Shows
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #60 | Beneath the Bells - Deena TaylorDrift through alleyways, inlets and ancestral memory with Deena Taylor—Navy veteran, podcast host and lifelong Bremerton resident—as she unveils the hidden stories shaping this salt-stained corner of the Pacific Northwest.
Deena, creator of Bremelore, peels back the layers of a maritime town sculpted by shipyards, superstition and the deep pull of Puget Sound. With wit and reverence, she conjures the ghosts, rumors and quiet legends that give Bremerton its soul—challenging what outsiders think they know.
In this episode of Power of Place, we journey from childhood bowling alleys and Navy base neighborhoods to shadowy tunnels beneath the city—s...2025-04-2659 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #59 | A Carpenter’s Covenant – Scott DolfayWhat if a house could shape a life—and transform a community? In this week's Power of Place, we meet Scott Dolfay, a faithful craftsman whose quiet stewardship of a Mission Revival mansion in Seattle’s Windermere neighborhood reveals a century of memory, myth and meaning.
From the Aleutians to the Skagit Valley to a historic estate called Loch Kelden, Scott’s story unfolds through sacred craft, unexpected family and place-based conviction.
Once the 1907 summer home of Seattle founder Roland Denny—and later the Pacific Northwest hub of the Unification Church—Loch Kelden became a space of unlikely unity:Â
•  Between descendants of 1...2025-03-2749 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #58 | Silk Road, Cedar Shores - Safa Jneidi & Iyad AlatiJoin us on Power of Place for a conversation with Safa Jneidi and Iyad Alati. Their stories transport us to the ancient souks of Aleppo, Syria, where Iyad’s family once traded fabric along the storied Silk Road—a place they never imagined leaving. Now, they’ve built a new life on a quiet, forested island in the Pacific Northwest, bridging cultures through resilience, community, and the flavors of home.
Through vivid recollections, Safa and Iyad share a 400-year family history woven into the fabric of Aleppo’s 2,300-year-old Al-Madina Souq—a labyrinth alive with the scent of cumin and saffron, t...2025-02-2559 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode 57 - Maestro of Mayhem - Larry ReidIn the second of a two-part series, Larry Reid returns to explore the Pacific Northwest’s meteoric rise as a global cultural force. Reflecting on his leadership of the Center on Contemporary Art (CoCA) in the mid-1980s, Larry recounts how the region’s unique identity was forged in a crucible of creativity, rebellion, and unorthodox collaborations. His stories uncover the underground movements, bold choices, and iconic spaces he helped shape—elements that would ultimately define the Northwest’s cultural identity.
In this episode, Larry Reid shares insights from his transformative tenure at CoCA, where he curated groundbreaking events that fused th...2025-01-2739 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode 56 - Impertinent Impresario – Larry ReidIn this first of a two-part series, Larry Reid, a pivotal figure in the Pacific Northwest’s cultural renaissance, takes us back to the transformative 1970s and ’80s to explore the roots of the region’s rise to prominence. Larry’s stories reveal how the Pacific Northwest's creative explosion in the 1990s—through movements like grunge and Riot Grrrl—was deeply rooted in earlier artistic and social currents that fused homegrown creativity with global influences, setting the stage for its cultural impact.
In this episode, Larry Reid uncovers how graphic and comic art, LGBTQ+ expression, punk rock, and feminist voices converged wi...2024-12-2233 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #55 | Circle of Light - Jane Orleman & Karl SchwiesowSwing open the garden gate as we explore the vibrant, ever-evolving world of Dick and Jane's Spot. Our guest, artist Jane Orleman, will guide us through this remarkable haven, joined by her studio assistant, Karl Schwiesow.
Since 1978, Jane and her late husband, Dick Elliott, worked together to transform their colorful homestead in Ellensburg, Kittitas County—a region defined by brilliant sunlight, sweeping landscapes, and the Chinook winds that blow through the mountains. Jane shares how they turned a neglected lot into a roadside attraction—a unique intersection of art and community, filled with unexpected stories and delightful details.
The Spot’s vibr...2024-11-2554 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode # 54 | Healing Homelands; Healing Hearts – Glen PinkhamIn this episode of Power of Place, you’ll hear the stories of Glen Pinkham, a citizen of the Yakama Nation, respected elder, and cultural mentor. Glen delves into the connections between heritage, healing, and the land, sharing wisdom for anyone seeking growth and connection.
Through Glen’s captivating storytelling, we journey to the Yakima Valley, the ancestral homelands of the Yakama Nation, where rivers teem with salmon and skies are alive with migratory birds. His reflections on time-honored healing practices, such as sweat lodges adapted to urban settings, reveal how these rituals continue to nourish both body and spirit, brid...2024-10-1857 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #53 | B-Town Bridges – David AlbrightLet’s cross bridges—both real and metaphorical—in this episode with urbanist David Albright. An author and multimedia journalist, David has roots in Seattle’s Lake City and Capitol Hill neighborhoods and now calls Bremerton, Washington, home.
