Happy Birthday, Viaduct

It's hard to believe that you were born 54 years ago today, Alaskan Way Viaduct. You don't look a day over 50. Sure, your reinforced concrete could use some work. We all need a little health maintenance as we get older.

Viaduct, we admire the way you embrace your age. So stoic. You don't celebrate it; getting old is, in many ways, a pain. And you don't complain about it or submerge yourself in denial, either. You're growing old and learning to live with it. We hope to have your grace and poise in our own middle age.

It's your day. Get a little crazy. Drop a few clumps of decaying rebar and sink a few more millimeters. Just for today, forget that everyone is using you to represent the conflicting aspirations of our city. Just have some fun.

Photo by Arash Shiva. From the Seattlest Flickr pool. Thanks for sharing.