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Keep Your Eyes Peeled for the Rare “Scenic Drive” Sign

Seattle’s enigmatic reminders of roads less taken

A street sign on a pole in a city.
A street sign on a pole in a city.

This article originally appeared in the May 2016 issue of Seattle magazine.

These days, Seattle’s streets are peppered with signs proclaiming road closures, revised routes and reminders not to “block the box.”

But keep your eyes peeled and you may spot a rare “Scenic Drive” sign. The signs are the legacies of a 1958 collaboration between the City of Seattle and the Chamber of Commerce, created to promote Seattle’s natural beauty and to give tourists an easy way to maneuver through the city’s scenic areas. A local artist, Robert Mathiesen, created the simple design—which features a blue Neptune’s trident representing local waters, and/or two elongated green triangles representing our evergreen trees—painted on wooden signs, which were eventually upgraded to aluminum. The signs remained until the 1980s, when the majority of them were removed to make way for more directional signage.

According to a City of Seattle spokesperson, the few signs that remain—including one near the Fauntleroy ferry terminal and another on northbound State Route 99 near the Battery Street Tunnel—are no longer maintained by the city and will probably be removed eventually as well.

In the meantime, they’re quaint reminders of a time when tourists used signs rather than Google Maps to navigate the city.

 

SENSORIUM Takes on Our Screen Addiction

SENSORIUM Takes on Our Screen Addiction

Dance, drag, and immersive art collide in an eight-week exploration of our phone-obsessed lives, with a few surprises along the way. 

What do drag queens, smartphone addiction, art installations, and an old luggage shop have in common?  According to longtime Seattle choreographer Alana O’Farrell Rogers, a lot.  “There’s no dead time anymore,” says Rogers, explaining how the proliferation of smartphones fills the empty spaces that once served as time for rest or connection. Where we snuggled…

Salt-N-Pepa on Breaking Barriers and Staying Power

Salt-N-Pepa on Breaking Barriers and Staying Power

Ahead of their performance at Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture gala, the hip-hop pioneers talk about creative ownership, connecting with new generations, and the songs that still resonate.

The Museum of Pop Culture (MOPOP) will host its annual ICONS of Pop Culture Gala in Seattle on October 22, honoring five artists and institutions whose work has helped shape entertainment and culture.  This year’s honorees are martial arts and film legend Bruce Lee, fashion designer Jeremy Scott, the video game franchise Halo, hip-hop pioneers…

Studio Sessions: Christopher Paul Jordan

Studio Sessions: Christopher Paul Jordan

Drawing on childhood memories, neighborhood history, and salvaged materials, Christopher Paul Jordan’s latest show at Cornish’s Behnke Family Gallery explores how the past stays with us.

Start in the middle. It’s good advice for telling a story, and a way into Christopher Paul Jordan’s paintings. By the time you encounter them, their materials have already been something else, and who knows what they might move on to become. The Tacoma interdisciplinary artist works with salvaged objects, including screens, picture frames, canvas,…

Rearview Mirror: Wedding Bells, A Furniture Launch, and the Symphony’s New Look 

Rearview Mirror: Wedding Bells, A Furniture Launch, and the Symphony’s New Look 

Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).

WEDDING BELLS I’ve been a bit absent from this column lately, but I think I have a pretty good excuse: I got married! It’s already been three weeks since my September 19 wedding, but I’m still reflecting on the magic of the day. My fiancé, well husband now (I can’t get used to saying it!),…