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Wed. November 22, 2006, 07:49am PST

Bid farewell to United Methodist

Seems the rather paltry struggle to preserve the 90 year old United Methodist Church building has come to an end. A deadline to file a lawsuit to keep it standing past yesterday. According to an article in Today's News Tribune, no local historical group had enough money. The building was first sold to MultiCare then handed back to the church so they could remove artifacts. This also meant if the space was still owned by a religious institution there's little to no legal precedent for tearing such buildings down due to "free exercise of religion". Check and mate, MultiCare. Well played.

Here's to hoping that as Tacoma grows a) this tactic won't be used to bypass historic preservation in other cases and b) that money for or against tearing something historic down won't always be the battle. We need investment here that is aware and sensitive to accepting our history while helping ensure our future. Look along Pacific at the rich history preserved in all the thoughtful renovation of buildings there and take note that this is what will attract people and business.

Link to the News Tribune
Also in the Daily Index [pdf]

Here are some photos of the United Methodist exterior I snapped in late July.

Wed. November 22, 2006, 02:59pm PST

Photos ~ Downtown from the tideflats and a little grit

I dropped Sarah off this morning and decided to take the long way home. Which way was that? From downtown I headed toward the south tip of the Thea Foss water way and looped around to the tideflats side of things. I stopped near the marina to snag a couple boat-filled pics of downtown then kept on stopping along the way for some train tracks decorated with colorful leaves and any texturiffic, gritty building I could find. I had a lot of fun snapping shots from under and around the 11th Street Murray Morgan bridge too.

Perhaps our next photo outing will be one focusing on some of that grit and the industry that helps keep this area thriving. Waddaya say?

Wed. November 22, 2006, 04:31pm PST

Sounder holiday shopper train

Not only will the Sounder be running on Black Friday but they've added an extra train for your holiday shopping convenience. Check out the info from their site.

Sound Transit is running a special holiday train to Seattle the Friday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 24. Downtown Seattle's shopping core will be ready to welcome you, decked-out with holiday lights and rides for the kids.
Onboard you'll find the latest edition of the Shop, Dine and Ride Guide, a coupon book where your ride on Sounder can save you money on gifts, lunches, and other activities and destinations in Seattle.
The special train will serve Sounder stations in Tacoma, Puyallup, Sumner, Auburn, Kent and Tukwila.

Sounds like a stellar way to avoid traffic on the roads to me. Too bad I'll be doing no such shopping myself that day. It's just not my [shopping] bag, baby.

Link to Sound Transit Holiday Train info and schedule

Thanks Wifey!