A new bridge is currently being built to expand I-5 and add more lanes.
But I prefer these sorts of bridges, not the massive pairs with 5 lanes each.
Even better if they are covered with moss!
But that's just western Washington. ;)
Freeways and their bridges by their very nature split communities and cut areas off from each other. In Tacoma, the "other" side of 5 has a reputation for being more dangerous, cheaper, and less interesting. In my 3+ years here I haven't often gone on the "other side of the tracks" just because there have rarely been reasons to, other than my desire to explore places.
I took these photos of "my" side of town from this bridge just on the other side of the freeway.
This white-painted fence with red diamonds marks the end of a street which was cut off by the freeway.
And there was a nice display of graffiti in the ravine beneath the bridge which houses a rail line and freeway extension.
I made a timelapse video, along with these pictures.
On a whim, I decided it was time to take some more night photos of Tacoma. It turned out to be a fortunate decision.
You may have noticed this is heavily back-dated. I should have posted this back in September, but I've been quite sick this week.
One of the old brick alleys of Tacoma. I understand that the old brick can be nice, but this is so uneven that not only is it intolerable for auto traffic, but it's even difficult to walk on.
I always thought graffiti looks better than mismatched grey paint, but I also understand all the complicated reasons behind it.
Most of the streets, like this one, are pretty empty after midnight.
Downtown Tacoma is quite a center of public art.
We witnessed a driver knocking over a recycling bin, although I didn't quite get a photo of the act itself.
We heard police sirens and they stopped right in front of the bar ahead of us.
We were presented with this bizarrely delightful scene.
The lady with this wonderfully swooshy garment stopped by us to make this comment, which seems to explain everything about the situation:
Finally, as we made our way home, we saw Caution the Cat who works in the Office of Consumption. There used to be a small wooden plaque with words explaining his situation, but they went missing at some point along with the clock hands.
Today, Ned and I took a walk down to downtown Tacoma's waterfront.
Heading down Schuster Parkway towards Thea's Park.
On the 4th Street bridge, looking north you can see the railroad sidings and Temco, the grain exporter.
Looking south, you can see the Murray Morgan Bridge which connects downtown to the port over 11th Street. This was closed in 2007 after the collapse of the I-35 bridge in Minnesota and opened again in 2013 after comprehensive rehabilitation.
Walking south along Dock Street, you can see the old city hall with its broken clock behind the I-705 exit ramps.
Now, Dock Street doesn't connect to downtown Tacoma for quite a while due to the railyard and a steep hill. But what's this I see?
Yes, it's a glass elevator! This saves walking 8 blocks out of your way to get into downtown. At first I was a little suspicious about whether it could be open to the public or not. It seemed too perfect.
There is even a nice mural and art installation under the bridge.
I took a short detour down Cliff Ave (which is hardly an avenue, more like a back alley) for another look at the bridge.
After the bridge was bypassed by SR-509, WSDOT wanted to tear it down. The City of Tacoma bought it and after several years of neglect, finally closed and restored it.
Walking north again on A Street to the 9th Street intersection looking into the heart of the Theater District. You can see the Tacoma Link crossing the street.
Getting closer to home now, walking up the steps towards the old Elk's Lodge.
Ned was worn out after all this fast walking uphill. A tired puppy is a happy puppy. I, too, think it's brilliant that we have all of these cool places within walking distance.
