The Viaduct: Concrete, Potholes and Nostalgia

2/2/19 Hundreds of thousands of pedestrians walk on the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

On our final day of driver’s ed, my car mates and I were supposed to drive on Interstate 5 to show that we could merge and achieve freeway speed safely. When it was my turn, however, my instructor wasn’t confident that I could drive at 55 mph safely, but he apparently thought I could handle 45 on Highway 99 instead. It was the first time I had ever driven on the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

Since that summer of 1975, I have driven on the viaduct countless times, safely but often mindlessly. As a Seattle native, I usually took for granted the glorious views of Elliott Bay, the Olympic Mountains and downtown Seattle that the viaduct offered. For me, it was just a way to get from point A to point B – an often convenient and faster alternative to I-5. It was Greg, a Midwest transplant, who taught me to appreciate the viaduct whenever he deliberately chose that route just for its views.

On the day before its closure and eventual destruction, we took a drive for one last glimpse of that view and to say good-bye to the viaduct. (I made my farewell sketch of it from the waterfront in December a few weeks before it closed.) I’m not exactly teary-eyed to see it go; dark, noisy and unsightly from the ground, the viaduct is a formidable barrier between our city and its waterfront. Built in 1949, it’s also a scary seismic risk. Still, it’s part of the city’s history and my personal history.

On Feb. 2 we got one more chance to bid farewell to the viaduct, this time in a way that has never been possible before: without a car! The public was invited to participate in a “community celebration” that allowed pedestrians to walk on the viaduct for the first and only time.

Along with 100,000 other people, Greg and I first walked partway through the new tunnel that will convey traffic in place of the demolished viaduct. I wasn’t very interested in seeing that part, but I figured it was as clean as it will ever be!

 

The new tunnel that will take the place of the viaduct

Next we walked through the old Battery Street Tunnel, which will be filled with rubble. It was eerie to be on foot in the 2,000-foot tunnel that I had driven through so many times. (Years ago, I had to slam on my brakes to avoid hitting a poor, flustered dog that had wandered into the tunnel. Several cars squealed to a stop behind me as I somehow avoided getting rear-ended.)

 

Entering the old Battery Street Tunnel

Light at the end of the Battery Street Tunnel

Finally, the light at the end of the tunnel got brighter, and we walked onto the open viaduct. A woman nearby pointed to the Western Avenue exit and got a bit emotional as she exclaimed to her companion, “I’ll never take that exit again! I took it every day to get to. . .” He took her photo near the exit.

Walking south on the viaduct

It was fun and somewhat disorienting to be able to leisurely enjoy the views I’d zipped by so many times at freeway speeds. A bit overwhelmed, I couldn’t seem to get a bearing on what to sketch. I could have chosen one of those beloved city or waterfront views. But the really strange and wonderful part about the day was simply walking on the viaduct with so many other people. When we neared the Pike Place Market, I finally saw the sketch I wanted to make. I bellied up to a ribbon barrier where I could see thousands and thousands of pedestrians passing the market’s parking garage as the viaduct snaked southward.

Walking past the Pike Place Market from below.

I didn't see any sketchers I knew. This artist must have made special arrangements to get this seat!

These people were all waiting to walk onto the viaduct as we were leaving. The line went down several blocks.

Bye-bye, viaduct! 

A Chilly Farewell

12/21/18 Farewell, ugly viaduct!

We’ve all known for years that the viaduct would be demolished in early 2019. I could have chosen any warm fall day to do it, but instead, I waited until it was 39 degrees to make my farewell sketches.

12/21/18 After being chilled to the bone making the
first sketch, I retreated to Starbucks for this window sketch.

Most locals have a love/hate relationship with the viaduct. Quite often it takes the strain off of I-5, our only other major north-south thoroughfare, and many people depend on it for their commute. (We are all bracing for the traffic havoc when the viaduct closes.) When you drive on it, the view of Elliott Bay and some parts of Seattle is unmatched. Whenever we pick up visitors at the airport, we drive home on the viaduct because we know they will enjoy that view. But the viaduct itself is a dark eyesore, not to mention a potentially devastating seismic risk. However we might feel about it, it’s coming down in February.