David’s work has been featured in Reuters, The New York Times, The Seattle Channel, and PBS, showcasing his talent for elevating everyday voices across the Pacific Northwest. He excels at weaving powerful stories from the smallest details of a place.
Joining this episode are the voices of Amy Burnett and Frances Lee, essayists whose reflections feature in David’s project Urban Bremerton. T...2024-09-1354 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #52 | Kerouac’s Cascadia – Jim JonesOur guest, Kerouac scholar Jim Jones, describes Kerouac’s sojourn to Seattle in the summer of 1956. There, he worked as a fire lookout at Desolation Peak atop the North Cascade Mountains. Along the way, Jones recounts personal encounters and friendships with other Beat Generation luminaries, including Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, and Gregory Corso.
Adding a touch of practical insight, firefighter, EMT, and seasoned fire lookout Jim Henterly complements Jones' literary perspective. Together, they reveal Kerouac’s Cascadian adventure while exploring the feelings of anticipation, vulnerability, and disappointment that often accompany travel to unknown lands.
"When people tell you about a pl...2024-07-3154 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #51 | Peaks & Pôsterity – Doug LeenPack your camper as we tour America’s National Parks—from Acadia to Zion. Our guide is modern-day folk hero Douglas Leen, whose Ranger Doug Enterprises recently published “Ranger of the Lost Art: Rediscovering the WPA Poster Art of Our National Parks.”
Doug describes how in 1971, while working as a seasonal park ranger at Grand Teton National Park, he unearthed an old poster tucked atop a barn rafter, saving it from oblivion. This hidden gem was among the last remaining promotional posters for 14 U.S. National Parks, printed between 1938 and 1941 by FDR’s Works Progress Administration.
Doug recounts how his dusty disc...2024-06-281h 04
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #50 | The Prodigal Dad – Sarah EichhornJoin us in this episode for a conversation with Sarah Eichhorn, daughter of writer Dennis P. Eichhorn, known for his adult-oriented autobiographical comic book series “Real Stuff.”
With reminiscences echoing a central premise of her father’s work—that truth is stranger than fiction—Sarah recounts his birth and orphanhood at Montana State Prison. Sarah later talks of her fight to keep her infant child, which succeeded in part thanks to her father’s intervention.
With healthy measures of wit and soul, the younger Eichhorn’s tales transport us to the Northwest's creative milieu of the 70's, 80's and 90's through which...2024-05-2955 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #49 | Inspiration Generation – Colleen EchohawkWhat becomes possible when solutions to modern urban society’s most pressing challenges—housing the unhoused, corporate innovation, designing more beautiful places & objects—originate from the communities who have inhabited this place from time immemorial? Guiding us through this multifaceted exploration is Colleen Echohawk.
Currently CEO of the Native lifestyle brand Eighth Generation, Colleen’s resume encompasses city politics including a Seattle mayoral run 2021. Earlier, as Executive Director of Chief Seattle Club for seven years, she oversaw the creation of 300 new units of affordable housing.
Collen spotlights today’s rising generation of indigenous government and business leaders as well Indian Country’s...2024-04-2659 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #48 | Talking CHOP – Nikki YeboahJoin us as we stroll through Seattle’s Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP) circa 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Our guest, documentary playwright Nikki Yeboah, begins this journey at 11th & Pine, the CHOP’s epicenter—and the title of her current project.
Yeboah, an Assistant Professor of Playwriting in the School of Drama at the University of Washington, shares how her team gathered oral histories of over 30 protestors, stories that allow her to convey this momentous event’s impact on its participants. She also explores why nearly all traces of the occupation (including street art, soup kitchens and vegetabl...2024-03-0150 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #47 | Crossing Coastal Corners – Andrew tenBrinkJoin us for a conversation with landscape and urban designer Andrew tenBrink of NYC-based Field Operations as he reveals Seattle’s new downtown Waterfront Park project, which he has managed since 2010.
From the cobblestones of Pioneer Square to Belltown’s crowded skyline, Andrew’s block-by-block tour through the 20-acre park demonstrates how this new landscape reflects community priorities. Along the way, he spotlights contributions of local partners. These include architects and artists, tribes and Urban Natives, the City of Seattle and the Office of the Waterfront and Capitol Projects, as well as cultural consultants and garden designers.
Indigenous food sovereignty advoca...2024-01-3157 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #46 | Porchlight Parade – Zack BolotinStep into the multiverse of Zack Bolotin, owner-operator of Porchlight Coffee & Records on Seattle’s Capitol Hill. Not just a cafe, Porchlight is a platform for Zack’s varied talents, including graphic design, photography, art curation, book publishing and online retailing. It’s also a record label.
