Slog
News & ArtsMonday, March 9, 2009
2
Ha! A friend from out of town was visiting a few weeks ago, and we did the obligatory Pike Place Market visit. We wandered over to see the view of the sound, to be blasted by the sound and stink of the viaduct traffic, and he said "what the hell were they thinking putting this here? It ruins down town!" Nay, there shall be no nostalgia
3
I'll miss it too.
But this is another link fail. Don't feel bad, no one at Slog has EVER correctly linked to Flickr. The picture itself is supposed to be a link to the original image page on Flickr -- and not just a link to the entire photostream, like yours.
But this is another link fail. Don't feel bad, no one at Slog has EVER correctly linked to Flickr. The picture itself is supposed to be a link to the original image page on Flickr -- and not just a link to the entire photostream, like yours.
4
Only a moron looks east when on the Viaduct, except to watch out for merging cars and the exits.
But when Earth Hour rolls around at the end of the month (it has a Facebook event), those buildings hopefully will be nice and dark.
Assuming we really are Green here.
But when Earth Hour rolls around at the end of the month (it has a Facebook event), those buildings hopefully will be nice and dark.
Assuming we really are Green here.
5
So is this moron not going to be able to go down to the waterfront, find the same location, and look up at the same buildings and construction cranes after the viaduct is torn down and no longer obstructing the view from Alaskan Way? Way to miss the forest for the concrete.
7
HOLY SHIT WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING YOU'RE GONNA CRASH!
Seriously? Is 'I like the views driving on the highway gives me' considered a SERIOUS reason to prop up a decrepit elevated expressway?
Seriously? Is 'I like the views driving on the highway gives me' considered a SERIOUS reason to prop up a decrepit elevated expressway?
8
@6, that's hot. I like how the building actually interrupts the guardrail at that spot. Now that's some rock and roll engineering.
9
OMFG MUDEDE CORRECTLY ATTRIBUTED A PICTURE THE END IS HERE JESUS IS A-COMING BACK AND GOG AND MAGOG SHALL MAKE WAR UPON THE BELIEVERS AND
Oh, wait, he's violating copyright by using an "All Rights Reserved" photo.
Sorry kids. Apocalypse is off for another day.
Oh, wait, he's violating copyright by using an "All Rights Reserved" photo.
Sorry kids. Apocalypse is off for another day.
10
I've hated the viaduct since my first day in Seattle 15 years ago when I did the same thing as @2s guest - walked up to the edge of Steinbrueck park and thought "holy fuck, why is there a highway there??"
@5 truly. those views don't go away when the viaduct is down, they'll just be fifty feet lower. Jesus.
and @7, I've always thought the correct response to "I love the views while I'm driving on it" was to yell at the asshole about not paying attention to the goddamn narrow lanes up there while driving, and not the pretty mountains in the distance.
And finally, if I hear one more goddamn librul fool declaim that it's the best free view in Seattle, I'm gonna kill someone. It's only free if you've got a car, you upper-middle-class douche.
@5 truly. those views don't go away when the viaduct is down, they'll just be fifty feet lower. Jesus.
and @7, I've always thought the correct response to "I love the views while I'm driving on it" was to yell at the asshole about not paying attention to the goddamn narrow lanes up there while driving, and not the pretty mountains in the distance.
And finally, if I hear one more goddamn librul fool declaim that it's the best free view in Seattle, I'm gonna kill someone. It's only free if you've got a car, you upper-middle-class douche.
11
@8 - when I first moved to Seattle, I used to actually work in the corner office in WOSCA that the Kingdome exit went past.
It was super cool.
Oh, and fwiw, I took the bus to work.
No, the view from the waterfront is not the same as the view from 50 feet up.
Try saying that from the top of the Smith Tower ...
It was super cool.
Oh, and fwiw, I took the bus to work.
No, the view from the waterfront is not the same as the view from 50 feet up.
Try saying that from the top of the Smith Tower ...
12
Is it your contention that only people who are upper-middle-class or above own cars, El Ganador? If so, you could not possibly be more wrong. Almost every one in the working classes owns and drives a car too, as do quite a few in the underclass as well.
13
Shoot, WiS, I was going to grill you on how you used to get to work shortly after you first moved to Seattle, but you've answered that @11.
14
I really, really hope that most of the folks driving on the Viaduct are not rubbernecking at the views. Please, folks, if you want the best view of the city imaginable, walk onto a ferry.
15
@12, not at all. I am, however, tired of folks in Democratic circles in the northend who, while championing a "working waterfront", defend the Viaduct as the best "free" view in Seattle. Whatever that view might be, free ain't one of them. While many many folks in Seattle own cars, there are plenty who don't, or can't afford to, own them.
16
No, there's hardly anyone who doesn't own a car these days. And there's no reason to pay attention to the desires of the few who choose not to
17
if you're ON THE BUS, or IN THE PASSENGER SEATS OF A CAR on the viaduct, the view is awesome.
you won't be able to get nostalgic for 10-15 years. first they need to FUND the tunnel, then build it, THEN they'll tear that POS down. i bet i'm retired before it comes to fruition.
2025. maybe.
you won't be able to get nostalgic for 10-15 years. first they need to FUND the tunnel, then build it, THEN they'll tear that POS down. i bet i'm retired before it comes to fruition.
