Elsewhere in undulating architecture … The long-planned Africatown Plaza makes its debut this weekend with an open house, tours and live entertainment (Oct. 5, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.).
A combined effort of Africatown Community Land Trust and Community Roots Housing, the seven-story affordable-housing complex is the result of years of community planning — with the specific goal of bringing Black families back to the Central District after gentrification radically changed the demographics.
As consulting architect Laurie Allison Wilson explained in 2019, “The goal was to create an iconic building that doesn’t look like the typical building you see in Seattle.”
Mission accomplished. The distinctively curved facade (at 23rd Avenue and Spring Street, next door to Midtown Square) is a standout amid Seattle’s rash of bland rectangular boxes. Covered in weathered steel — a warm rust color — it makes a powerful visual statement, one with an underlying mission. “Every wave and corner tell the stories of where we’ve been AND where we’re headed,” Africatown Land Trust wrote on Instagram.
And yes, there will be art, including installations by Seattle painter Moses Sun and Tacoma artist Jasmine Brown.
In more news of artful buildings: This week the Grand Illusion Cinema announced that it must find a new location, after serving as Seattle’s coziest, quirkiest and oldest continuously running movie house for some 50 years. If you’ve never seen a film in the red-velvet lair — talk about an iconic Seattle viewing experience — you have until January 31, 2025. (Perhaps partake in the retro-themed All Monsters Attack!, an annual October screamfest.) The good news is the theater is determined to rise again, with its sights set on staying in the U District.
Meanwhile the fate of the Bellevue Arts Museum building remains in question. As I reported earlier this month, BAM has ceased exhibitions. But last week, remaining staff announced that the facility is available to rent for private events. A note on the BAM website from executive director Kate Casprowiak Scher says funds from rentals will help “support our reinvention,” adding, “We are fully focused on restructuring the museum to being more vibrant than ever before.” This week, The Seattle Times examines what might be next for BAM.