Listen as Zack describes how his endeavors, admittedly wide-ranging, are anchored in his family's history and an affection for old things. He shares how he incorporated his parents' memorabilia collection into Porchlight's publication "62 Souvenirs: Keepsakes from the 1962 Seattle World's Fair." Zack also recounts his discovery of mid-century architectural photography by Art Hupy published in “Pa...2023-12-2759 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #45 | Echoes From Alpenglow – Lowell SkoogClick into your bindings as we launch from the highest peaks of the North Cascades with ski mountaineering historian Lowell Skoog, author of "Written in the Snows: Across Time on Skis in the Pacific Northwest," published by Mountaineers Books and 2022 winner of the National Outdoor Book Award (NOBA) for historical writing.
Born to a family of Nordic ski jumpers, Lowell pioneered ski mountaineering routes across remote reaches of the Cascade and Olympic mountains. His stories abound in evocative details and introduce memorable characters like Wolf Bauer, Olga Bolstad, Hans Otto Giese and Milnor Roberts.
Chronicling the birth of Pacific Northwest...2023-11-2757 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #44 | My Brother’s Keepers - Larry Johnston and Earl BorgertSwing into the B & I Circus Store circa 1964 with guest Larry Johnston, who at age 13 became brother to a western lowland gorilla named Ivan—-the ape that became as emblematic of the Pacific Northwest as the legendary Sasquatch.
Larry narrates the tale of how his parents came to own the B & I pet store, thanks to Orca capturer Ted Griffin. He warmly remembers the store’s ever-changing menagerie, which included gibbons, jaguars, lions, seals, an elephant, exotic fish and even Amazonian parrots. Most poignantly, he shares stories of growing up with the young Ivan.
Join Larry on a journey that take...2023-10-2758 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #43 | The Maker – Art ChantryDive into the second episode of this two-part series as we continue our conversation with graphic designer, Art Chantry, whose stories sparkle as vibrantly as his colorful posters, offering original insights from Seattle’s grunge era.
These tales span Art’s diverse interests and influences: The allure of archaeology; Dadaism & Surrealism; old commercial art by overlooked masters, accidental inking errors. Chantry exposes the misguided muddling of fine art with graphic design and then explains how graphic design underscores propaganda and politics.
Art concludes by heralding a new book showcasing Estrus Records, home of bands like The Makers, Mono Men and The...2023-09-2838 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #42 | Louder Than Art – Art ChantryJoin us in this episode (the first of a two-part series) for a conversation with graphic designer Art Chantry, a national treasure, whose posters are collected by The Smithsonian and The Louvre.
Opening with childhood memories of Parkland on the fringes of Tacoma, Washington, Art describes a restless educational path that eventually brought him to Bellingham. He shares experiences of his subsequent arrival to Seattle in the 1980’s, including street observations that shaped his aesthetics. He tells of art directing the music biweekly magazine The Rocket on a shoestring budget before launching a one-man graphic design firm, churning out hundreds of post...2023-09-1539 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #41 | Bright Returns – Matt McCauley & Sarah HaberstrohJoin us in this episode as we descend into the Graveyard of the Pacific with Matt McCauley, President of The Northwest Shipwreck Alliance and Sarah Haberstroh, Manager of Underwater Operations for Rockfish Inc.
Matt’s passion for deep-water marine salvage is intertwined with that of his friend Jeff Hummel. As scuba diving high schoolers on Mercer Island in the early 1980s, the two made headlines recovering World War II aircraft from the bottom of Lake Washington. In 2010 Matt returned from the East Coast to support Jeff’s lifelong quest to find the SS Pacific, a nearly 300-ft long transatlantic sidewheel steam...2023-06-0958 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #40 | The Wizard of Earl – Ron Irwin & Earl BorgertJoin us in this episode (the first of a two-part series) for stories of the B & I Circus Store, founded by Earl Irwin in 1945 in Lakewood, WA. Our guest today is Earl Irwin’s son, Ron Irwin, who ran the store for decades following his father’s passing. Ron is joined by Earl Borgert, the founder’s grandson, family archivist and President of The I.V.A.N. Foundation.
What began as a military surplus outlet housed in an unassuming 500 SF cinderblock storeroom became a prototype for the postwar American shopping mall, eventually expanding to over 300,000 SF. Under Irwin’s exuberan...2023-05-0543 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #39 | A Seattle Songbook – Dick CoolenJoin us in this episode for a radiant musical memoir by pianist Dick Coolen.
Long before the city’s reputation as an international tech hub, Seattle achieved a globally relevant jazz culture. Here, bands that gathered in the basements of churches, schools and modest homes produced the likes of Ray Charles, Ernestine Anderson and Quincy Jones. Reared in this milieu, our guest’s stories celebrate a free-range childhood in Seattle’s redlined Central District as well as the big band, bebop, and early rock and roll rhythms that filled its avenues.
