Belltown Messenger - FRONT PAGE FODDER

The great outdoors season is now upon us. But central Seattle's newest public open space, the Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Garden north of Belltown, won't be part of it, at least not this year. Construction on the former Union 76 distribution terminal is proceeding as schedule, however, with the park's grand opening tentatively scheduled for this October.

This comes from SAM director Mimi Gardner Gates, who reported on the park's progress at a March 29 breakfast meeting of the Belltown Business Association. She said her staff and the construction crews have surmounted many obstacles, including the cleanup of ground contaminants from the site and negotiations with the BNSF railroad to build a skybridge, festooned with glass art, over the tracks separating the two tracts of land that comprise the park. Most of the park will have open hours from dawn to dusk, except for occasional evening events in an indoor pavilion; a portion of the property abutting Myrtle Edwards Park will remain open to the public at night.

Gates said SAM's raised all the money to operate the park and most of the money to build it. To help finish the fundraising, the museum's launching a "SAM Belongs To Me" fund drive. Donors of $1,000 or more will get their names inscribed on the "Olympic Outlook," an etched-steel railing that will line the waterfront and overlook Elliott Bay. Potential donors can call 654-3100 for further info.

The Capitol Hill Arts Center (CHAC), on 12th Avenue north of Pine Street, is still hosting all-ages music events. Among them: the summer schedule of the Vera Project. Vera held its last rock show in the former Annex Theater space at Fourth and Stewart on March 25. Its new permanent space in the Seattle Center Snoqualmie Room isn't ready yet. So it will host Friday and Saturday evening shows at CHAC in the interim.

The new permanent Vera space will include a recording studio, a visual-art and performance gallery, small rooms for classes and meetings, and a 300-capacity main performance room. Vera's currently raising $1.5 million to pay for it all; details are at www.vivavera.org.

-ML and CH

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A BELLTOWN MANIFESTO
27. You're soaking in it.