MetroSpokane

Edible Estates - West Central version

Following our earlier post on the movement towards edible estates, we happened by this front yard over in the West Central neighborhood.  This has to be the premier example in Spokane of what can be done in an area many would consider a small unusable space.  They've made use of nearly ever square foot and have even spilled over into the planting strip.  Fruit trees abound, strawberry plants, and the soil is rich.  One downside for those in newer developments is that the strict covenants buyers often enter into will not allow such a use.  Too bad really.  Just another reason to luv older Spokane nabes.

• Kitchen Gardeners International - [website]

Eat your grass strip...

If you're fortunate enough to have a grass strip on the other side of the sidewalk in your neighborhood (assuming you have a sidewalk), consider it excess room for growing veggies.  We're not certain, but that's what this looks like is being done in front of this home in an older neighborhood here in town.  It's a very well crafted and sturdy raised bed with some chicken-wire over the top. 

The idea of turning boring sod over into productive use for food is nothing new.  "From The Back Kitchen" posted on rural sprawl a few weeks back.  It's a timely topic given the rapid in food prices we're experiencing.  A little extra food security, self-sufficiency, and reducing the cost of your monthly food bill are all good things.  We'll be watching this little experiment over the summer to see how it progresses.

• Eat your lawn - How to build your own edible estate [Gardenlab]
• Edible Estates [website]

Credit Union, Bike sharing, and Vancouver BC

Chances are you've never heard of Vancity.  They're a highly progressive credit union in Canada.  In fact they're the largest credit union in Canada, and they run their business with an eye on the triple-bottom line:  Financial, Social, and Environmental performance.

Picket line in action at Prium's Wells Fargo

A roving correspondent shot these pics and sent them our way the other day.  The first fleeting thought we had was of some fringe group of radical empty-nesters protesting Prium for putting the 153 S. Wall condos on hold.  A closer look at their logo revealed carpenters or somebody upset at Prium for using non-union labor for a job.  Bummer...

• Wall St. Bonus Project [MetroSpokane]
• Prium Lofts - 90 Units of urban love [MetroSpokane]

Psychogeography - Deconstructing your neighborhood...

We like this little video homage someone put together showing downtown at night.  It's looking at our city through a slightly different lens than usual, focusing more on those side areas just off the side of the road.  Whether the person who made it realized it or not they've done a nice job at capturing the practice of psychogeography.

The New People's Billboard?

[Image courtesy of some long forgotten Mead XC website hosted on an old Tripod member account ]
Long time residents may recall the People's Billboard that was once a prominent downtown fixture during the 1980s and early 90s.  An old bridge abutment from the former rail line that crossed the Monroe St. bridge, it sat on the current Kendall Yards site and greeted drivers to the northbank on Monroe Street until it was demolished in the late 1990s.  At the busiest of times the message would change more than once per week and was a pretty decent reflection of local happenings and thoughts.

Where to rent in Spokane? Try Zilpy

If the data dump that is Web 2.0 still hasn't quite taken it's toll on you, then we've one more real estate mashup to show you.

Consider this scenario:  You're moving to Spokane (you know you want to), fresh out of college, degree in hand and you need an apartment to rent.  You're well past the days of living 5 to a place like you did in the 'big city', but the only problem is you're on a tight budget since the student loan money dried up.  How will you ever figure out which part of town has the apartment size you want with a rent to match?  If you're savvy you'll have visited Zilpy (pronounced 'Zill-pee' in your best Beavis voice), punched in your housing specs (beds/baths/sqf...) and let it do the work.  The results will be displayed in an easy to read heat map, chart and tabular format showing you just where the hot rental action is that best meets your needs.  There's more to discover, but we'll let you figure it out.  Highest priced 2 beds?  West Hills.  Who knew?  One way to improve:  Give a walkscore for the results as well.

• Zilpy Rental Facts - [Site]

Write this down: The Masdar Initiative

[Just take the 5 minutes to watch this...]

So, with each passing month it seems like another building is going for some kind of LEED certification here in town.  Sustainable design is here and even the SHBA are pushing ahead with their own Built Green initiative.  Downtown, the Saranac Hotel's emphasis on sustainable design is impressive.  If you haven't walked through it you're missing out.  We're doing some things well here in Spokane. 

Then we heard of the Masdar Initiative and the scale of Abu Dhabi's efforts to reinvent itself as the world leader in renewable and sustainable energy.  The city they're building - Masdar- will be all new and by 2016 will be home for roughly 50,000 people.  Masdar will have:

• Zero carbon emissions
• Zero waste
• Fossil fuel consumption will be zero
• All waste produced will be recycled
• No one will live further than 600ft from essential services

Oh, did you hear that Dodge is rolling out a completely redesigned Challenger?  It's friggen' sweet...

• Solar City to Rise in Persian Gulf; Why Not Arizona? - [NY Times]

A little distraction from the snow...