Dick recounts jamming at Joe Brazil’s Black Academy of Music; o...2023-03-2441 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #38 | Seattle Rock City – David B. WilliamsJoin us in this episode for the field trip of a century. Our guest, geologist-historian David B. Williams, illuminates the Pacific Northwest’s characteristic highlands and waterways as landscapes of perpetual transformation.
With a wry wink, this raconteur’s stories fuse the sensitivity of a naturalist with the diligence of a research geek. Amble through Seattle with David as he reveals his city’s subterranean secrets: A mosquito fleet schooner lost somewhere below downtown’s streets; old growth forests immersed under Lake Union; an art deco office tower whose foundation stones invite us to touch “deep time”—almost unimaginably greater than the time...2023-02-0249 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #37 | Club of Caballeros - Tim Person & Ms. Ellen SmithJoin us in this episode and step inside the Ray Gibson Caballeros Club with Tim Person (President & CEO) and Ms. Ellen Smith (Manager).
In the 1950’s, two trailblazing African American men grew weary of exclusion from downtown Tacoma’s restaurants, concert halls and bars. They envisioned a member-owned, private club for the city’s Black community. A founders group next acquired real estate for this purpose in the form of an inconspicuous house on a dead-end street in Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood on acreage heralding sweeping views of Mount Rainier. About twenty benefactors soon mortgaged their private residences to fund expansio...2022-12-2944 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #36 | An Orcas Ethos - Craig GibsonJoin us in this episode as we explore the rural culture of Orcas Island with Craig Gibson, fourth-generation owner of North Beach Inn (NBI), located on the outskirts of the remote village of Eastsound.
Craig’s forebears acquired the 100-acre waterfront fruit farm in 1911. In 1932 they constructed a handful of the 16-rustic cottages now dotting NBI’s 8-mile stretch of sandy beach, where panoramic sunsets brighten Canada’s Gulf Islands.
Craig explores the sources of NBI’s longevity, its reliance on word-of-mouth marketing, and the exceptional loyalty of its customers. Born out of his family’s Scottish heritage, the business has been s...2022-10-2838 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #35 | Power of HaMakom - Mary Lane PotterJoin us in this episode for a conversation with a wise friend about the deepest matters of the heart. Our guest is theologian, novelist, and mystic Mary Lane Potter.
Mary’s quest for a closer relationship with the divine stretches from her childhood in an immigrant community steeped in the traditions of Christian Reform evangelism; to her Ph.D. at the University of Chicago Divinity School, then a life of service as a lay preacher and tenured academic; followed by a conversion to Judaism and a literary career.
Mary has authored the novels Strangers and Sojourners: Stories from the Lowcountry and A...2022-10-0837 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #34 | Black, Green & Emerald - Anthony & Marlie LoveIn this episode, we catch up with Anthony & Marlie Love, travel vloggers and creators of the YouTube show Traveling While Black in Seattle and TWBSeattle on TikTok.
A local married couple, they travel together to various Pacific Northwest destinations and share their comfort level as Black people visiting there for the first time. After three years, Anthony & Marlie have garnered 5,000 YouTube subscribers and 50,000 followers on TikTok. They’ve also established brand partnership that include the Pike Place Market and the Space Needle.
Anthony & Marlie highlight key moments from their first 100 episodes: They explain how the Covid-19 pandemic (February 2020, first reported in...2022-09-2340 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #33 | Digging Gig Harbor – Stephanie Lile & Riley HallJoin us in this episode for a conversation with Stephanie Lile, director of Gig Harbor’s Harbor History Museum, together with the Museum’s shipwright Riley Hall.
They chronicle their community’s historic working waterfront for more than a century by sharing stories embedded in the museum’s collection of over 20,000 objects, images & ephemera. These objects include the Shenandoah, a 65-foot-long purse skeiner whose restoration is a work in progress overseen by Riley. The museum also houses relics of the ill-fated Narrow’s Bridge, together with the first production model of the Thunderbird, a sailboat-cruiser by Seattle-based yacht designer Ben Seaborn an...2022-08-1649 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #32 | ALMA Matters – Lisa FruichantieJoin us in this episode for a conversation with Lisa Fruichantie, citizen of Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and Executive Director of ALMA, an expansive campus carved out of an old union hall anchored within Tacoma’s historic Hilltop neighborhood.
This multifaceted business and venue are devoted to creating community by incubating and presenting a diverse range art, food, culture and music. ALMA includes state-of-the-art recording studios as well as a 500-person performance venue. This place describes itself as a welcoming and inclusive gathering spot that channels, celebrates, and seeks to nourish the soul of this land, the people on it, the...2022-07-2945 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #31 | Love and Comics – Eric ReynoldsJoin us in this episode for a conversation with Eric Reynolds, Vice-President of Seattle-based publisher Fantagraphics.
