Author Betty MacDonald resided here at 6317 15th Ave NE while attending nearby Roosevelt High School, graduating in 1924.

The large white Notice of Proposed Land Use Action sign describes Project # 3013282 as “Land Use Application to allow four three unit apartments (12 units). Existing single family residence (6313 15th Ave NE) to remain; existing single family residences (6317 & 6321 15th Ave NE) to be removed. For a total of 13 residential units.”

6313 15th Avenue NE (left, light green) will remain

The house was built in 1910. A picture of the residence taken in 1939 is included in the HistoryLink.org slideshow of the King County homes of Betty MacDonald and her sister, Mary Bard.

Betty MacDonald (1908-1958) was the author of ten books, many of which were autobiographies detailing her humorous and adventurous life in Washington state. The best known of these, “The Egg and I,” published in 1945, was based on her experiences running a chicken farm with her husband on the Olympic Penninsula. A film loosely based on the book came out in 1947, and starred Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray.

From the self-guided walking tour of MacDonald’s 1933 Roosevelt: “Time Traveling in the Roosevelt District with Betty MacDonald” (via the Internet Archive):

Elsie (Sydney) Bard, Betty’s mother, was widowed when Betty was twelve years old. Left with five children, Sydney lived on in the big house in Laurelhurst she and her husband had purchased in 1919. By 1924, reduced funds and the desire to be closer to the new Roosevelt High School, which opened its doors in 1922, brought the Bard family to 15th Avenue NE. Sydney and various of her children lived in the house, number 6317, for almost twenty years.

MacDonald describes the house at the time her family resided there in her 1950 book, “Anybody Can Do Anything:”

According to real estate standards Mother’s eight-room, brown-shingled house in the University district was just a modest dwelling in a respectable neighbourhood, near good schools and adequate for an ordinary family. To me [...] that shabby house with its broad welcoming porch, dark woodwork, cluttered dining room plate rail, large fragrant kitchen, easy book-filled firelit living room, four elastic bedrooms–one of them always ice-cold–roomy old-fashioned bathrooms and huge cluttered basement, represents the ultimate in charm, warmth and luxury.

UPDATE (2:35 PM): The notice on the property lists a comment period ending May 16, but could be extended to May 30. Comments can be sent to PRC@seattle.gov or call (206) 684-8467. Be sure to mention the project number: 3013282.

The content on the site will remain, but no new stories are to be published. Readers and Green Lake neighbors are encouraged to check out the Seattle EveryBlock site to get their local happenings fix and connect with each other.

You can read about the site’s transition in the final post, here.

The old MGL on the left, and the new MGL on the right.

We here at Ravenna Blog have not only linked to MGL’s great info in the past, but have pestered sought local news blogging advice from publisher Amy Duncan on countless occasions. She has been endlessly helpful and encouraging. We will continue to consider her one of our Hyperlocal Gurus.

We are also thankful to MGL/Amy for helping us goad encourage Patty over in Roosevelt to start Roosiehood, the Roosevelt Neighborhood Blog.

Thank you, Amy, for your years of service to your community, raising the bar for hyperlocal reporting in Seattle, and for being a good friend.

Ride your bike to one of the participating restaurants listed here, and 20% of your bill will be donated to an area not-for-profit.

This year’s event benefactor is the Seattle FamilyWorks food bank and resource center.

There are no Ravenna restaurants participating at this time, but you eat here all the time anyway, right? Use the event as an excuse to hop on your velocipede and check out an eatery in another neighborhood.

In mid-May of last year, I happened to be at the playground at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center on a breezy sunny day. And every time the wind hit the blossoming cherry trees it would cause a cascade of petals to fall to the ground. It was so beautiful. So I took some pictures, and some video.

This week’s Moment of Ravenna Zen: Two minutes and thirty-eight seconds of falling cherry tree blossoms. (In the background you can hear the wind, children playing, a jet plane going by, and my son saying, “Look at all that snow!”)

Do YOU have a Moment of Ravenna Zen to share? Email rebecca@ravennablog.com, or use our handy dandy comment form to tell us about it.

Signs of impending light rail construction are bittersweet, aren’t they? The FUTURE is coming, but the neighborhood has to make room for it first.

Case in point, the Roosevelt QFC’s last day is Saturday, May 12. Roosiehood reports that the store’s staff will be transferred to other local QFC stores. According to the Seattle Times, the Roosevelt QFC was the first in the chain, opening in 1955.

The other recent sign of the impending FUTURE is the Standard Radio building being dismantled. Sound Transit’s contractor has removed the Vitrolite glass tiles from the building’s exterior. In May, the curved canopy and its neon lettering will be removed, and stored for later use in the station.

And one last bit of Roosevelt Station-related news: The stretch of NE 66th St (from I-5 to 15th Ave NE) identified by the Seattle City Council as a “Green Street”* is getting a planning committee (made up of Sound Transit and “neighborhood representatives and city staff”). For more on “Green Streets,” visit the City of Seattle’s website here.

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In other North Link Light Rail news, there are some upcoming events for Brooklyn Station (or whatever you choose call it) that you might be interested in…

Brooklyn Station Construction Open House

Tuesday, May 1, from 6-8:30 PM, at the Neptune Theatre (1303 NE 45th St). Presentation starts at 6:30.

