The new City Hall

Civic Ctr June 14

They had the formal ground breaking for Sequim’s new City Hall last week. You know the event: Five or six people lined up wearing hard hats and wielding shovels, throwing a little dirt around. The real work has already begun; in April I posted the demolition of the old building, here. And before the shovel ceremony there were surveyors and others getting the work underway.

Civic Ctr 2 June 14

These days the progress is subtle; behind a cyclone fence it’s even more masked. There are forms being built for foundations here. Once the foundation is poured and set things begin to rise above ground. From time to time I’ll drop by the site to show you how things are going.

Aftermath

Charred

The fire this past Monday at Baja Cantina and Sequim Consignment Co. raged for about four hours. The cause has yet to be determined and announced. One thing is certain: it was devastating.

Baja Cantina after

Enroute to a call, two passing EMTs saw smoke pouring from under the eaves. One stayed here and evacuated people from the buildings while the other responded to the call.

Sequim Consignment after

I worked for a nonprofit years ago that experienced a total loss fire like this at its operational headquarters. “Heartbreaking” barely begins to describe it.

Where there’s smoke

Baja Cantina

There was a nasty fire yesterday on West Washington Street. Heavy, dark smoke billowed from the the Baja Cantina and Sequim Consignment Co. for over an hour; these firemen were completely hidden by it most of the time I watched. As I left downtown this hook and ladder was joined by a second unit from Port Angeles. I later learned that the roof collapsed on both businesses and the building is likely a total loss. The building owner is insured but as she said to a reporter,”that doesn’t replace all that heart, sweat and tears we put into it.”

Bye, bye, City Hall

Bye City Hall

Slightly over two years ago I posted a picture of Sequim City Hall here. On Monday, this is what it looked like as it was being torn down. Other buildings, further down the street, are also being razed as part of the same project.

By the middle of next year Sequim will have a new $15 million City Hall that will house administrative offices and the police department. The old City Hall, built in 1973, was too small to accommodate both the police and functions of a growing city. The new building’s plaza will become the home of the Sequim Farmers Market.

BYOB: Buy Your Own Business

If you’ve got an entrepreneurial spirit and want to be part of the Sequim business community, both Pacific Mist Bookstore and Jeremiah’s BBQ are up for sale.

Pacific Mist Books

The owner of Pacific Mist Books must leave the area to care for an ailing family member.

Jeremiahs

And the sign in front of Jeremiah’s BBQ advertises that it’s for sale or lease and their website notes an asking price to sell, “Lock, Stock, and Barrel.”

Hate to see them go. If you’re interested, tell them Sequim Daily Photo sent you!

Kite Girl Plaza

There are a three nice bronze sculptures in Kite Girl Plaza on West Washington Street. The first, above, is – surprise! – “Kite Girl” by Gary Price.

Nearby is “Benji’s Leap” by Jay Wright.

The third sculpture in the plaza is “Catch Me If You Can” by R. Sandifer.

I wasn’t able to find any details about how these sculptures came to grace the plaza. But I did find a very good alternative shot of “Catch Me If You Can” posted in 2009 by none other than the Sequim Daily Photo’s “Lavender Lady,” SDP’s original blogger. It’s quite a nice shot and unfortunately the trees that fill the shot with such vibrant color are no longer there.