Headquartered in Seattle’s Maple Leaf community—with their Bookstore & Gallery in the industrial Georgetown neighborhood—Fantagraphics has quietly produced a stunning body of work over the last 40+ years. Their genres span alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines and graphic novels. The imprint’s stable of contemporary comics creators includes Jessica Abel, Peter Bagge, Ivan Brunetti, Charles Burns, Daniel Clowes, Mary Fleener, Roberta Gregory, Mega Kelso, Manny Murphy, Joe Sacco, and Chris Ware. They also include the enigmatic artistry of Jim Woodring as well...2022-06-2438 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #30 | Storied Sidewalks – Susanna RyanJoin us in this episode for a conversation with Instagram phenom Susanna Ryan, author of the Seattle Walk Report Series; Seattle Walk Report an Illustrated Walking Tour Through 23 Seattle Neighborhoods (2019) and Secret Seattle, An Illustrated Guide to the City’s Offbeat and Overlooked History (2021).Â
Susanna's distinctive comic style and eagle eye illustrate the charming and quirky people, places, and things that define Seattle’s neighborhoods. Her wide-ranging observations infuse pedestrian experiences with the possibility of discovery and wonder—and an expanded connection to the world as we pass through it. In this episode Susanna will also field questions from local children...2022-06-0945 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #29 | Once Upon a Blue Moon – Timothy DooleyPull up a bar stool and join us in this episode for a conversation with Timothy Dooley—regular, bartender and now owner of the historic Seattle tavern, the "Blue Moon."
Founded in 1934 just after Prohibition to serve mostly college students, the Blue Moon has since been serving up a heady mix of politics, poetry, visual art, and live music, while building community spanning generations. Come learn the lore of Seattle’s landmark watering hole.
"I've talked to people from all over the world and people have said there's not really any place like this: People from New York; people from Lond...2022-05-2036 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #28 | Anchored in Asotin – Michael HooverJoin us in this episode for a conversation with Michael Hoover. Michael was recently granted clemency—from a life prison sentence without chance of parole—by the Governor of the State of Washington.
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Michael's is a cautionary tale...on remaining anchored to place; and to people. An upbringing of affluence in Woodway, Washington failed to protect Michael from childhood abuse; devolving into addiction, homelessness, and crime, for which he paid through two decades behind bars.Â
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Michael will also share details about Stone Bridge Re-entry Services, which he founded in Asotin, WA with his wife Stephanie, so that they might guide others fro...2022-04-2939 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #27 | Place-Based Fictions – Jim LynchWelcome to our first podcast episode of 2022. Beginning with this episode, EK on the Go is now Power of Place, Stories of the Pacific Northwest, with a new appearance and soundscape
In this episode we will hear from one of the Pacific Northwest’s most acclaimed living novelists, Jim Lynch. Jim's approach to storytelling reflects both meticulous research as well as years living and working in four distinct locales: The wild mudflats of Eld Inlet near Washington State's capitol in Olympia; the Canada-U.S. Border near Blaine, WA; Downtown Seattle at the time of the Century21 Exposition; as well as th...2022-03-2440 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #26 | Crafting Heavens of Earth - Richard HartlageJoin us in our final episode of 2021 with guest Richard Hartlage, Founder & CEO of Land Morphology. His firm has designed gardens for the Chihuly Garden and Glass at Seattle Center, the upcoming 20-acre Seattle Waterfront Park, and the private gardens of celebrities and CEO's nationwide.
Richard will explain how thoughtful and intelligent garden design has engendered joy and happiness by activating all of our senses, across millennia and across cultures. We will learn how important this form of happiness can be in harried urban centers such as Seattle.
"I garden. And gardening is about a craft. I don’t say th...2021-12-2047 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #25 | Dingbats & Thunderbirds - Tom Heuser & Lana BlindermanJoin us in this episode for a conversation with Tom Heuser, President of the Capitol Hill Historic Society, and artist-photographer Lana Blinderman about the distinctive though oft-overlooked architectural history of Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.
For decades, the Hill’s midcentury apartments and condominiums provided architectural ambiance and offered relatively affordable housing, becoming spaces for communities and cultures to gather. Thanks to a grant from King County's Arts & Heritage organization 4Culture at the start of the pandemic, Tom and Lana were able to survey their vibrant neighborhood's multifamily buildings. Tune in to hear about what they discovered in city courtyards and...2021-11-1254 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #24 | Mount Epiphany - Nick BrattonJoin us in this episode to hear from Nick Bratton, Senior Director of Policy for Forterra.