Agenda items include:

• Revised construction schedule
• Updated street, sidewalk and parking restriction plans
• Construction noise and the nighttime noise variance process
• Potential construction mitigation measures
• Station naming

Brooklyn Station 60% Design Open House

Wednesday, May 23, from 6-8:30 PM, at the Neptune Theatre. Presentation starts at 6:30.

Agenda items include:

• Design plans for Brooklyn Station
• Initial concepts for station art
• Station naming

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* Not the same as a “Greenway,” by the way. Here’s a Seattle Department of Transportation page on “Greenways.”

The Roosevelt High School Jazz Band Boosters are selling plants (by PRE-ORDER only) from now until May 7. Just fill out the order form, send it in with payment, and pick up your plants on Wednesday, May 16th, in the Roosevelt HS parking lot (enter off 12th Avenue NE) from 3-6 PM.

The Nathan Hale High School Horticulture and School Garden Program is holding their annual plant sale during the second week of May. They will be selling hanging baskets (fuchsias and mixed annuals), bedding plants, ornamental grasses, herbs, vegetable starts, and native trees and shrubs. More information (dates of the sale and directions) can be found here.

And if you’re looking for a weekend story time to take your sprout(s) to, you may want to check out the Miller Library at the University of Washington Botanic Gardens (3501 NE 41st St) this Saturday, April 28. The library holds a monthly story time with activities for kids age 3-8 years and their families. The program runs from 10:30-11:15 AM.

Here’s a description:

Amazing Seeds Story Program

This is a story program that starts small and grows into something amazing! Before the stories, join us in the program room to make a seed mosaic.

HOW GROUNDHOG’S GARDEN GREW by Lynne Cherry
FLIP, FLOAT, FLY: SEEDS ON THE MOVE by JoAnn Early Macken
PLANT SECRETS by Emily Goodman

Information on upcoming Story Times at the Miller Library can be found here.

This week, we decided that we’ve been hoarding these interesting tidbits for long enough.

Welcome to “Your Moment of Ravenna Zen”* — a (hopefully) weekly look at the little things that make our neighborhood the special place that we know and love.

For this first installment, we bring you 49 seconds of Ravenna Creek, from seacam’s YouTube channel. Enjoy.

Do YOU have a Moment of Ravenna Zen to share? Email rebecca@ravennablog.com, or use our handy dandy comment form to tell us about it.

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*Yes, keen observers will note that we may have been inspired by a similarly named segment at the tail end of every episode of The Daily Show.

The exterior of the building is still forest green with red trim, but the interior of Boulevard Grocery (2007 NE Ravenna Blvd) has undergone quite a transformation this year.

Since Seven Coffee Roasters’ Sean Lee took over the business around the close of 2011, the barely 800-square-foot neighborhood grocery store has added two more jobs to its own resume: cafe and art space. All three facets seek to tempt both long-time residents and university students alike to come in, enjoy each others’ company, and head home with food and drink for their tables.

We stopped by the 96-year-old-building in January (for the soft open) and again here in April to witness the progress and share it with you here.

From left to right: Owner Sean, Barista Patrick, and Manager Jeff (photo taken at the soft open)

Whole bean Seven Coffee Roaster coffee was first to line the shelves back in January...

...and has since been joined by other goods such as pasta, oatmeal, soup, condiments, and more.

The Four Loko is gone, happily replaced by 22 oz bottles of local beers.

Wall o' wine at the rear of the store.

During our January visit these built-in benches had just been completed. They've since been joined by a large table.

The new pastry case, rife with hand pies from High 5 Pie.

Sandwiches by Blue Saucer in Maple Leaf wait to be purchased for a picnic.

Bread by the Essential Baking Company, delivered every other day.

Free toast with coffee special advertised next to a jar of doggie treats.

Sorry, kitty: No treats for you.

A small flock of origami birds cluster together on a windowsill.

A painting of Boulevard Grocery itself, done by a local.

The Compassion Wizard even hangs out here.

A mixed media work by Narboo (note the plastic soda can rings on the left).

A limited run of handpainted bags on display -- portions of each sale go to the artist, the store, and a charity.

With the beans removed, your coffee bean bag artwork is suitable for framing.

For more on the gallery side of Boulevard Grocery, check out this piece by Lauren Kronebusch of The Daily at the University of Washington: “Boulevard Gallery: View From A Coffee Cup.”

Boulevard Grocery is also holding an artwalk this Friday, April 21st, from 6-9 PM. Works by Greenwood’s Narboo and Starheadboy will be showcased, with live acoustic music.

Footrace finish line, 1925 / Seattle Municipal Archives

You can go back there, you know.

Seattle Parks and Recreation is once again holding their Masters Track and Field Meet at the West Seattle Stadium (4432 35th Ave SW) on Saturday, June 2, from 8:30 AM-2:30 PM. Cost is only five bucks per event (as many as you can handle; registration the morning of the event).

But perhaps you’d like to train first? Parks and Rec has you covered. You can register for their Countdown to the Meet in Eight Weeks Training¹ for just $49.99².

Or maybe you just miss holding the tape. Volunteers are needed throughout the entire event (registration, field events, and timing).

For more information, contact Antoinette Daniel, Adult Recreation Program Coordinator, at 206-684-7092, or email her at antoinette.daniel@seattle.gov.

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¹Yes, things started a couple weeks ago, but the press release only rolled in this morning. Still a good deal.

²What’s with the infomercial price there, P&R?