Joining us for our second session of walking Seattle’s Lucile Street from end to end was Ms M’s good friend and neighbor Ms N.
Reflections
Pets in windows, pets in fenced yards. Evident in the post walk reflection sketches and write-ups is how the presence of pets captured the kids’ interest on this segment of Lucile. I think the closer proximity of homes to the street, more townhomes, and less dense front-yard gardens on this stretch meant we had a clearer view of the life within the homes.
My earliest memory of Lucile Street is here on this segment of the street. Years ago when we moved to Columbia City, Erica made friends with Kristen and Lindsey – both of whom lived in the house pictured below with other roommates. I think I came here with Erica to see Lindsey and that may be where we met for the first time.
Lindsey says she remembers growing things – the decadent supply of lilacs for her table that she could cut – the potatoes Kristen planted and that she witnessed grow for the first time. She remembers porch-sitting, gingerbread house-making with neighbors during Christmastime. She remembers borrowing my projector for a film screening for a refugee fundraiser.
A dear friendship, Lindsey travelled in a parallel timeline with us to New York City for her master’s degree. And with the birth of Ms A, she became one of her two caregivers while Erica and I worked. Like us, she also returned to Seattle, now married. She then lived in Lower Queen Anne, a block from where Erica and I first lived in Seattle. Now Erica is working with refugees.
It is a wonder how our lives can move in parallel like a double helix, swinging round and round, and appearing from so many vantage points to come together when so often also distant.
Streets also can fold and turn, engulfing you in a valley one moment and lifting you up to see the whole city in another. This segment of Lucile has that feel. Maybe it was the presence of the film crew who didn’t seem to know what they were filming for Microsoft, but the street gave me the feeling we were in Christopher Nolan’s film Inception in which the city folds like a pop-up book.
This segment of Lucile has fewer trees and defined sidewalks compared to the first segment, but the street was just as quiet and several homes had a park like feel to them, particularly those west of 39th Ave S. There in the shade and next to bamboo shoots growing out off a tree stump, the kids decided to sit on the edge of the street for a snack.
Dossier
To document our walk, we made notes, took pictures, recorded a sound sample, sketched drawings, and gathered material samples. Below is a collections of the images.
Measurements
Date of walk: Thursday, July 20th, 2022
Start time: 12:51
End time: 13:47
Sunny, 77℉
Max elevation: 224ft
Min elevation: 138ft