Since 1989, Forterra has secured over 275,000 acres of land through over 450 land transactions. From the farmlands and river canyons of Yakima to the estuaries and forests of Washington’s coastline, Forterra safeguards a healthy environment. The organization also fosters community resilience through land acquisition, In 2013 Forterra negotiated and fronted the purchase from a private timber company of over 50,000 acres in the headwaters of the Yakima Watershed – the largest land transaction in Washington State in 45 years. Farsighted collaboration with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and...2021-10-1233 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #23: Another Golden Age - Doreen AlhadeffJoin us in this episode with Doreen Alhadeff, co-founder of the Seattle Sephardic Network and the first Jewish American to receive Spanish citizenship under a 2015 law permitting descendants of Jews expelled from Spain in the fifteenth century to apply for citizenship.
Enjoy Doreen’s reminiscences about her childhood and youth in multiethnic Seward Park. Doreen recounts the rich linguistic tapestry of her extended family, which had its roots in fifteenth-century Spain and had come to Seattle by way of Istanbul and New York, among other places, bringing with them Sephardic traditions and foods that bore the traces of their journeys.
“The...2021-08-2641 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #22 | Hardware Store Homer - Mark HoltzenJoin us in this episode with Mark Holtzen, author of A Ticket to the Pennant, a children’s storybook exploring Seattle’s Rainier Valley, circa 1955, through the eyes of a young baseball fan.
This was the era of Sick’s Stadium, home of the Seattle Rainiers, who played in the now-defunct Pacific Coast League. Mark’s ingenious narrative takes us on a journey through the soundscape generated by the stadium and the multicultural neighborhood surrounding it. Hear about Mark’s feats of storytelling, spanning both teaching and writing.
“When we’re passionate about a sport, it creates community.” - Mark Holtzen2021-07-1944 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific NorthwestEK On The Go | Episode #22: X ~ Mark HoltzenEK On The Go | Episode #22: X ~ Mark Holtzen by EK Group2021-07-1944 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #21 | Riddles of Eden Hill - Marga Rose HancockJoin us in this episode with Marga Rose Hancock and Rosalie Daggett, board members of the Queen Anne Historical Society.
Marga and Rosalie walk us through the delights of Queen Anne. One of Seattle’s oldest neighborhoods, Queen Anne is a vibrant collage of stately Old Seattle mansions, charming hilltop parks, and urban amenities, including some of the city’s best restaurants. Listen until the end to hear from a special guest who once lived in an old Queen Anne apartment building. Spoiler alert: he will add his favorite Queen Anne ghost stories.
"Three things: the water, the mountain, and the...2021-07-0232 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #20 | Networks for Nature - Christine MahlerJoin us in this episode for a chat with Christine Mahler, executive director of the Washington Wildlife & Recreation Coalition.
Our region is nationally and globally known for the dramatic beauty of its landscapes and seascapes. Yet many of these natural environments could not exist without the active and vigilant stewardship of myriad public and private organizations. Christine discusses the creation and preservation of the Pacific Northwest’s most beloved outdoor spaces – from urban wildlife areas and family farms to tiny pocket parks – through an unusually broad bipartisan coalition involving hunters, tribal governments, environmentalists, labor unions, and corporations.
“It’s all truly inte...2021-04-2351 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #19 | Golden Dales - Christopher PatanoJoin us in this episode for a conversation with Christopher Patano, AIA, founder and studio director of Patano Studio.
Chris’s diverse architectural/landscape architectural portfolio includes parks, aviation facilities, schools, factories, corporate headquarters, transportation facilities, and private residences. His architectural journey began in his native Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and remains informed by Northwest materials and idioms, although it has taken him to such far-off places as Salerno, Italy.
Among Chris’s most remarkable projects is the award-winning, all-electric, curvilinear observatory at Goldendale Observatory Park in southwestern Washington, close to Portland and an easy drive from Seattle, which was publis...2021-03-1656 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧Power of Place Episode #18 | Brooklyn, Seattle - Adam AlsobrookHave you ever wondered how the names of Seattle’s neighborhoods evolved over time? The University District, for instance, was once called Brooklyn.
Join us in this episode with architectural historian Adam Alsobrook, AIA, who expertly reads old buildings, vintage neon signs, industrial history, archaic electrical systems, postcard collecting, masonic architecture, and the history of demolition. Adam suggests that historical preservation is often informed by race and class and calls for continued emphasis on the preservation of the histories of the working class and people of color.
“One person’s treasure is another person’s garbage.” - Adam Alsobrook2021-02-0456 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #17 | Titans and Tech - Bob BennionJoin us in this episode for a conversation with leading broker Bob Bennion of Compass Real Estate.
Over the course of his 30-year career, Bob has rubbed shoulders with some of the region’s titans of industry, as well as leaders in the arts, science, and medicine. With an infectious and classically casual PNW demeanor and tone, Bob identifies changes and trends in the real estate market over the years, including, most recently, a decreasing appetite for square footage and a turning away from tech-heavy residences.
