Interlaken Boulevard, 1911, originally uploaded by Seattle Municipal Archives.

You don’t realize what a signature characteristic northern Capitol Hill’s urban forest canopy is until you see pictures of a young Seattle. This image dropped into the CHS Flickr Pool from the Seattle Muni Archives almost makes you wish for our greenbelts to be cut away — or at least trimmed back. The below image from photographer Rob Ketcherside shows the same spot along Interlaken Blvd from modern, bushy times.

Interlaken Boulevard (1911 & 2009), originally uploaded by Rob Ketcherside.

In a conversation dominated by concerns over increased fees for youth sports leagues to use City of Seattle fields, City Council members Sally Clark and Sally Bagshaw visited First Hill Saturday morning to meet with the community and grab a cup of coffee at the Corner Cafe. Bagshaw returns to our area Wednesday night to discuss the plight of Seattle’s community centers as budget cuts slice services across the city. More on that below.

Saturday morning, the conversation most attending the City Council coffee klatch wanted to have was over increases in sports field fees announced by Seattle Parks as budget issues have forced the city to shift more costs onto the community.

“We’re not willing to hear the message that there’s nothing we can do,” one rep from an area youth league said. “Where can there be savings in services?”

By the way, higher fees or no, our own Seattle Central Little League for baseball and softball teams is gearing up for the 2011 season. Sign-up must be completed by the end of February, mom and/or dad. Play ball.

On their home turf, a few First Hill residents filled in the cafe besides the coaches and concerned parents. One woman wanted to tell Bagshaw and Clark she believes Seattle has the best public transit. She also said she has concerns about First Hill’s Therapeutic Health Services, a methadone clinic that fills a vital need but also draws colorful characters — and sometimes unwanted problems — to the neighborhood.

Another resident took a more ambassadorial role thanking the Council members for visiting the cafe at Madison and Terry and noting that First Hill is one of the closest neighborhoods to City Hall but sometimes feels far away from the focus of local government.

We also learned that Bagshaw and Clark aren’t regular CHS readers — neither had heard the news that M Street Grocery was shutting down though Clark said she had heard that the rent for the grocery had “doubled.”

Bagshaw will return to the area this week for a meeting Wednesday night to discuss ideas for reinventing Seattle’s community centers in the face of continued budget constraints.

Help shape the future of Seattle’s Community Centers

Seattle City Councilmember Bagshaw encourages communities to contribute ideas

SEATTLE – Throughout last year’s budget process, Seattle City Council heard from hundreds of people about the value of programming at their Community Centers.  As a result of the concerns voiced, Council passed a Statement of Legislative Intent asking the Department of Parks and Recreation to examine how Community Centers are operated.

Beginning on February 2, Parks will embark on a citywide conversation to look at the future of community centers, specifically how to continue important services while reducing costs and explore long-term, sustainable programming models.

“We heard from the community about the value of their centers and we hope to see those same individuals on February 2, so we can continue this much needed conversation,” said Councilmember Sally Bagshaw, chair of the Parks and Seattle City Committee.  “Now is the time to make a difference in your neighborhood.”

Seattle residents are invited to share their feedback on Seattle’s Community Centers and join Councilmember Bagshaw at the kick-off event for this process:

When:            Wednesday, February 2, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Where:           Miller Community Center, 330 19th Avenue East

For questions or additional information, please contact Councilmember Bagshaw’s office at 206-684-8801or visit www.seattle.gov/council

(Image: Vardiart)

According to his entry in the great Wikipedia in the sky, Emanuel Vardi was one of the great viola players of the 20th century.

He was also a painter with his work hanging in one of the more peculiar art spaces you’ll find on Capitol Hill — and that’s saying something, no? Beginning in November 2009, Vardi’s work was on display and for sale at 2002 East Union inside the HomeNet Computer Repair shop.

According to CHS neighbor Diane, Vardi died Saturday morning in a Seattle hospital. He was 95.

His Wikipedia notes reveal an incredible life. Vardi began training for his career in music before the age of 7 and attended Juilliard’s Institute of Musical Art beginning at age 12. He played a solo recital at Carnegie Hall. He played a solo recital for FDR.

Eventually, life brought him to the Pacific Northwest — and his paintings to a computer repair shop on East Union.

“It’s perfect for us,” Vardi is quoted as saying in a 2007 press release for his HomeNet show. “There is no ‘wrong’ place to put art.”

John Feit is an architect on Capitol Hill, and works at Schemata Workshop. He blogs frequently on design and urbanism, with a focus on how they relate to and effect the Capitol Hill community.

There is something quintessentially urban about the bagel, at least that’s my own romantic musing. Perhaps its Eastern European, Jewish origins make it somewhat exotic, or maybe it brings up memories of the East Coast and its larger metropolises. Better yet, it is probably because it is only in a city that one can hope to find a decent one! Sold in super markets and bakeries alike, most bagels (in both cities and suburbs) are based on the misconception that if you use bread dough, form it into a circle, and put a hole in it — you have a bagel. City dwellers have generally experienced better, except for those of us living on Capitol Hill, where, much to my chagrin, we had not a decent bagel joint. That has changed, thanks to Eltana ( http://eltana.com). I will not purport to be culinary critic, but do encourage you to pay them a visit, and give them a try. I suspect you will be pleased.

The bagels are hand made on the premises, and baked in a wood fired oven, making them the so-called Montreal Bagel and the favorite of Eltana proprietor Stephen Brown.

The Wood Fired Oven

The shop is located in the newly opened Packard Building, in a space designed by friends and colleagues Graham Baba Architects (http://www.grahambaba.com/), whose office is just down the street. Built with a lean budget indeed, the space none-the-less has a couple of noteworthy touches that revealed the ingenuity of their designers: a blackened steel wood storage bin as well as a clever way of displaying the aesthetically pleasing bagels.

Blackened Steel Wood Storage Bins

Just Look at Those Beauties. Cool Rack, Too.

Back of house there is the wood fired oven, while up front are some bar seats with views to 12th Avenue and a large,  centrally located , rustic family-style dining table.

The Dining Area

Patty Pan Grill at Ballard Farmers Market,
originally uploaded by yortlabs.

We have no idea how this will go. Capitol Hill doesn’t breakfast — it brunches, no? Well, we’re going to see if we can look that notion in its sleepy eyes and turn it on its sleepyhead. Join CHS next Friday morning at 23rd and Madison’s Patty Pan Cafe (a CHS advertiser!) for breakfast. We’re talking PP’s signature breakfast quesadillas here, first forged in the wilds of far flung jungles like Ballard.

I’ll be there. I’ll drag a few other CHS contributors along. You should stop by, too. Friday, February 4th, 8a to 10a. 2310 E. Madison St. CHS is buying coffee and supplying enough gossip/news/commentary to stoke your weekend socializing. It’s a date! A breakfast date!

RSVP here, Facebook folk.

The piles of Lego blocks attest to the work to come. Six competitors are crafting interstellar aircraft out of plastic bricks this Friday afternoon at Vermillion. The public vote starts at 6 PM. One warning to those planning to judge. No bricks will be available for you. It elevates the art form, I’m told. And protects the trust of the 5-year-olds who bravely loaned their Legos to the cause.