during which I took a lot of pictures. I took a cab to the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, because flowers WILL play a role in this new adventure, because it's happening in the Pacific Northwest, because the Pacific Northwest is THE place for flowers, if there ever was one. I don't know if I will be growing and/or arranging for others, but I know I will be for myself. And I know I will be coming here often, even if just for their public hours on Fridays. It was EVERYTHING I thought it would be, and here's the thing, there weren't even any bloom blooms yet. Just loads of lovely branches. I mean, when I go back in a month or so, I am going to be OVER THE MOON!
This was pre-any sign of spring in the midwest, so the sight of daffs! And ferns!
I had am impression which turned out to be very wrong that the Grower's Market was in some sort of industrial no-man's land. On the contrary, Georgetown is a slightly gritty, über hip (to the point there are definitely some clichés going on) neighborhood with more than a handful of appealing shops, bars and restaurants. The east side of Airport Way S, the main drag, is dominated by the blocks-long Original Rainier Brewery (not to be confused with the Old Rainier Brewery, different property, different area, but also on Airport Way S), which is now mixed-use, housing all sorts of artists, artisans, small businesses and the Grower's Market.
It's a gorgeous piece of early industrial architecture, just decayed enough, but thankfully not rotting away.
I did learn that this last bit was used by Rainier after actual brewing had ceased for cold storage and ice making, for which the building was never intended nor properly outfitted. The constant freezing temps caused major structural damage and the building wasn't salvageable, in fact was dangerous, and had to come down. :( But they did manage to save a small part of the facade. Searching around I found some great pictures outside here and inside here of the building shortly before it was torn down. Hopefully they did some salvaging in there beforehand. Amazing metalwork.
The General Offices (die for that font) building sits at the end of the complex all by itself now next to the empty lot where the cold storage building used to be.
It started to rain not long after I finished up at the Grower's Market so I spent the afternoon ducking in and out of a few pretty great antique shops.
And had some coffee of course.
In between showers, I spied these lovely gates and then the even lovelier garden and house within and couldn't help wandering in. It turns out that this is The Corson Building, a restaurant with a little different operational model that sounds pretty good to me.
Spied at the edge of an overgrown lot. Lesson: don't stand still too long in Seattle.
Husband was down in Oregon on business at this point in the trip, so I decided to stay on for happy hour at Fonda La Catrina and to convince the friend we have in town to join me for dinner. Turned out to be a very good choice.
Just two weeks away from moving week. More posts to get caught up on in the mean time with any luck!
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