“Our house is our palace.” - Bob Bennion2020-03-1236 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific NorthwestPNW's most authoritative Real Estate Appraiser - Alan L. Pope & AssociatesJoin us in this episode where we will learn from another local master in the world of built environments, an “appraiser’s appraiser,” Alan Pope, who since the mid-1970’s has developed a reputation as the Pacific Northwest’s most authoritative real estate appraiser.2020-03-1257 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #15 | Tied by Water - Ray and Mary JohnstonJoin us in this episode where we will hear from prolific Seattle architect team Ray and Mary Johnston of Johnston Architects (founded 1990).
Mary and Ray have designed many civic and residential buildings all over the city and state, including The Maple Valley Library, South Park Library, Casa Latina Headquarters, The Seattle Humane Society Building, and the Seattle Public Utilities Ship Canal Water Quality Project in Ballard. Inspired by the waters and woodlands of the Pacific Norwest, their work interweaves organic materials and strong modernist forms.
“It makes for an interesting urban texture to have big buildings and little buildings and me...2019-11-2046 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #14 | Puzzle Pieces - Paula JohnsonJoin us in this episode for a conversation with archaeologist Paula Johnson as she puts together puzzle pieces from the past.
A shoe with cleats. A perfume bottle from Detroit. These historical artifacts were found when geothermal wells, intended to supply King Street Station with clean energy, revealed the remains of the Hammond Packing Company, a nineteenth century pork processing plant. Paula works with transit companies and brings her 27 years of archaeological experience to bear on reconstructions of the past from fragments and shards. These discoveries animate and transform our ideas of our municipal history.
“We … tell stories about people who...2019-10-0947 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #13 | Garages & Gates - Paul SuzmanSometimes the key to success is being in the right place at the right time with the right attitude. Tune in to a lively and wide-ranging discussion with Paul Suzman, nephew of South African anti-apartheid activist Helen Suzman and founder of OfficeLease, the West Coast’s first commercial tenant/buyer representative (founded 1981). Paul recounts his experiences in the Seattle area handling office leasing during the meteoric rise of tech titan Microsoft. His distinguished clients have included Nordstrom, Laird Norton Wealth Management, and Russell Investments, among many others. R.
Benefit from Paul’s decades-long observation and understanding of Seattle’s power struct...2019-08-1352 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #12 | Founding Stories - Stacy SegalJoin us in this episode as we talk shop with the executive director of Seattle Architecture Foundation Stacy Segal.
Stacy’s optimistic yet pragmatic perspective on Seattle’s built environment will inspire you to take one of the many tours offered by SAF that introduce tourists and locals alike to the layered history of the city.
“We’re becoming a … global city.” - Stacy Segal2019-07-0147 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #11 | Swamis of Swank - Jim Goldberg and Allison JeffriesJoin us in this episode with Jim Goldberg and Allison Jeffries of Red Propeller as they trace their path into real estate marketing and branding – a journey that contributed to and paralleled Seattle’s emergence from regional to national and global prominence.
Prophetic storytellers skilled at channeling the spirit of a place, Jim and Allison have shaped our lived experience of Seattle. In her formative work in residential marketing for Paul Allen’s real estate company Vulcan, Allison and her team breathed life into the nascent South Lake Union neighborhood. After founding Red Propeller with Jim, she told the stories of suc...2019-05-231h 07
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #10 | Dreams of Abundance - Roger ValdezJoin us in this episode for a conversation spanning Realpolitik, capitalism and moral philosophy with affordable housing activist Roger Valdez, founder of Seattle for Growth.
As the chief lobbyist behind Washington State’s 2005 cigarette ban, Roger understands that social and policy change is incremental and often glacial. Washington’s legislation came a full 40 years after the Surgeon General’s warning – a lesson that advocacy requires stoicism and perseverance. Hear Roger’s prescient economic analysis, influenced by Nobel Laureate F.A. Hayek, of Seattle’s housing crisis and his arguments in favor of further development. Propelled by his Christian faith, Roger embraces urb...2019-04-0554 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #9 | Shopping Small - Scott SharpiroWorking with local investors who seek positive returns while remaining sensitive to neighborhood needs, Scott has preserved bars, nightclubs, restaurants, and retail spaces that anchor the Pacific Northwest’s music, dining, and shopping scene and built 300 units of micro-housing, as well as a hostel in the International District. His projects include The Lodges on Vashon, Harvard Exit, Queen Anne Beerhall, American Hotel, Melrose Market, Spinnaker Building, Lynnwood Bowl & Skate, Cha Cha Lounge, Chop Suey, and The Crocodile.
Tune in to hear about Scott’s adventures in development and placemaking and hear how he overcame the many challenges he has faced alon...2019-01-2642 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #8 | Orangutan Lofts - Bill Parks and Andy ParksStrap on your toolbelt, pull up your work-boots and join Edward for a constructive discussion with father-son developer duo Bill Parks and Andy Parks.
