Renovation of the Seattle's King Street Station continues. The tower facade has been restored, the microwave antennae removed, and yesterday the tower clock was restarted. More here, including video. It's going to be so nice to look up to the original ceiling again! Mike GN-Z-Phile
It will definitely be nice to see the ceiling again. I remember seeing the partially removed drop ceiling there in the late 90's. I had thought this was already done. Keep us updated!
Thank god they got rid of that radio dish on the tower, that thing was hidious!!! I have to make it back down there soon, I haven't been there since 2007. Good to hear news about this!
Shall do! FYI: the old ceiling is exposed in the baggage area, but not yet in the main waiting room / ticketing area. When the restoration is complete, the station will give Portland's Union Station and Vancouver, BC's Pacific Central Station runs for their money.
When I Amtraked 7 and 8 last year, they were working on the ceiling. Looked like some plumbing or heat piping needed to be moved, before they could remove the lowered ceiliing panels. Boxcab E50
Mike, Nice to hear something is being restored rather than torn down! We don't hear much about your area down here in the "Portland Metro Area". How is the restoration being paid for? John
From the linked news story: "The Bridging the Gap levy covers $10 million of the King Street Station restoration. Five groups, including the Federal Transit Administration and Washington State Department of Transportation, covered the other $17 million." The levy mentioned is a City of Seattle levy, intended for various transportation projects (street re-paving, bicycle lanes, curb cuts for wheelchair access, etc.).
Does that mean that these ugly appendages, photographed in 2007, are gone from the clock tower? :tb-confused:
I took some photos outside this 4th of July. Sounds like I'll have to go back soon and take some more shots.
Gosh, it would be awesome if they found an old, boarded, up room from the fifties, that was filled with a bunch of GN stuff!:teeth: Brochures, menu's, train order's, etc. Like a little day in the life, and put it on display!
Artifacts One small contribution to this end: as of August 16 (my most recent trip to Vancouver, BC), in the baggage area, there's a 1970 Great Northern calendar (Empire Builder-themed, the train in the Big Sky Blue-scheme) on the wall.
I'm workin' on it. This whole recovery process thing is going slower than hoped.... I'm missing train shows, etc, etc. :tb-wacky: Boxcab E50
I saw a TV program this morning on the life of Ray Charles. It showed two shots of the King Street station in 1960. The first shot was a set NP of F's pulling into the station and the second shot was a set of GN F's pulling out of the station. The only tall building in the Seattle Sky line before the 1962 Worlds Fair,(which I attended with my family) was the Smith tower. The King Street station clock tower was well set in a background of a clear Seattle day.
I recently found an old, discoloring slide taken from the Smith Tower. It looks down on King Street, Union Station, and more. Dates form the early to mid-1950's. Quite a reminder of what was there when I was young. Boxcab E50
