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CHS Pics | Goodbye crooked tree of Broadway

(Image:  Jim Simandl for CHS)

(Image: Jim Simandl for CHS)

IMG_1523The big ol’ leaning tree of Broadway is gone. Here are images from Saturday as a work crew removed the more than 30-year-old Raywood ash with what the city arborist called a n increasingly concerning lean. The pictures are a bit of a bummer — our contributors couldn’t bear to show you the now empty spot where the old tree stood. You might prefer to remember it this way. A Seattle Department of Transportation spokesperson tells CHS a new tree will be planted in its place. It might even be another Raywood, we’re told. More goodbye images, below.

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stepha
stepha
9 years ago

sad and glad all at the same time. it was scary walking under that tree, but it also felt like home having it there.

Real Estate Gals
9 years ago

We’re sad to see it go. But maybe a nearby parklet could add personality again.

CaptainChaos
9 years ago

It certainly sucks to see this tree go, but it was unavoidable. Since it was only 30 years old, a new tree of the same variety would eventually fill the same space.

cranky
cranky
9 years ago

Another reason to avoid Broadway north of Republican.

Joe
Joe
9 years ago
Reply to  cranky

Well, even if I didn’t live north of Republican I’d be in the area because two of the best restaurants in the city (IMO) are in the block north of Mercer. I’m more likely to avoid anything south of Denny, and the bridge-and-tunnel crowd it attracts.

calhoun
9 years ago
Reply to  Joe

Agreed. The north segment of Broadway has seen many great improvements in recent years, and I welcome them….well, at least most of them! Does anyone really miss the old, ugly Safeway with its large parking lot, or the semi-derelict QFC across the street?

Manny
Manny
9 years ago

I lost my virginity under that tree. Sniff.

JTContinental
JTContinental
9 years ago
Reply to  Manny

You must be very flexible.

SaEofDoom
SaEofDoom
9 years ago

Aww, RIP lil buddy. We used to have late night, drunken Taco Bell binges under that tree (back when condo across the street = Taco Bell). I also was leaning against it when I saw Chihuly get out of a van with his wife, mid-argument (random).

Clarence
Clarence
9 years ago

RIP weird tree.

PT
PT
9 years ago

I scratched my face on you once… on purpose. So long queer tree, spread your wings and fly!

LaPeligrosa
LaPeligrosa
9 years ago

I’m sure the city arborist could have done something other than killing that tree.But you know, getting rid of the trees on the Hill is just par for the coursein the ongoing plan to rid the area of anything endearing or with character. Soon all the trees will be gone. But hey, that way they won’t be in the way of construction!

calhoun
9 years ago
Reply to  LaPeligrosa

I think the City Arborist (Nolan Rundquist) certainly knows a lot more than you do about what can or cannot be done to save a tree. And did you miss the part that there will be a new tree planted there?

jc
jc
9 years ago
Reply to  LaPeligrosa

From the previous article,

“Saving the tree through supports or other means wasn’t an option given its proximity to the street, sidewalk, and private property”

Closing off traffic to save a tree wouldn’t have gone over very well with the shops or the neighbors.

Sluggo
Sluggo
9 years ago

I like the first picture with the crow at the top of the tree and the crow at the base; they are the final inspectors of the goings-on in this neighborhood. The fundamental question which hasn’t been addressed is why the tree started leaning in the first place.
Is there a cavity underground that needs to be filled in? Will the replacement tree lean just the same?

joanna
9 years ago
Reply to  Sluggo

It started leaning because a human driving a car hit it. The tree then healed itself but was leaning.

Aaron
Aaron
9 years ago

I hit my head on that tree a few times walking to the bus stop. Not sure why someone would begin avoiding north broadway do to its removal. It’s not like it’s being removed to make a new apartment complex. Glad to hear a new replacement is coming. If you were more than 5’5″ it was unfortunately at an angle that could bop you in the head. I hope it’s replaced by a similar breed to keep complaints at a minimum. I will miss you awkward tree!!

True Story
True Story
9 years ago

The woman who runs Lab5 Fitness defecated on my driveway. Read about it here:
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/spooky-shit/Content?oid=18017541

Del
Del
9 years ago
Reply to  True Story

Having read the story at your link, your obsession with this is starting to seem weirder than the actual event. Perhaps the woman had some embarrassing medical issue that you don’t know about. Who knows. She’s an old woman. Old women can crap themselves at times. Perhaps you’ve shamed her enough.

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[…] a local dendrologist has done some street science to determine the age of the old crooked tree of Broadway chopped down earlier this […]