Skip to content

Food & Drink

Life in the ‘Fifty Shades’ Building, ‘Up’ House Update

The top Seattle news stories you should be reading today

By Lauren Mang February 4, 2015

escala_0

The late Edith Macefield’s tiny Ballard home that somewhat inspired the Disney animated film Up (remember Macefield’s national-news-making refusal of a $1 million offer forced developers build the Ballard Blocks around her), might go up for foreclosure auction next month. The Seattle PI reports that the current owner of the house owes more than $185,000 on the property. 

Tent city news: A proposed plan from Mayor Ed Murray would restrict new homeless ecampments, or tent cities, to non-residential zones.

What makes a native Northwesterner? According to The Seattle Times‘ Ron Judd, you have to have been born here. Recently, Forbes magazine named Seattle the country’s fifth fastest-growing city. We experienced a 1.3 percent population growth in 2014 and are expected to hit that same number in 2015. That’s a lot of new people who, by Judd’s logic, won’t ever be “official” Northwesterners. Crosscut and Seattle mag contributor Knute Berger, begs to differ: “To me, being a Northwesterner has more to do with affinity for place than birthplace. In fact, some of the most Northwesty people I know were folks who stepped off the plane or out of their microbus and found home here.”

When my husband and I first moved here, we wandered into the Escala building downtown and toured a unit that we were thinking of renting. You can only do that now by appointment and if you want to see one of the penthouses–where fictional S&M enthusiast Christian Grey hung his…er…hat in the romance novel Fifty Shades of Grey–you’re required to be pre-qualified. So what is it like to live in this famed building where Fifty Shades fans arrive in droves to gawk? One resident speaks out, citing a particular annoyance involving the Ride The Ducks tour.  “Escala residents asked the Ducks to have the drivers stop the commentary for awhile, ‘but they are back at it.'”

This year’s lineup for Memorial Day weekend music fest Sasquatch was released yesterday and it’s loaded with some pretty stellar names: Lana Del Ray, Little Dragon, Ryan Adams, plus local acts My Goodness and Ayron Jones and The Way. MyNorthwest.com wants to know, however, if you’ve ever heard of any of the bands playing this year. Take the poll here.

 

Follow Us

Seattle Author Wins Pulitzer Prize

Seattle Author Wins Pulitzer Prize

Tessa Hulls wins for Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir

Seattle author Tessa Hulls has added a Pulitzer Prize to her growing list of accolades for Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir. The 2025 Pulitzers were announced May 5. Feeding Ghosts won in the “Memoir or Autobiography” category. As Seattle magazine wrote in a profile of Hulls last year, Feeding Ghosts “braids together the narratives of…

These Cultural Landmarks Honor Seattle’s AANHPI Community

These Cultural Landmarks Honor Seattle’s AANHPI Community

Here’s an overview of some notable spots and happenings

The first Asian American immigrants landed in Seattle in the 1860s, just a decade after the city’s founding in 1852. Seattle is plentiful with sites that tell crucial stories about Seattle’s Asian American community, whether you choose to learn about historic neighborhoods and buildings in the International District or browse sculptures and paintings at the…

Book Excerpt: Old White Man Writing

Book Excerpt: Old White Man Writing

Seattle resident Joshua Gidding examines his own white privilege

In his book, Old White Man Writing, Seattle resident Joshua Gidding attempts to come to terms with his privilege. Gidding grapples with the rapidly changing cultural norms in 21st-century America while examining his own racial biases and prejudices. As Manhattan Book Review notes: “Old White Man Writing is an introspective deep dive into an eventful life…

Glacial Expressions

Glacial Expressions

Local scientist and painter Jill Pelto spotlights climate change in a multi-artist show at Slip Gallery

The divide between the arts and sciences is long-fostered and well-documented. From elementary school onward, children are often singled out for their penchant for math or artistic ability and guided toward classes — and later careers — that align with their right or left brain tendencies. For Jill Pelto — a local climate scientist, painter,…