Our “village” is brand new, having been built on the Super Fund Site of the former Asarcos Copper Smelter, as I’ve described in posts previous… & no doubt will describe various results in future detail…
This image shows the 571 foot tall brick construction was demolished almost 30 years ago…
After the clean-up the site became a collection of condos & businesses under Tahoma… “our mountain”. We live along this miles long “Water Walk” stretching from 700 acre Point Defiance Park down the shore into central Tacoma. After a sedentary period I’m walking more again.
I enjoy that there is an old crucible from te smelter installed at the point where the walk way splits toward the Yaught Harbor & the Dune Pensula or the choice to climb a bit up the trail to the pedestrian bridge over the ferry dock into the park.
This new area happily has an artistic soul. Frank Herbert, author of the DUNE TRILOGY which is about a planet of failed technology, was born in Tacoma. The sculpture symbolizing another history of failed technology… the stack of the smelter. A good weaving of story…
A fun aspect of the stairways descending from the foot bridge to waterfront at the ferry dock includes slides as a slippery alternative route next to the steps…
As well as spectacular views!
We watched this bridge being built over the years… our curiosity about it us first brought into this the adventure of our change of address!
The old street car system had a stop at the entrance to the park (see the token remainder of tracks on the left side of the photo)… obviously an important destination for the citizens.
A lovely section close by is the Japanese garden…
Impossible to walk much deeper on on of our brief afternoon constitutionals into the further offerings. There is, for example, a zoo. Many more walks will come!
Back toward home we pass the Vashon Island Ferry again, seeing the boat both land & later loading. I haven’t been missing the adventures we had moving with this form of transportation!
Reaching our building from the walk we usually traverse up from one of the mosaics there, past the three story office building under construction in the elbow of the condo where the parking ramp fills that front side for four floors. other units are on the back side.
A view of our side of the condo building: our unit is on the top floor three-in from the distant end…
Our front door…
The lobby has a big hammered copper sculpture, giving the nod to the metal the smelter made…
I enjoy this bronze (bronze is an ally of copper too…) of an octopus, which is a prevalent species of these deep waters…
To our front door.
This recent shot shows a crane driven over the lawn on plywood panels to protect the grass in order to replace some large window panes in a unit below… showing the large decks which are the roofs of units on the lower floors built out beyond the parking core…
The mountain is as elusive as always… ‘part of her seductive manner!