Views of Sequim, the Olympic Peninsula. . .and beyond
One of the newer stores in town is Hart’s Fine Books. Don’t expect to find the latest mass market paperback here. The shop features vintage and rare books and specializes in “ephemera,” mainly from the early film industry. The collection of the late William S. Hart, Jr., the son of two silent film stars, forms the core of the books for sale. If you’re a collector, take a look at the website to browse the interesting offerings.
The new Sequim City Hall has two stories. The second story, shown here, is shared by the Public Works Department and Community Development. This is a view of the front counter/reception area taken from the Public Works side of the building looking toward the Community Development Department. In the Community Development area are offices for the City Attorney, City Clerk, City Manager, Human Resources Manager, assistants, and volunteers.
The Public Works side houses offices of the Public Works and Community Development Directors, City Engineer, Public Works Operations Manager, Planner, and other officials, a copy room, archives, and a library. There are conference rooms on each side of the building. At the back end of this floor is a staff fitness/wellness room and a lunch/break room.
The new Civic Center has been built with expectation of attaining LEED certification, given to buildings meeting various criteria for green building practices that promote healthy occupants and sound energy practices.
This weekend is our 120th annual Irrigation Festival which celebrates the irrigation that made agriculture viable on the Sequim prairie. And, like any other respectable community festival, we have royalty and a parade. The parade is today. The royal court, selected a few months back, frequents many community events during their reign. And, as befits a queen and her princesses, ours make their public appearances in gowns and tiaras.
They readily pose for photographs, in this case about 10 feet down the sidewalk from the previous portrait…giving me an opportunity to shoot them both coming and going.
The Sequim Police Station has lately been located in a back corner of a shopping center, not far from Penney’s. The new Civic Center will bring it back under one roof with other City Hall operations. Most residents will see this area of the station, the records room, which is behind the open reception area on the first floor. Like the rest of the building last week, the room is stark and bare, waiting for workers who will call it home. But the room is striking. Like most of the building, natural light streams in and brightens the interior rooms and one strong impression of the rooms is how light they seem.
Even a hallway, running through a warren of small offices, interview, and conference rooms, seems bright. Natural light comes from the offices on the right side of this shot.
This is the squad room where the officers will work. To the left are holding cells. This room, and an adjacent one where shift sergeants work, were designed to provide clear line of sight into the holding cells. Any signs of trouble can be readily seen; any officers working in this area have ready, eyes-on backup.
It doesn’t look like much, but this gun-cleaning area is a real boon. Not only is it set up to safely receive lead waste that comes from cleaning, it also has a pretty robust-looking ventilation system. A nearby storage area is protected by a refurbished safe door salvaged from the former building.
Though it won’t be open for business until May 18 the community was invited into the new Sequim Civic Center last week for a public open house. After months of watching the building progress it was great to have a walk through to see what’s in store. The photo, above, is of the first floor building lobby not long after the doors were thrown open. Within a couple of hours this area was packed with visitors.
The building feels bright and open…partly because furnishings are still being moved in and assembled. This is the new city council chambers. The dais is populated with computer screens and will have connections for all manner of devices. The rest of the room, so far, is empty.
This is a view from inside the accounting and finance office toward its reception and bill paying area where visitors are standing. Beyond the gathering of people is the reception area for police services. Many areas in the new building have work cubicles assembled and in place. But it looks oh so brand new without chairs and the personality that people bring to a workplace.
The woman in green standing at the door to the right, above, is at an entrance to the new police services area of the building. Visitors were taken on tours of this area. Tomorrow I’ll show you some of what lies behind the scenes in our new police station.
Sequim Spice and Tea relocated onto West Washington Street last year, into a spot that assures them better visibility and foot traffic. I wandered in for the first time last fall as I squired visitors around town. They sell bulk herbs and spices: the usual things you’d expect in a typical spice rack plus blends, seasonings, and flavored salts and sugars to add new zest to your cooking.
There are bulk teas in a back corner. Though I haven’t sampled any, some of them smell delightful.
Here’s what to look for if you come to town. This is the former location of Pacific Mist Books which closed when the owner retired to leave town and care for her mother.
People joke sometimes about small towns rolling up their sidewalks. Most days Sequim’s downtown thoroughfare, Washington Street, has plenty enough traffic. Last Sunday it was quiet enough to justify a shot of our main drag. It was a grey day so I goofed around in Photoshop to perk it up a bit.