Maple Leaf Ace Hardware

12/27/19 Maple Leaf Ace Hardware at 90th and Roosevelt

The Maple Leaf Ace Hardware store has been owned and operated by the same family since 1973. Greg spends a lot of time there when he’s working on a project. It’s right next door to Reckless Video, which is also owned by the Stephenson family (and which I sketched last spring). Always involved in community events (like the summer ice cream feed with free ice cream bars donated by the Stephensons and the Halloween parade), the two businesses and the family are the cornerstone of the Maple Leaf neighborhood.

After taking my walk/sketch route as far north as the Northgate post office, I came back south on Roosevelt, which has several coffee shops where I could have stopped to claim my reward sketch. Although it was only 40 degrees, I was feeling nicely warmed up after 45 minutes of walking. Instead of stopping for coffee, I picked up our weekend movies at Reckless and then stood on its porch to sketch the hardware store. (I regretted it 20 minutes later when I finished the sketch – my hands were numb and my teeth were chattering.) This may be my most iconic Maple Leaf neighborhood sketch: I got the utility tower, the blue water tower and Ace Hardware all in one composition.