(Images: John Feit)

I have been riding my bicycle past the Harrison Modern for almost a decade now, always appreciative of its  design and one that I have been yearning to share for some time. Unfortunately, its predominant exposure faces north, making its photography less than ideal for a majority of the year and thus potentially depriving the building the adoration it so deserves. Imagine my great joy when, a couple of weeks back, I was walking past in the late afternoon — camera in hand — with the lighting just perfect for portraying the Harrison’s many charms.

Located at the intersection of 12th and Harrison, the Harrison Modern is clearly a building whose designers were firmly rooted in mid-century modernism. Built in 1951 and designed by Victor Martin, the Harrison is not only exemplary of that era, but it also foreshadows current trends in architectural design in its use of layered cubic forms as exemplified by the work of such contemporary Dutch architects as MVRDV in the Edificio Celosía, pictured below. This stacking design approach, though all the rage now, was most certainly pretty avant-garde over 60 years ago, and continues to mark the Harrison unique among Capitol Hill’s vintage buildings.

What I am calling a stacked or layered design is one where each floor (or grouped floors) is expressed individually and in a very like manner, without the more traditional base, middle, and top.  In both the Harrison and MVRDV example, this stacking is expressed not only by revealing the floor lines, but also by carving out voids for balconies that emphasize the volume of the floors above or below.  The Harrison’s design captures this layered design approach to create cleverly framed outdoor spaces that exhibit the modernist desire forblending  indoor and outdoor space, including a generous upper floor balcony that must provide  a great view of the Puget Sound and Olympic Mountains. On a more intimate scale, the north facing veranda of the Harrison is  crisply framed, forming a powerfully simple, elegant, and dignified facade along Harrison Street.

Along 12th Avenue, the busier of the two streets upon which the Harrison is sited, a more formal facade was in order and is fittingly more massive in temperament. The contrast, and utility between, these three elevations is achieved by the simple rotating of the lower and upper floors to best suite their orientation, an ease of effort to effect that has long captivated me. A powerful difference is accorded between the two floors; on the longer, northern elevation is the lower form which represents the void, and on shorter, eastern elevation, it is the upper form. A lower floor ying to the upper floor yang, as it were.

Contrasting the bold cubic forms above are the cascading stones and plantings that mark the entry ramp into the building. While on one level apparently quite different form the building’s aesthetic, this little bit of landscape is actually within the spirit of its mid-century heritage, and provides a finishing touch to one of Capitol Hill’s finest small buildings. If I squint a bit, I can imagine the Harrison at home in say, Palm Springs or Malibu, but am quite content knowing it is our neighborhood.

Recent CHS Schemata Posts

• Save Bauhaus? Better save the Pinevue Apartments, too
• The architectural argument for saving Capitol Hill’s Conservatory
• Capitol Hill’s secret alley
• More

John Feit is an architect on Capitol Hill, and works at Schemata Workshop. He blogs frequently on design and urbanism, with a focus on how they relate to and affect the Capitol Hill community.

12th Ave’s Photo Center NW has turned its annual Long Shot 24-hour photo event into a worldwide celebration of the camera. We love it for producing shots like this from right here on Capitol Hill and for the event’s support of the center and its mission to educate and celebrate photographers. Details on the 2012 Long Shot taking place starting on June 1st are below. Make sure to mark your calendar for the July 28th exhibition, too.

A Capitol Hill image from the 2010 marathon (Image: Jon Polka)

Every click with the camera can make a difference. Long Shot, a 24-hour photo fundraiser organized by Photo Center NW invites anyone around the world to snap photos of any theme or subject, and be a part of their one-day community event.  Participants can photograph using any camera, including a cell phone, on June 1-2, 2012 from 6 p.m. to 6 p.m.  They may submit up to ten images, and one will be included in an exhibition on July 28, 2012 at Photo Center NW, with a requested minimum donation of $24. Proceeds of the event will help fund education and outreach programs. One particular outreach program helps immigrants and refugee children adapt to their new environment through the art of photography.

The event is free and open to everyone. Additionally, an expert will offer intensive workshops to all participants for a small donation. In 2011, photographers came from the U.K., Tanzania, Japan, Iceland and all over the U.S. collectively raising $32,000.

