Comments on Flickr Photo of the Day

ContributEr???

The lady in that house is nuts. She's my hero.

effin sweet

I LOVE that lady in that house! She is all of our heros. Hey Stranger Staff: go and interview her!!

What's great is that almost that ENTIRE BLOCK is squared off and developing...then there's this little cutout for this house

Oh FUCK that.

All of you little brats will champion her, then later absolutely REJOICE in and shop at the Trader Joe's Market that will be opening there soon.

Irony upon irony.

the developers seem to have purposely made their 'inconveniencing' as obnoxious as possible. i love this woman. she should paint her house bright purple. excellent idea on interviewing her.

@5--Well, yes--and?

Looks like a scene from Radio Golf.

@7

It's amusing because that's just how it goes.

Hate the development, but then OH LOOK, A TRADER JOES! I'M ALL ABOUT IT!

this is embarassing for both parites.

but eventually, it will make lovely outdoor seating for a restaurant.

there's always a bright side!

There's nothing hypocritical about loving her and loving Trader Joe's. If I recall right, she's in her 80s, and wants to die in that house. I adore her resistance to the huge sum ultimately offered her. She's within her rights, and bravo. So are the developers. I feel bad for her because of the construction, but she's defending the same rights that the other property owners have.

Anyway, she's my hero, too.

I'm championing this lady - and I totally hate Trader effin' Joe's.

I agree - interview the owner of the house!

I love this lady too, but don't forget about Mike's Chili Parlor & Tavern holding out on the NW corner of this block.

She really needs to capitalize on her new location. Open a restaurant or coffee shop. Hot Dogs anyone? That block is zoned for fucking anything now.

I would totally buy that house. Lord knows you could, at the very least, have band practice there.

If L'Etranger makes the decision to interview the lady, can we please have a poll for which staffer we'd like to send?

I'm feeling a PUBLIC INTERN ASSIGNMENT!!!

WOOT!!!

NapoleonXIV @7 and Glenn Fleishman @11, you mean you're capable of seeing developers as both worthy of opposition and providing some benefit?  At the same time?  Shocking!!!  =O

I never warranted that I wasn't a stark-raving loony.

I'm glad that lady didn't move to Portland with the rest of everybody.

Definitely an unpaid intern story. Or maybe Mudede - it might keep him from posting for a while.

As a former Oregonian I must say wholeheartedly that Portland sucks ass!

TJ's sucks shit in hell. This lady rocks my world.

I also love Trader Joe's and this lady. Cognitive dissonance FTW!

If a developer offered a outrageously princely sum for the property on which I had been living for decades...I would take the money and run. All of you would too.

That photo will assuredly be used (or some one else's version) in the future as a stock photo for a multitude of products and services.

I can just see it now - especially after the building is finished - in an ad for some insurance company or something. It's going to be the most famous building in Seattle and people will flock from all over the world to take pictures of it. Kind of like San Francisco's "crookedest street" or the troll. Ballard will get a new nickname and more tourists.

Mark my words.

If there was a god, Diana, your vision would come to pass.

The sad thing here is that while this woman stuck to her guns and fought for what she wanted, when she passes away the developers will probably snatch up the land for a tiny, minute fraction of the money they offered her. From what I have heard, she does not have any next of kin.
Anyway, living in Ballard I have been heard a lot about this story.
Here is a link to one story in the PI: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/333917_macefield02.html

I have Ben Hur a lot about this story...

Well, that article points out ever more how foolish she is. "Money doesn't mean anything." Erm, actually, money means EVERYTHING! Even if she wouldn't use a fraction of the $1 million for herself, she could easily have funneled it to charity, made a donation to UW medical research, something, ANYTHING. Instead, the developers/landowners keep the cash to line their own pockets, and as you said, ballardgirl, she will soon pass on and the landowner will fill in the space later at little cost. An opportunity wasted. I'm sorry to sound so harsh, but that's just damn foolish.

That is fucking awesome! And, don't blame the woman for not taking the money...it is a shame the developers don't donate the money themselves. She probably likes her house and doesn't want to move or something. I can totally understand that. I've always thought how cool it would be if there was some old house left sandwiched in between some skyscrapers in downtown Manhattan or something...it just warms the heart for some reason. I've always wanted to see that.