Walking under the viaduct toward the Pier 55 Starbucks where I was meeting Sue and Antonella on that chilly morning, I passed many people in small tents or nothing but sleeping bags; they use that viaduct as their rooftop each night. Feeling my fingertips go numb as I sketched, I wondered where they would go when their “home” disappears in a couple of months.

I think the only other sketch I have of the viaduct is one I made from the ferry terminal walkway three years ago.

Technical notes: The scope of the top sketch is very ambitious for me, and I was quietly freaking out as I blocked in the composition. But I remembered what I learned in Gabi Campanario’s “Pocket Urban Sketching” workshop a couple of years ago, which helped immensely.

I’m happy that I brought my gray Stillman & Birn Nova sketchbook and a white Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen. Although I enjoy using toned paper, gray paper is somehow harder to use than the beige that I prefer, but for the viaduct, it was exactly what I needed.

Sue and Antonella braved the cold to sketch with me.

Good-Bye, Viaduct; Hello, Fresh View

9/6/19 The last stump of the viaduct coming down.

It seems like we’ve been saying good-bye to the viaduct for a long, long time. Kate recalled a sketch outing at the waterfront in 2013 when we first started hearing news about the viaduct’s impending doom. I missed that one, but I began my own good-byes last December, when a few other sketchers and I got together to sketch the viaduct. Then there was the official farewell party and closure in February, when I walked on the viaduct for the first and only time.

Once the action got under way, I went back to sketch various parts of the viaduct in March, April, May and June. Last week I went back yet again to sketch the last remaining stump (top of post), which is slowly being demolished even as I type this (viaduct demolition, it turns out, is not a bang but a whimper).

Enough already. I’ve said my good-byes, the viaduct is (mostly) gone, and it’s time to greet the bright view that is now visible after being hidden for decades behind that dark gray mass. Seattle USk did just that yesterday, and it was refreshing to see familiar things in a new light – literally.

First I walked to the edge of a parking lot east of Alaskan Way to face west and sketch the Pier 55 building and some cranes behind it. Although this building is not particularly special to me, it’s the first time I’d seen it from that spot. Note the green Starbucks umbrellas in front of it . . .

 

9/13/19 Pier 55, Alaskan Way

9/13/19 Facing downtown from the waterfront

For my second sketch, I went to that Starbucks and faced east to sketch whatever buildings I could see from the outdoor table I shared with a couple of other sketchers (at right). It’s the same vantage point I had last December (below) – except now I could see the buildings. (And the same HUGE sale is going on next door.)

It’s a bright, new waterfront.

Edited 9/24/19: The Seattle Times has a fantastic video showing how the viaduct was taken down and how different the views look now.

12/21/18 Here's how the same view looked last
December.

Heavy Equipment Heaven

4/25/19 Viaduct demolition between Marion and Madison

Although the project is apparently behind schedule, demolition of Seattle’s viaduct has been ongoing since March. I’ve been waiting for it to warm up a bit to get down there to sketch the destruction. On Thursday the temperature was supposed reach the high 50s, so Greg and I checked it out. We went to the same area where I had made my farewell sketch of the viaduct last December.

4/25/19

I thought I had died and gone to heavy equipment heaven! I think I can confidently say that Alaskan Way between Marion and Madison streets has the highest concentration of bulldozers, excavators and cranes (and other things I can’t name) in the city. I couldn’t even count them all, but I saw things I’d never seen before, including a whole fleet of mint green machines bearing the FERMA logo. Specialty equipment must have been brought in just for this job, which is a huge mess of concrete, dust, rebar and metal.

For the first sketch, I stood on the ferry terminal pedestrian overpass. It was overwhelmingly challenging to capture the scope of everything going on. Although most of the viaduct is still standing, it’s strange to see large chunks of it gone. The area already seems brighter.

I went to the street level for a closer look. Mesmerized, I watched the monsters gobble up debris, swivel, and barf it all out onto growing mountains. Over and over. They move surprisingly fast for such huge beasts, but I caught a couple making repetitive gestures.

I’ll be back for more!

Big chunks of the viaduct are gone.