Bill reminisces about his many innovative residential projects, including Stonewater Lofts in Fremont, a site-specific installation inspired by the orangutan habitat at Woodland Park Zoo and re-created with the help of zoo designers, and Fremont Lofts, influenced by the steep townscapes of Umbria and Tuscany. After decades building Seattle as a contractor, Bill now uses his hands-on experience with materials and techniques, and collaboration with local artisans and fabricators, many of them friends, to make ingenious...2018-12-2850 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #7 | Wild Utopias - Susan RobbJoin us in this episode to fly away with Seattle artist Susan Robb, whose work is often both ephemeral and monumental.
Susan speaks with Edward about her subversive multi-media art practices (encompassing sculpture, photography, video, performance, and interventions) in both Seattle and Tacoma, and her artistic project to articulate and represent our emotional connection to place. Her public sculpture Parking Squid, commissioned by the Seattle Department of Transportation and installed at the Seattle Waterfront in 2012 (and since moved to Ballard), combines functional art (bicycles could be tethered to one of the squid’s tentacles) with an evocation of the mysterious cr...2018-11-2551 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #6 | No Cutting Corners - Bradley KhouriJoin us in this episode for a chat with innovative architect Bradley Khouri, principal of b9 Architects.
Bradley’s expansive portfolio includes mixed-use and multi-family sustainable buildings across Western Washington. Hear Bradley dish about his experience with rapidly evolving zoning codes and their effect on housing affordability and sustainable architecture; meet a practical architect who is changing the face of Seattle neighborhoods for the future.
“We…approach design as if we’re looking at it for the first time.” - Bradley Khouri2018-10-2548 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #5 | Vulcan Deep Space 10 - Christopher Blado and Weston BrinkleyTime-travel with Edward to learn about Seattle Commons, Seattle’s legendary Central Park that never was, with Christopher Blado and Weston Brinkley.
Chris and Weston are members of the Atlas Obscura Society, a nationwide organization dedicated to finding and preserving the mystery and magic of everyday life. Atlas Obscura devised a counterfactual walking tour of Paul Allen’s brainchild Seattle Commons, exploring the South Lake Union site it would have occupied, as well as the reasons why 1990s voters failed to approve it. Come for Seattle Commons, stay for Chris and Weston’s trenchant insights into the civic and environmental politi...2018-09-2639 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #4 | Backyards not Backrooms - Norm RiceJoin us to welcome Norm Rice, Seattle’s esteemed mayor who presided over Seattle during its breakout “grunge” era, from 1990 to 1997.
Seattle’s first African American mayor and author of Gaining Public Trust: A Profile of Civic Engagement, Mr. Rice shares his faith in civic engagement as an engine for urban renaissance. Particularly instructive for students of Seattle history is his pioneering emphasis on the urban village concept. By recognizing people’s need to build community through parks and other green spaces, Mayor Rice transformed Seattle’s neighborhoods and reversed decades of economic decline in Seattle’s downtown, seeding the revitalization...2018-08-2540 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #3 | Healing Houses - Heidi Schor and Paul DamenBuckle your seatbelts and get ready for a transcendent journey through time and place through the psychically attuned, restorative interior design practice of Heidi Schor and Paul Damen, aka House Healers.
This adventurous and perceptive duo relies on a sixth sense to retrieve the souls of neglected and forgotten Seattle houses, many of which they find to be historically or architecturally significant. Using their natural gifts and cultivated eye, Heidi and Paul envision what it will take to restore the ailing house to health. Their therapeutic process is embodied in the restoration of the once derelict midcentury shambles they’ve di...2018-07-2539 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧Power of Place Episode #2 | Top Pot Tales - Michael KlebeckJoin us in this episode for a coffee klatch with Seattle-based restaurant entrepreneur and branding genius Michael Klebeck, Chief Creative Officer of the The Confectioners Society and creator of Top Pot Doughnuts, Mod Pizza, Sun Liquor Distillery, Zeitgeist Coffee and other trend-setting West Coast food & design environments and brands.
An attentive student of design history, Michael has fashioned a distinct and idiosyncratic approach to marrying art and commerce. Aromas, flavors and design meld in a delicious and memorable Americana brew. Michael understands the generative potential of vintage artifacts in channeling nostalgia and belonging and charging interior environments with surprise and...2018-06-2540 min
Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest🎧 Power of Place Episode #1 | Flying Buildings – Kevin EckertJoin us in this episode as we chat with Pacific Northwest architect and thought leader Kevin Eckert, founding partner of Build, LLC.
Kevin speaks passionately about the generative influence of Danish modernism on his aesthetic. Yet it is his background in structural engineering that equally informs his architectural and building practice. Inspired by the vision of a built environment winnowed to ever purer forms, Kevin builds for a future that is more economical, durable, and beautiful than our present or past.
“My Buildings Don’t Have to Fly” – Kevin Eckert2018-04-1742 min