2025. maybe.
18
EYES ON THE ROAD PEOPLE!
I'd take the views from the Aurora bridge or I-5 at Portage Bay/Lake Union or whatever you call that channel over the those from the viaduct. Even the trip into Seattle via 520 where it dumps you onto I-5 I like better. Probably because the viaduct was never part of my airport commute - as spectacular as those views could be - being on it always meant I was going to or coming from somewhere really depressing.
I'd take the views from the Aurora bridge or I-5 at Portage Bay/Lake Union or whatever you call that channel over the those from the viaduct. Even the trip into Seattle via 520 where it dumps you onto I-5 I like better. Probably because the viaduct was never part of my airport commute - as spectacular as those views could be - being on it always meant I was going to or coming from somewhere really depressing.
19
I was a passenger as my wife carefully watched the road when I took this photograph.
I think driving in a tunnel will be different, not better or worse.
Why to internet people have to be so snarky all the time... Its like the modern fart joke.
I think driving in a tunnel will be different, not better or worse.
Why to internet people have to be so snarky all the time... Its like the modern fart joke.
20
@18, how tall are you? I can't see anything from the Aurora Bridge besides guardrails. The view from the viaduct is surpassed in the US only by the view from Lake Shore Drive in Chicago and maybe Storrow Drive in Boston.
21
@20,
You're high, Fnarf. You actually left off the Golden Gate Bridge?
We live in a city that has impossibly beautiful views, free views, at many different points, of many different vistas. The viaduct is one of many. Who gives a shit?
You're high, Fnarf. You actually left off the Golden Gate Bridge?
We live in a city that has impossibly beautiful views, free views, at many different points, of many different vistas. The viaduct is one of many. Who gives a shit?
23
Actually, Fnarf, lots of people don't own cars around here.
But they mostly live downtown.
And on the Hill.
Or anywhere else there is student housing.
But they mostly live downtown.
And on the Hill.
Or anywhere else there is student housing.
25
@21, meh. I like the view from the Bay Bridge better. The Golden Gate is a splendid thing to have a view OF, not from. But I was referring to sweeping downtown views, not scenery. You could add the elevated portion of the West Side Highway to that list, even if it's not really the downtown you're looking at. But every part of NYC is fascinating to see from an elevated perspective, unlike most cities. It's the same thing that makes elevated trains so much fun to ride.
I'm nowhere near orange enough to be an Oompa Loompa, Will.
I'm nowhere near orange enough to be an Oompa Loompa, Will.
26
#20, 6'2", but more importantly, probably on the bus. Also, my examples aren't nearby connections to West Seattle, so I'm free to ponder life's beauty without that weighing on my mind. THAT JUST HAPPENED.
The view from the Bay Bridge into the city is great, also. Like the viaduct, not too much to see on the lower deck. Not to worry though, the replacement tunnel will probably require a solid mile of Shamwow, Snuggy, Cialis, and Comcast ads to keep your eyes entertained to offset some of the construction cost. (mental note: Cialis and Snuggy's don't mix)
The view from the Bay Bridge into the city is great, also. Like the viaduct, not too much to see on the lower deck. Not to worry though, the replacement tunnel will probably require a solid mile of Shamwow, Snuggy, Cialis, and Comcast ads to keep your eyes entertained to offset some of the construction cost. (mental note: Cialis and Snuggy's don't mix)
27
I don't need Cialis. The Shamwow guy gets me hard as a rock with his peppery chatter. Are you following me, camera guy?
30
OMG there are people who'd rather spend twice as much for a road just so it can be in a tunnel they can't afford!
31
@15: my bus pass isn't free, but I see the view from the Viaduct twice daily from the 125. It really does make the commute a lot more pleasing.
And Fnarf, I don't own a car, nyah nyah. (It's more out of cheapness than anything. Why should I pay to insure, gas, and park a car when I don't need to?)
And Fnarf, I don't own a car, nyah nyah. (It's more out of cheapness than anything. Why should I pay to insure, gas, and park a car when I don't need to?)
32
I didn't say nobody, Abby. Just not very many. I didn't own a car until I was forty, but that doesn't mean I'm typical.
33
Fuck any shitty driving experience you've had,
say goodbye to a waterfront that is anywhere near
approachable after the viaduct goes down.
I mean, for shitsake, they knocked down two blocks
of magnolia for condos to face what view? Interbay?
Oh a train yard, how nice. We can walk out on our
balcony and see a hobo get splatted by a freight
car then busily write an angry blog post about the
abhorred noise coming from the industrial area we KNOWINGLY MOVED next to.
I'll go visit sno-con and all the other businesses assuredly pushed out by the viaduct coming down.
-j
say goodbye to a waterfront that is anywhere near
approachable after the viaduct goes down.
I mean, for shitsake, they knocked down two blocks
of magnolia for condos to face what view? Interbay?
Oh a train yard, how nice. We can walk out on our
balcony and see a hobo get splatted by a freight
car then busily write an angry blog post about the
abhorred noise coming from the industrial area we KNOWINGLY MOVED next to.
I'll go visit sno-con and all the other businesses assuredly pushed out by the viaduct coming down.
-j
34
driving on the viaduct is too hectic to enjoy the view for more than half a second right now. the lanes are too narrow and there's no shoulder, and there are too many weaving cars
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