As our story continues, we finally check in at Ballard Inn. For longtime residents, Ballard Inn is a landmark. Now, it is part of the ownership behind the brand new Hotel Ballard and the revamped Olympic Athletic Club. We made sure to enjoy our complimentary access to Olympic Athletic Club. And we dined at Hotel Ballard’s restaurant, Stoneburner.
The combination of all this hospitality was a thrill for the senses indeed.
Filed under Ballard, Ballard Comics, Comics, Henry Chamberlain
Editor’s Note: Here in Seattle, we have an election this Tuesday. And, here in Seattle, we are going through some vastly problematic growing pains. What exactly are we doing as we sprout condos in every conceivable spot? Well, rest assured, Seattle will elect someone mayor. However, we the citizens of Seattle need to look beyond this, or any, election. Consider, for example, visiting a site looking to make a difference, Reasonable Density Seattle. Sure, growth can be wonderful, just as long as we don’t stomp out the very reasons Seattle is so attractive.
Visit us every Monday for a new installment of Ballard Comics.
Editor’s Note: Marshall McLuhan is gaining ground, much like Nikola Tesla, as a hero from the past speaking for today. He would certainly have something to say about the hotspot that is today’s Ballard, a far cry from the sleepy little hamlet that it once was. McLuhan was sensitive to such things as the character and identity of a place.
Has Ballard lost something? Well, it’s always been under development, that’s one way of looking at it. Consider the last panel in this comic. You see what was once a grand old fire station. It was converted into one of Ballard’s leading restaurants, The Hi-Life, long before the arrival of all the other new hotspots that make up the new Ballard. It’s certainly a great place and enhances the whole area. All you have to do is try their famously good fried chicken to know they belong right where they are.
Filed under 24 Hour Comics, Ballard, Ballard Comics, Comics, Commentary, Edith Macefield, Henry Chamberlain, Humor, pop culture, Satire, Seattle, Webcomics
And so it begins, a look at Ballard, the cutting edge scene for foodies and hipsters in the midst of a mellow blue-collar world. We begin with a 24-hour adventure in search of the very soul of Ballard.
Photo by Zachariah Bryan, Ballard News-Tribune
Yours truly made the local paper, The Ballard News-Tribune. The story was published online this week (which you can read here) and the print edition of Westside Weekly came out today, Friday, October 11, 2013.
A Night at the Sorrento and Other Stories
BALLARD COMICS #7
Editor’s Note: Any serious conversation on urban planning will include the thoughts of activist Jane Jacobs. She was a champion of urban spaces at a human scale and of the preservation of older buildings in a community. Just in terms of practicality, it was the older buildings that had intrinsic value. It was their presumably lower rents, that allowed for risk-taking ventures with limited funds.
When is gentrification too much of a good thing? Something to consider as Ballard continues to grow. Will there always be room for those things with the original sense of Ballard?
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Filed under Ballard, Ballard Comics, Comics
Tagged as Activism, architecture, Art, arts, Ballard, Cities, City Living, comics, Commentary, Entertainment, Gentrification, Jane Jacobs, Politcs, Political Cartoons, Pop Culture, Seattle, social issues, Urban, Urban Living, Urban Planning