We'd like to offer you a break from the constant coverage of the 'shock and awe' of RECORD BREAKING SNOW.  Please enjoy the following video.  Just think in a mere 5 months this could be you..

Paulsen Building Penthouse - On top of Spokane

 

For anyone who's ever pondered Spokane's Skyline the Paulsen Medical and Dental Building is easily one of the most recognizable landmarks.  At the top of the fifteen-story skyscraper sits perhaps Spokane's most exclusive  (if not highest) private residence.  The solitary penthouse was home to members of the Paulsen Family for over seventy years, and a few weeks back we gained access to the now vacant residence to have a look around.

It's a decent-sized space inside with two bedrooms, three baths, and a servants quarters tucked way in the back.  The kitchen is modest by today's standards, and the living room and dining/sun room are quite large.  As you'd expect, the views from inside are pretty much unmatched by any residence in town (yes, even Upper Falls), but the real fun begins when you step outside onto the wraparound patio.  Long gone is the sixty year old arborvitae that was a landmark itself (In 1996 it partly fell to the twelfth floor roof during the ice-storm).  Still, it's all about the view.  From up there, and in every direction, you're looking at Spokane in an unfamiliar way.  It's like seeing your city for the first time again and it's pretty cool.

Highlight - The gun closet directly across from the wet bar.

• Paulsen Building History - [City of Spokane Historic Preservation Office]
• August Paulsen - [Wikipedia entry]

Lincoln with Scarf...

More proof that people are claiming, using, and personalizing the public space in Spokane...

Hippy Girl replaces Bucky Fuller

The beautification? of the Bernard Street Wall continues as Bucky Fuller's dominance of the wheatpastie scene on the lower South Hill came to an end this week.  As of last weekend the image of a large hippy girl is now gracing the wall.  At first glance we feared Hope Sandoval, but on closer inspection we - have - absolutely - no - idea - who - this - is.  A call out to the Rainbo Collective, please help in the comments section below.

Bucky Fuller STILL owns the friggin' lower South Hill

LOWER SOUTH HILL - The Buckminster Fuller saga continues.  Not content with a mere 8.5"x11" sheet of paper, the wheatpaster has gone big this time on the Bernard St. Wall.  A full 5'x8' layout of an elder Bucky casting a spell on the evening commuters as they wind their way up the South Hill.  The meaning?  We're not sure.  Perhaps Spokane is part of a global movement to spread Bucky's philosophies on architecture, or simply a cry out for better design.
 

Got a rotten neighbor? Let the world know

After finding that sweet apartment/house/condo and you settle in to your new life, you start to notice things.  The honeymoon is over when you realize you've that 'one guy' for a neighbor and the ink's still wet on the contract you just signed.  Worry no more.  Simply visit rottenneighbor.com, type in your zipcode and read the tortured tales of neighbors feed up with each other.  Launched on July 29th it'll hopefully be a great resource to learn something about a neighborhood before you move-in.  They're all here:  Too many cars-in-the-yard guy, the cat lady, the pit-bull breeder, and even the inflatable holiday-lawn-ornament-family.  Collect them all!

This is hands down the most interesting take on a google-maps real estate mashups we've seen in quite awhile, and the Spokane entries are lacking.  So far we're up to only six entries (plus one in Medical Lake labled "neighborhood terror"), and the south side neighborhoods are woefully under represented.

Bucky Fuller owns the Lower South Hill

The concrete wall just before the "Y" on Ben Garnett Way and Ninth Ave has long been a magnet for taggers.  For the past few weeks however the lone profile of Buckminster Fuller has risen above it all.  The wheatpastie image was lifted from a U.S. stamp commemorating the FAIA architect, inventor, and engineer.  Father of the geodesic dome, the stamp incorporates his patented dome with his bald head.  So why the sudden appearance on Ben Garnett Way?  We have absolutely no idea.

Intersection Repair...

Everyone has that one intersection in their neighborhood that could just be so much better.  For whatever reason, the cars seem to drive through too fast, the crosswalks are non-existent, or there is no place to comfortably sit and wait for the bus.  We found a neighborhood-based event profiled on the most excellent Streetfilms.org called Intersection Repair.

Helpful hints from the Peaceful Valley welcome wagon...

Tyler Durden is that you?  Via the MetroSpokane tipline some pics and a heads up of new signage down in our fav nabe of Peaceful Valley.  If Heloise was an anarchist, she'd be spreading the same kind of love and helpful advice that someone has wheatpasted on various bridge columns throughout Peaceful Valley. 

We have a couple issues with the signs.  First, what's with open threats toward YUPPIES?  That term is so 1987.  Second, honestly, just how many young urban professionals around here can afford to snap up a condo down there?  Finally, why bilingual?  The good thing is that most all appeared to have been peeled off or at least partially peeled off.  Now that's the Peaceful Valley we know.

How to deal with those pesky solicitors...

We're not entirely sure why the cops have been called to an undisclosed part of east Spokane.  Rest assured though, someone is watching.