Just a couple of the many hungry beasts waiting to gobble
up the viaduct.

Coming Down

3/15/19 Heavy equipment ready for action on the viaduct.

The Alaskan Way Viaduct has been closed for more than a month now, and its demolition has been occurring gradually, a small area at a time. After seeing the Jeffrey Gibson exhibit at SAM, we wandered through the north end of Pike Place Market to see if any destruction was ongoing. Lots of heavy machinery was scattered about the otherwise empty viaduct, waiting for some action. We could hear activity further south, but nothing was happening near Steinbrueck Park where I sketched this. Soon enough, it’ll be a noisy, dusty mess there.

The graffiti’d lane signs shown in this sketch are the same ones I sketched in February when I walked on the viaduct – but from the other side.

(According to my phone’s weather app, it was 63 degrees while I sketched this! Spring could happen yet!)

Mysterious Viaduct Demolition

6/21/19 Viaduct demolition viewed from Steinbrueck Park

After the sketch outing downtown, I met Greg by the Pike Place Market, where he was shooting video again of the ongoing demolition of the viaduct. From Steinbrueck Park at the north end of the market, I spotted a crane with its cables attached to one end of a concrete support. A saw was cutting off the end of the support, and water was spraying out near the blades. Just after I finished the sketch, the end piece separated, and the crane hauled the piece away.

It’s a mystery: If the whole thing is coming down anyway, why cut off that piece? I had no one to ask.

Tina’s Top 10 Memorable Sketches of 2019

2/2/19 Alaskan Way Viaduct

It’s time for another year-end tradition: A review of my most memorable sketches of the past 12 months. These aren’t necessarily my favorite or “best” sketches; they’re ones that evoke strong memories and feelings when I see them. After all, one of my primary motivations for sketching is to remember how I felt when I sketched. (Click the title of the sketch to read the original post.)

Here are links to my most memorable sketches from past years: 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013.

2/11/19 Snowpocalypse

Feb. 2, Farewell to the Alaskan Way Viaduct: Along with 100,000 other nostalgic (or curious) Seattleites, we bid farewell to the viaduct during an event that allowed pedestrians to walk its length for the first and only time.

Feb. 11, Snowpocalypse: Fighting cabin fever during many days of snow, I got some rare practice sketching the white stuff through every window.

3/16/19 Kite Hill

March 16, Kite Hill, Gas Works Park: After our record-breaking cold winter, it seemed like the whole city was out and about on this brilliant, sunny day.

June 30, Gas Works Park USk celebration: Although I’ve sketched at Gas Works Park many times, both alone and with Urban Sketchers Seattle, this sketch outing was extra-special: We celebrated our 10^th anniversary of sketching together.

 

6/30/19 Gas Works Park USk celebration

7/1/19 cement mixer at my friends' house

July 1, driveway renovation: My friends in the Greenwood neighborhood invited me over to sketch the heavy equipment and activity around their driveway renovation project.

7/25/19 Amsterdam symposium

July 25, Amsterdam symposium thumbnails: There’s nothing special about these thumbnails I made in Norberto Dorantes’ workshop, but they evoke the beginning of the blistering, triple-digit heatwave we endured during the four days of the Amsterdam symposium. Sketching in that record-breaking heat was unforgettable.

July 30, Delft canal: A few days after the symposium, we wound down in quiet Delft, where I sat in tranquility to sketch a canal. As much as I adore graphite, I use it only when I know I can take my time. This sketch reminds me of how relaxing and comfortable it was after the intensity and heat of Amsterdam.

 

7/30/19 Delft

8/11/19 taiko concert

Aug. 11, taiko conference: In Portland for a family event, we got to attend a taiko conference, where the percussionists seemed to infuse my brush pen with their dynamic energy.

Aug. 27, Minnesota State Fair: Cows, chickens, sheep and the butter head sculptor I’d been wanting to catch for years – they were all mine to sketch at the Minnesota State Fair! Meeting up with Roz Stendahl and other Twin Cities Sketchers made the day even more fun.

