deceased, former owner of Skyway. And all this time, in fact right up to 1997, people lived in those little houses, watching the new Belltown rise around them. After the Belltown P-Patch started in 1995 (it's own story, but I wasn't around to see it happen), the cottage property stayed in private ownership until purchased by the city in 1998, to expand open space and buffer the P-Patch from future development. The years since 1998 consisted of arguments and agonizing over what to do with the cottages (keep them it was decided), finding funds, and a whole frustrating year devoted to getting permits.
The plan at this point is to make two of the cottages inhabitable again, and get writers or other artists to live in them, leaving the third for community activities. The backyard is to be a neighborhood park. I helped devise the plan and have been part of the process noted above, along with Myke Woodwell, Robin Miwa, Carolyn Geise, and many others. And so I thought it'd be a good idea to let the rest of Belltown in on what's happening.
November 2002
Renovation at its beginning looks a lot like destruction. The first thing the contractors did was remove hazardous materials, which it was decided pretty much meant most of the interiors (possible lead, traces of asbestos). Great heaps of plaster and lath were tossed out into dumpsters, stripping the interiors down to studs, with fixtures saved for future use. For the first few days, I couldn't quite bear to look at the cottages. It was like watching a friend on an operating table while surgeons removed various internal organs, and rummaged amongst them. One can only pray that everything gets put back better and sewn up.
The first actual improvements entailed straightening out the foundations. There was a bit of a slope on some of the floors. (Though not as bad as a house I once lived in on a Berkeley hillside where a marble dropped at one corner would start rolling so fast to the other it began to skip.) For two of the Cottages, foundations consist of posts sitting on fairly small concrete blocks (about a foot square) sitting on dirt. Not even particularly hard dirt either. So over time, everything settled. The contractors jacked it all up on beams and cleared out all the old piers. Monday and Tuesday we dug holes so that concrete pads can be poured, new blocks installed, and the beams put back down. Wednesday and Thursday we dug the holes deeper while the contractor pondered complicated issues of elevation, and prepared for concrete pouring. By the time you read this, knock on wood, the foundation pads will be poured and houses returned to their old level, but More Secure!, Earthquake Resistant!, Modern!
In the meantime there was the hunt for sewer lines, only sketchily described by maps. One was found, dug down to, and two other sewer pipes lay next to it, joining it and vanishing into the dirt in the general direction of Vine Street. Some of the workmen marveled that in 1916, they had put a storm drainage connection taking water from the roof into the sewer line. Apparently this would have been quite advanced thinking for the time. A company put a video camera down the pipes to determine their direction and look for tree roots, parts of dead bodies and treasure. The videotape, once the project is done, will be available for viewing.
Finally, a couple of bricklayers clambered on the roof to clean up the chimney tops, which had been weathering ungracefully over the years, and enduring pretty sloppy repair jobs by undertalented volunteers a few years ago. The bricklayers did not mix much socially with the carpenters. Perhaps there's a clash of cultures not visible to outsiders. The chimneys now look much nicer and everyone is encouraged to come by to admire.
Future work consists of roof repairs, wall repairs, and, well everything else. Extraordinary volunteer efforts have been put in by Anna MacGilvra, Robin Miwa and Jules Landis. There was blue sky before Thanksgiving and it looks hopeful.
Naked Plea for Help. The project needs volunteers to be successful. Anybody interested in digging, painting, helping, kibitzing are encouraged, no begged to contact me or Robin Miwa. It'll be fun. (Me at glenn@speakeasy.net or 726-8554, Robin at rkmiwa@email.msn.com)
[Diary I] [Diary II] [Diary III][Home] [1916 Images] [Nov 2002] [Dec 2002] [Jan 2003][Feb 2003][Abatement]
Sponsored by Friends of the Belltown P-Patch
Friends of the
Belltown P-Patch
a neighborhood 501(c)3
non-profit organization
2225
First Avenue Seattle, WA 98121
206.441.770
Created by Myke
Woodwell on his trusty Powerbook over Saturday morning coffee.
Images
by Myke JWoodwell ©2002
Myke Woodwell / mykejw@speakeasy.org