Goodbye, mound house (Image: CHS from CHS Re:Take | Undermining the Republican Senator from Melrose)
Progress doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t look back. Last week, CHS’s Hillebrity artfully introduced you to Kat Larson, one of more than 100 artists contributing work to Thursday’s Vigil : Inspired by Memory, a night of tribute to the Melrose and Pine block set to be demolished and re-built as part of a massive apartment development:
Vigil : Inspired by Memory
Thursday, August 29th 2013
4:00pm – 2:00amLoveCityLove
1530 Melrose Ave 981224:00pm | Jakku House Tea and Sage Burning
5:30pm | Readings by Rich Smith, Maged Zaher and Sarah Galvin
7pm | Special DJ set by Jeffrey of Wall of Sound
8:30pm | Performances by DJ Bennett Schatz, Evan Flory Barnes, Hanna Benn, Hair & Space Museum,Capitol Hill’s Melrose and Pine block is slated for development and expansion. Soon this neighborhood focal point will only be a memory to some, and merely a story to others. Vigil is an art exhibit inspired by our memories of this block, and we have invited 100+ artists to create work inspired by their own interpretation of memory. This range of multidisciplinary artists will present visual art salon-style on the walls of the gallery, as well as fill the space with performance and installation during this daylong event.
The event will be held at Love City Love (formerly occupied by the Warren Knapp Gallery next to Bauhaus) just weeks before all businesses must vacate their spaces in the building. We regard this event as a loving send-off to this block; and welcome the community to join us as we celebrate the long, spirited life of Melrose and Pine.
Sincerely,
Olivia McCausl and, Jacob Muilenburg, Aidan Fitzgerald, Lucien Pellegrin, and Sierra Stinson
Attendees are asked to “bring your own votive candle” to burn at the site. A full roster of participating artists is below.
The eight-story, 180-unit apartment, restaurant and retail development set to redefine the block previously known for its assortment of local businesses, funky apartments and the Bauhaus coffee shop got its final design approval earlier this year.
Earlier this month, CHS reported that Bauhaus has secured a new, temporary Capitol Hill home as it prepares to depart Melrose and Pine after 20 years at the corner. The new temporary location is expected to be announced soon.
A full roster of artists from Thursday night’s Vigil event and more pictures from the CHS archives are below.
ARTISTS:
Amanda Manitach / Derek Erdman / Emily Pothast / Jana Brevick / Andy McKenna / Paul Komada / Erin Frost / Graham Downing / Lindsey Apodaca / Susan Robb / Jennifer Zwick / Andrew Waits / Tarrah Arthur / Lynda Sherman / Darin Shuler / Kelly O / Sharon Arnold / C.M. Ruiz / Brian O’Keeffe / Adam Boehmer / Timothy Rysdyke / Doug Newman / Serrah Russell / Laura Hamje / Frank Correa / Lauren Max / Nick Bartolletti / Eroyn Fanklin / DK Pan / Ryan Molenkamp / Leena Joshi / Jess Rees / Mandy Blouin / Mario Lemafa / Eric Olson / Robin Stein / Laura Cassidy / Erin Sullivan / Emily Denton / Megumi Arai / Rachael Lang / Jesse Lortz / Jared Bender / Dakota Gearhart / Scott Everett / Mike Doyle / Cait Willis / Carlos Esparza / Devon Varmega / Shannon Perry / Max Kraushaar / Ian Hill / Ellen Dicola / Nate Steigenga / A’alia Brown / Lynnly Kunz / Max Cleary / Michael Fettig / Roman Camarda / Tim Miller / Simon Gifford / Foster Turcott / Jean Nagai / Zachary Davis / Tracy O’Dell / Rachel Ravitch / Kate Lebo / Lauren Colton / Jesse Higman / JD Banke / Sam Whalen / Estee Clifford / Adrien Miller / Emma Sargeant / Molly Sides / Eric Eugene Aguilar / MKNZ / Sacha Peet / Thomas Chapel / Kat Larson / Tracy Odell / Ryan Fedyk / Claire Haranda / Kate Lebo / Amelia Reed / Andrew Nedimyer / Justin Duffus / Emilia Muller-Ginorio / Christopher Harrell / Chloe Allred / Alexa Anderson / Julianna Vezzetti / Kathryn Lien / Tessa Hulls / Kelly Froh / Justin Henning / Tim Miller / Lynnly Kunz / Max Clotfelter / Foster Turcottand / Sara Long / Kari Champoux / Kirby Ellis / Eleanor Petry / Bennett Schatz / Rune Stone / Leigh Riibe / Taylor Pinton / William Brittain / Dan Paulus /
As someone who has lived on the hill for many years now, it’s sad to see some really cool places(such as the mound house pictured above) being demolished. To a certain degree, I can understand why such a giant mass of development is creeping up the Pike/Pine corridor so quickly over the course of the last few years. It’s the next logical extension of downtown after Belltown has been developed so much, aside from perhaps developing Lower Queen Anne or SoDo. I’m really starting to wonder how much influence Amazon’s recent giant growth in employee base has over all of the recent desire from developers to utilize the unused vertical space above so many properties on the Pike/Pine corridor. Surely the new employees are looking for a place to live within a close vicinity to Amazon and can afford to pay the higher rent costs in the brand new buildings. It’s really unfortunate though that so many of the new buildings lack unique colors, designs, etc. in terms of maintaining the character of the neighborhood that surrounds them. Not to mention all of the wonderful small businesses being pushed out in the process.
Just from walking by all of the development recently, it seems like there is way too much metal/glass framework to these buildings that makes them look completely sterile and uninviting. Take the new development on the 500 E Pine block for example, which looks pretty bland and the one business that resides in the building at the moment(Rival Fitness) appears to be almost completely deserted inside at nearly any given time of the day. Hopefully the City of Seattle will eventually learn from their mistakes one day and create proper regulations for new development within neighborhoods outside of downtown.
Although I agree with you about there being too much metal and glass on all the new buildings…I gotta say– that house might be perched in an interesting spot with lots of history about it, but it’s a butt-ugly house.
[…] Vigil: Inspired by Memory is an evening of art and performance to share memories of the Melrose and Pine block. Read more about the event and performance schedule here. Free. LoveCityLove (1530 Melrose), 4p – 2a. […]
[…] way for a massive influx of new housing and the character of the hill will no longer be the same. Vigil, a 1 night only art & music show took place at the LoveCityLove Gallery, putting art from over […]