 

8/27/19 Butter head sculptor, Minnesota State Fair

Oct. 17, Pfeiffer Beach, Big Sur: The main reason this sketch is so memorable was the terrific high winds I had to battle for the duration. My mouth and shoes filled with sand, I was happy to be done!

10/17/19 Pfeiffer Beach

Murphy’s Laws of Urban Sketching

 

Law No. 1: Sketched in Feb. 2019, this sketch from the viaduct was only possible after it was permanently closed and eventually torn down (open to pedestrians only on this one day). I'd always thought that some of the best views of the city were only possible while driving 60 mph on the viaduct.

Every year on the anniversary of the day I began sketching, I write a retrospective and usually introspective blog post about practice, process, learning and other aspects of drawing that I enjoy thinking and writing about.

A big part of my creative process has been everything I’ve learned specifically about sketching on location – all the ways in which it is more challenging but also more rewarding than working in a comfy studio. Today on my 12^th anniversary, I present my learnings that every urban sketcher will be familiar with – Murphy’s Laws of Urban Sketching:

Law No. 2: One more sketch before those clouds
bust open? Wrong again.

1. The best view of what you want to sketch will be from the middle of a busy street – like the freeway. (Top of post.)

2. If you think you can squeeze in one more sketch before it starts raining, you will be wrong (at right).

3. The day you forget your sharpener will be the day you break a lead (below).

Law No. 3: Saved by the mechanical pencil.

4. Ten minutes into your sketch, a large delivery truck will park in front of you for the next 30 minutes (below).

 

Law No. 4: I was sketching those Chevys back there when this vendor unloaded her booth and all her merchandise from her car.

Law No. 5: That beautiful golden-hour light lasted about 30 seconds.

5. The tiny spot of shade you are comfortable in will disappear . . . and so will the perfect light on your subject (at right).

Law No. 6: He seemed to be writing in a journal, so I thought he'd stay around
a little longer.

 

6. And finally, the Murphy’s Law that every urban sketcher learns first: As soon as you start sketching a person or vehicle, they will leave.

A Return to Heavy Equipment Heaven

5/23/19 Viaduct demolition on Seattle's waterfront

It had been nearly a month since we were down at the waterfront to view ongoing demolition of the viaduct – it was high time to return and see how much progress had been made. We didn’t see quite the concentration of heavy equipment as last time; the machines were all still there, but undoubtedly scattered over a larger area moving north.

5/23/19 Greg doing his thing

This time I got a closer view of the remains of three supports. Shredded rebar and other debris spilled out like veins from ripped limbs. I also got a better look at a lobster-clawed Ferma machine that I had sketched previously. It was busily gobbling up what looked like piles of black wire.

Meanwhile, my favorite photographer continued to document progress with his camera.

Seattle’s New Overlook Walk

10/14/24 Seattle waterfront and new Overlook Walk (note the Space Needle barely visible but peeking between buildings)

Seattle has a new public attraction: the Waterfront Park’s Overlook Walk. Under construction since shortly after the Alaskan Way Viaduct came down in 2019, the full Waterfront Park is not yet complete, but the newly opened Overlook Walk is a key feature and attraction in its own right. Now that the viaduct is gone, it’s possible to walk safely and easily down the otherwise steep slope from Pike Place Market to the waterfront without ever crossing traffic. The Overlook views are Seattle at its best – the kind you want to bring your out-of-town guests to see. And a big attraction to sketchers will be all the sheltered public seating that would keep us dry.

Scouting mission accomplished!

To plan a USk outing there, Kate, Mary Jean and I decided to have a mini outing first to scout it out. All three of us sketched from the waterfront looking up toward the new Overlook walkway and new aquarium addition, which also opened recently. After lunch, I sketched from the top of the Overlook looking down on the Big Wheel. In addition, I spotted some brightly colored maples on Alaskan Way where new landscaping has been planted near the old railroad tracks.

When I go again with USk, I might take a different approach and single out one view to make a larger sketch. For my first visit, though, I wanted to cram as much as I could onto one page with my comics style – an expression of being dazzled by so many fresh views.

My tax dollars were well spent on this new gem, and I plan to get my money’s worth with plenty of future visits.

Lots of public seating available under this shelter.