The Case of the Disappearing Walrus Mural

In 2011, Axis Automotive owner Alex Share commissioned Henry to paint a mural on the side of the building that housed his auto repair business in Ballard. The mural was up for less than three years before the building was demolished to make way for a new high-end apartment development: Two 7-story towers containing a total 286 apartments. While Alex had to move out on short notice and relocate his business further north,  he and Henry remain close friends. In the following interview, you'll hear why Alex has such fond memories of the mural that Henry painted for him. 

Just How Much Building is Going On? 

Just how much development is taking place in Ballard, and other parts of Seattle? Seattle in Progress, a website and app, can show you. The brainchild of Ethan Phelps-Goodman, a former Facebook engineer, the site displays every major development project in the city as a pin on a map. The data source? Seattle's own land use permits database at data.seattle.gov.

As Phelps-Goodman states on his website, this approach is a "modern alternative to the 'notice of proposed land use' boards currently posted at construction sites. These signs, often covered in graffiti, offer minimal information about the development and no easy way to learn more, voice an opinion or hear what others are saying."

The snapshot below shows a bird's-eye view of construction in the Ballard area as of August 19, 2015. 

On the site, you can manipulate the view to display the part of Seattle that interests you, and then click a pin to display more information about a project. For example, if you want to learn more about the high-end apartment project for which the original Axis Automotive was demolished, you could click the pin on the Swedish Medical Center/Ballard Campus site.  You can also find out about the project here, just by clicking the following button:

Have We Reached Peak Housing Affordability Crisis Yet?

More tower cranes are dotting the Seattle landscape than you can shake a backhoe at, but it's clear that housing isn't getting more affordable. 

A Few Data Points

Consider the following data points:

• Apartment rents are continuing to rise rapidly: The average rent for new leases was $1,408 per unit in the second quarter of 2015, according to market-research firm Apartment Insights Washington. This number is a jump of more than 10 percent over the previous year. Another source, RentJungle.com, puts monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment building in Seattle at $1,501 as of May 2015.
• Single-family housing prices are also continuing to rise: The median residential price in Seattle in July 2015 (including condos) was $517,500, according to data from closed sales from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NMLS).  This is more than a 10 percent increase over the previous year.

So what does this mean for artists such as Henry? First, just how much do artists like Henry make, on average?  The median annual salary for fine artists ranges from $40,000 to $60,000, based on August 2015 estimates from PayScale ($40,332), Glassdoor ($59,912) and Indeed.com ($47,000). If we apply a general rule of thumb that housing costs should not exceed one-third of a person's annual salary, this means that an artist's annual salary would have to hit the upper end of this range for him or her to reasonably afford renting a one-bedroom apartment in Seattle. 

What Does Henry Think About all of the Development?

As for Henry, he's begun spending more time away from Seattle. Ultimately, he'd like to travel to countries such as India, places that would provide a change in light and scenery to inspire new work. Beyond his desire to explore new environments for his art, Henry is also critical of the ever-increasing traffic in Seattle. "You can't drive or park. It took two hours to get across the city the other day. It's like what it takes in L.A. to get across the city," he says. In the end, though, for Henry, Seattle's people help offset the city's density and traffic issues. He adds:

Above: Edith Macefield House (Image by Sean Marshall, CC BY-NC 2.0) 

The "Up" House: Owned by a Late Local Hero, Now Facing an Uncertain Future

Not far from where Axis Automotive and Henry's much loved walrus mural used to be in Ballard stands a little house with a big fanbase. It's the "Up" house, named for its resemblance to the house in the Pixar movie Up. Back in the fall of 2006, it was just another property targeted by developers who were eager to tear the house down and build a retail venture. Nestled on NW 46th Street in industrial Ballard, the house wasn't assessed at much: $8,000 for the house, $101,000 for the land. But to owner Edith Wilson Macefield, the little bungalow was her world. She puttered about, tending to her azaleas in her tidy back yard, listening to Sinatra, feeding her birds, writing short stories, reading the classics and just generally minding her business. The house was built in 1900, her mom had lived and died there, and she'd lived there for more than 50 years. Why would she move? Money?

The developers offered her a lot of money, close to $1 million. Macefield was having none of it, so they simply built around her. For the next two years, she stayed put until she died, through construction jackhammers, porta-potties and eventually, looming concrete walls flanking her home on three sides. Cantankerous and with a mysterious backstory (was she really an undercover agent during World War II?), Macefield became a local folk hero by the time she died in 2008. Her "refuse to move" story has inspired a short documentary, Steadfast, the Macefield Music festival, the book Under One Roof and an army of interesting tattoos. The house even has its own Facebook page.

Where You can find the Up House

Curious to see the house for yourself? The address is 1438 NW 46th Street in Seattle. The following map shows a birds-eye view of the area surrounding the house, which is indicated with the black pin. 

 And before you go for your visit, why not grab a marker, bring a balloon, write a message on the balloon, and attach it to the informal memorial balloon wall in front of the house. You'll be in good company.

What's Next for the Up House?

The one thing that hasn't happened? The house hasn't been demolished, but its future is increasingly uncertain. In August 2015, an Orcas Island nonprofit, OPAL Community Land Trust, launched an ambitious but unsuccessful Kickstarter campaign to raise $205,000 toward saving the house. If successful, OPAL would have floated the house to Orcas Island by barge, purchased the land on which to relocate the house, renovated the house, and then made it available to a family in need. But with only 9 percent of the Kickstarter funds raised, OPAL had to abandon their plan and the house was sold to another buyer.

So who owns the house and land now? As of October 2015, it's KG Investment Management, which also owns the Ballard Blocks office and retail properties that surround the house.

During a time when many older commercial buildings and homes are rapidly disappearing in Ballard and throughout Seattle, OPAL's Kickstarter was a worthy bid to preserve a part of Ballard's history.

Scenes from the Botanical Gardens at the Locks and Golden Gardens

Artists and others looking to escape the traffic, noise, and construction of downtown Ballard need not travel far for inspiration and sanctuary. The Carl S. English Jr. Botanical Garden (named after its first horticulturist) at the Ballard Locks features more than 570 species and 1,500 varieties of plants from around the world.  Not far down the road, Golden Gardens provides unparalleled views of the Puget Sound and Olympic Mountains, beaches, wetlands, a barbecue area, boat launch, and fishing from a pier. While you're there, you'll likely catch views of regattas during the racing season.

Video music: Rapture (instrumental) / Peter Mulvey