“Long Shot IS community and it relies exclusively on the participation of hundreds of passionate individuals around the world, activating one day into a creative fundraiser where both parties win,” said Rafael Soldi, Marketing Director, Photo Center NW.

Photographers are encouraged to seek donations and pledges to benefit the Photo Center. To register, please visit www.pcnw.org/longshot.

Here are the top CHS posts from this week in 2011:

• SPD: Man found in Pike crosswalk was drunk, pushing pedestrians before knockout
• SPD cars collide at 12th and John responding to ‘help the officer’ call
• Victim catches 16th Ave iPhone burglars in act, SPD tracks them down
• Harvard ‘Night Market’ street food pod, Samurai opening date
• One arrested at Cal Anderson Park after man stabbed in chest
• Capitol Hill’s off-leash dog park steward needs your help with summer concert series
• Capitol Hill police department parking lot to become 80-unit mixed-use development

The venue is lined up. And the whole thing is good for the economy. Now you just need all the stuff — and a victory at the polls, of course. The BeGLiTched event next weekend at E Pike’s Lobby Bar might be a good way to start planning:

• Come meet a selection of the Northwest’s best wedding vendors and enjoy fabulous food, delicious drinks & fierce fashions! In addition, Mr. Gay Seattle, DonnaTella, and other gorgeous guys and gals will be decked out in their finest finerie in support of Washington United for Marriage. Join us for this badass brunch for LGBT brides & grooms and those who are wed-curious!

• 12pm – 2pm

Around 20 vendors are participating. 

Lobby Bar, by the way, is a CHS advertiser. And CHS Notices, we should note, are free.

Yup, within a five-minute bike ride of my Capitol Hill apartment, barred owls are in residence.

Territorial, vocal crows helped me locate both mother and father in Interlaken Park recently. Barred owls are of a mammal-like bulk (21″ tall) and relatively unfazed by human presence–they will stretch, emit wisdom, yawn, gambol, sleep, be serene, faire la toilette, hunt, etc. within 10-15 feet of a person (in this case, me.) 

There is consternation and controversy regarding this species. According to the Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society:

Melrose Market, originally uploaded by Rob Ketcherside.

It’s in the New York Times (or, it’s going to be this Sunday) so it must be true. A senior fellow at the Brookings Institution includes a Capitol Hill vs. Redmond data point in his opinion piece on the value of a “walkable, convenient place.” Now we know why all those “Eastside developers” want to build on Capitol Hill.

Although we have not studied all urban areas to the same degree, these findings appear to apply to much of the rest of the country. In metropolitan Seattle in 1996, the suburban Redmond area, home to Microsoft, had the same price per square foot as Capitol Hill, a walkable area adjacent to downtown, based on data from Zillow. Today, Capitol Hill is valued nearly 50 percent above Redmond. 

Hopefully, the Hill didn’t lose too much socioeconomic value this week.

Musical chairs gets hard (Images: Dave Lichterman for CHS)

The New City Collegian calls it the kick-off to “Capitol Hill summer” — we’ll take it. Here’s the scene from Thursday’s 2012 Unity Fair at Seattle Central Community College where THEESatsifaction rocked the mic and comedian Hari Kondabolu busted a few guts. If you missed it, relax. There’s an entire Capitol Hill summer ahead to enjoy. For more weekend activities across the Hill, check out our latest On the List.

(Image: David Lichterman)

(Image: CHS)

(Image: CHS)

Give this one a read. You’ll like it. It’s a mystery. CHS has learned that the old 1922-built house that has stood fenced and empty in the middle of 15th Ave E since 2009 is about to get an overhaul and a new business to call it home. It’s a bit of a whodunit.

“I represent a client who’s got a small business already on Capitol Hill,” Matt Herron of Cannon Commercial told CHS. “They wanted to let everyone know the property has been purchased.”

Herron says he can’t name his clients at this point but that they were eager to let people know that the building wasn’t slated for demolition.

“It’s important for them to let people know it’s a local business that is buying it,” Herron said.

Due to the loose ends of moving an existing business and making sure everybody affected has been fully informed, the new buyers aren’t revealing their identities, yet.

Herron said the former home of Horizon Books will undergo a full renovation starting this summer. The house has been empty and fenced off since Horizon moved its inventory to 10th Ave in spring 2009. The man who sold the building is what you might call a colorful character.

