The palm tree is actually right across the street from the “Palette” image in the previous post. A little bit of everything here in the Pacific NW, I guess. The wildflower is from the Duwamish River area and the other two images are from our neighborhood here in Arbor Heights, West Seattle.
A flowery end to this week.
I’ve posted, in the past five years, images of this house that has been abandoned for years in the South Park area of Seattle. I made a trip down there a couple of weeks ago and took these images. Since I last visited the house it has suffered through two arson/meth related fires.
While I was taking these images a small, wiry guy came up behind me and said ‘Hi’. Through our conversation, I learned he was the night watchman for the owner of the Marina and storage facilities along the Duwamish River. We talked for about 20 minutes. He was quite a character. He has lived in the area for years. He gave me a history of the house or as much as he knew. He witnessed both fires, one set by a person cooking up some meth on the second story wooden floor. The house is actually for sale, as a tear down of course. I tried walking in the house a few years back and the debris was waist high and probably a mine field of syringes; I stopped after a few feet and bailed out of the window I came in from, which I think was the kitchen in the back. Besides, I really didn’t know if there was someone living upstairs-addicts or homeless people.
So, for a little history that was shared with me:
After WWII the house was used as ‘transitional’ housing for Japanese Americans that were interned during the war. They transitioned from the camps to this house in an effort to reintegrate; most of the property they owned prior to internment was lost, sold or confiscated.
Sometime after that a couple bought the house and stayed in it for years. The couple were a bit eccentric, but one of their hobbies was coin collecting. Apparently they hid this collection ( valued in excess of $100,000 back in the 60’s-70’s) in a box somewhere in the house. The man died first, leaving his widow to deal with the house, which soon became too much for her as she aged. So, she moved out, but could not find the box of coins. As time passed, for reasons unknown to me, the house fell into disrepair and ultimately declined into a mess. The lady would return from time to time, looking for the box of coins, to no avail.
After the second fire, the people living in the area( like the night watchman-old timers) went in looking through the debris to see if the box of coins had burned, surfaced or whatever. They did find the box, but it was empty. It was assumed that one of the homeless people who had wandered in, had found the box, after the fire, and walked away with a pocketful of dreams.
A rich and tragic history for what was once one of the better homes, with quite a view, in South Park.
Rummaging around South Park on a Sunday morning. Came across these old signs.
Rummaging around the South Park neighborhood of Seattle on a Sunday morning.
Location: South Park, Seattle.
In March of 2016 I posted a couple of photos of an abandoned house in the South Park neighborhood of South Seattle, near where I live. I resisted the location this past week and you can see the ‘changes’ that have taken place in less than a year. I couldn’t get in the house in March as it had about 3-4 feet of debris in each room-who knows what was in that mess? Now, the house has suffered a major fire ( arson, most likely) and it is mostly a charred ruin. The lot it sits on has been cleaned of dead cars and all sorts of other trash and is now barricaded off with huge cement blocks and cable. At one time this house had a great territorial view and was probably someones pride and joy.
Spotted on the Duwamish River. They are currently loading container units onto the deck of this barge. Not sure what the plan is.
The photo on the left is of me in 1955 taken along the Duwamish River in South Park, Seattle, where we lived at the time. The photo on the right is of my grandson taken this week along the same river. Some things don’t change too much over time.
Location: Duwamish River, South Park, Seattle.Seattle’s industrial river that was actually the very first EPA Superfund site, designated as such in 1970. The river is slowly changing, getting cleaner, less industry = less pollution, etc.
Shot: Approx. 2-3 weeks ago.
My second visit to the House on the Hill in South Park, Seattle. Due to waist-high debris it was impossible to get more than a couple of feet inside the house. The interior is severely burned; it smells and is very unsafe. On the outside there is broken glass everywhere in addition to piles of debris. At one time this was a house with a view of Downtown Seattle in the distance as well as the Duwamish River nearby. I don’t know what “Skin Trap House” means, so if anyone has any ideas…. feel free to comment. The ground floor of the interior looks more like a dumping ground than anything else; perhaps after the fire people just repurposed the house? A good percentage the debris is not fire damaged. The image of the stairs leading to the second floor I found most appealing and engaging.
Sort of a creepy, abandoned house in South Park, Seattle. I hope to venture inside soon. If so, I will post what I find.
I half expected to find a corpse in the car as I approached it!
View from a hill in South Park, Seattle, looking north with downtown Seattle in the background. Took this minutes before the storm hit. With no warning the wind and rain started and I had to abandon the shoot.More photos from this hill in the following days.
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