Full Waterfrontal Exposure

Tonight there's an Open House for the City of Seattle's Draft Waterfront Concept Plan, 5:30 to 7:30pm (with a brief presentation at 6:00pm), in the Bertha Landes Room, Seattle City Hall, 600 Fourth Avenue. Everybody holla!

If you're not aware, there are big doings in the works for Seattle's waterfront. Back in 2004, Seattlest attended a Visioning Charrette, which presented the results of design groups' brainstorming sessions, and it was a mixed bag. Some wanted a back-to-nature waterfront (maybe with submersible ferries that wouldn't clutter the view) and some just thought it'd be nice if Seattle looked more like that bustling Mediterranean hillside town where they summer vacation.

If you haven't been to an Open House, Seattlest will help shape your expectations. First of all, there's no house. It's City Hall. So that's a bait-and-switch right there. When you get there, if you show up as a concerned citizen with no particular axe to grind, you will find you are in a distinct minority. You'll see a lot of suits, typically, and some of those fatcat developers we've all read about, a few nervous-looking activists, and (in this case) some architects, whom you will recognize by their little angular black plastic glasses.

At some point, the Concept Plan will be presented as a fait accompli (another of those French expressions Seattlest is fond of -- this one means "the Fat Man must be behind it," in reference to the Mayor), and applause will be solicited. You'll feel slightly dejected, and will exit just in time to miss the #12 to Capitol Hill, which only runs every half hour. Then it will start rain.