We tracked down Beverly Hills resident Arno Prinz in 2009 to learn more about his plans to sell the old house that somehow remained as the 15th Ave E business district grew up around it. His asking price three years ago was $1.25 million. We told Prinz that was pretty high. “It’s not expensive,” Prinz told us. “The lots behind it sold for almost $1 million. There has been good interest in the property. People are looking for loans and they are not easy to get.”

We don’t know what price Herron’s clients settled on with Prinz. UPDATE: Yes we do. The property was purchased by a company registered to Herron for $908,010. We’ll have to ask about that ten buck part.

As for the identity of the new business destined for 15th Ave E, your guess is as good as ours. Herron called the business a “store” and didn’t offer much more than to say the clients are excited to be coming to 15th Ave and that he thinks it will be a good fit when they move in by early next year after the work on the new shop location is complete.

The street will also soon have another new set of residents a block away as The Wandering Goose and (we think it’s going to be called) Fifth Quarter finish their build-outs in June. The energy from the newbies should be a boost to the efforts of the grassroots 15th Ave Merchants Association to raise the profile of the business district.

The new owners will also mean a 15th Ave E “old timer” will have the opportunity to settle in for a long stay on the street. The purchase includes the neighboring shop that is home to Casita. The previous landlords weren’t interested in a multi-year lease for the tiny shop but the buyers have already begun discussions on signing Paula Moreschi’s business for the long term. That all sounds like a happy ending. We’re looking forward to the next in the series.

• Central District shooting: Police are looking for suspects in a Central District shooting homicide tonight. Police say a man in his 40s was killed Thursday night at MLK and Cherry when he was caught in the crossfire of a street shootout.
• Assault at Cal Anderson: Police and medics responded to an incident in Cal Anderson Park Thursday night involving a man who received a serious laceration to his wrist. No details on the apparent altercation yet but Seattle Fire radio dispatches indicate the injury was not considered life-threatening. One person was reportedly taken into custody. UPDATE: More details below.
• Team purse snatch on E Union? Police are looking for a suspect who apparently worked with his girlfriend to snatch a purse from a woman on E Union last Saturday afternoon in front of enough witnesses that police have pictures of the suspect as he attempted to flee the scene. According to the report on the incident, the victim told police she was getting out of her car near the intersection of E Union and Belmont when she was approached by a woman claiming she had been robbed and needing a ride somewhere. 

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As the victim refused and walked away, she was jumped from behind by a man who tried to rip her bag from her shoulder. The victim said she grabbed her purse and struggled with the suspect who began striking her in the back of the head with his closed fist. She said she finally let go of the bag and the suspect ran from the scene. A man who saw the attack gave chase and was able to keep up with the suspect and take pictures as he fled.

Police were able to track down the woman who had claimed to be robbed but she told officers she did not see what had occurred and provided police with the suspect’s name.

According to the report, the pictures show a white male in his 20s “with short hair wearing a grey and white plaid zip-up jacket, a white t-shirt underneath with saggy blue jeans and grey and black shoes with a bit of yellow.” The suspect was also wearing a backpack at the time of the purse snatch.

• iRobbery at Summit and Olive: A man lost his laptop, iPad and iPhone to a street robber who threatened he was carrying a gun in an early morning robbery last Friday. The victim told police he was walking on Summit Ave near E Olive St around 4a when he was confronted by two males who blocked his path. “We’ll fuck you up. I have a piece. Give me the backpack,” one of the suspects reportedly said. The victim handed over his backpack and the phone the suspect also demanded before walking away and leaving the victim to continue home.

The victim did not contact police until the next day when the stolen iPad was turned on and a tracking service signaled a location in the 5500 block of Renton Ave S. When police arrived at the victim’s location after he called 911, the iPad had already been powered down and was no longer transmitting a location. The victim was able to remotely lock the devices so they can no longer be used but will still transmit a location if somebody tries to turn them on.

The victim described the male who did the talking and took the items as black, around 30 years old, with a goatee and shoulder-length dreadlocks.

The victim was not injured in the robbery.

• E Olive Way tavern assault: This early Tuesday morning incident from just before last call at the Crescent Tavern is such a mess of redacted names that, well, we’ll just let SPD tell you what led to this man being arrested for assault: