The Seattle P.I. has posted a bunch of great old photos of Greenwood, along with current photos of the same buildings. Check out the 1937 photos of the building where Gordito’s (a former bakery and a chili parlor) and Antika are now, plus a 1950 photo of what the “Checkers” building on the corner of NW 85th Street and 3rd Avenue NW looked like long before it was painted with red and white checkers and blue stars.

Thanks to Dennis, Mike and Travis for the tips!

Looking for a little more happiness in your life? Cecile Andrews, local author of “Less is More” and “Slow is Beautiful,” will guide you through “Happiness Lessons” from 7-9 p.m. on Tuesday, May 18, at the Phinney Neighborhood Center, 6532 Phinney Ave. N.

In the past few years there has been a great deal of research on the nature of happiness. What are the secrets of happiness? Why is it on the decline? What specific steps can we take for our personal happiness as well as for societal well being? How can Seattle use a Gross National Happiness measurement? To register, call 206 783 2244, $5 donation.

The 85th Street Market on the corner of 8th Avenue Northwest and NW 85th Street now has an ice cream shop.

We are ready with our ice cream shop just in time for summer. We carry 24 different flavors from Dreyr’s . We will serving hand dipped ice cream by scoop, shakes, smoothies, sundae, banana split, root beer float and a lot more.

PlayMatters at 7720 Greenwood Ave. N. is having a summer-long special of $5 for open play time from now through August.

The Phinney Neighborhood Association is looking for volunteers in a number of different areas: PNA Board Members, writers for the quarterly Phinney Ridge Review, copywriters and “information architect” for the PNA’s new website, and volunteers to help run the PNA’s World Cup showings this summer. Email Alex if you’re interested in any of these volunteer opportunities.

The Seattle Times reports today that the city is removing more graffiti that has sprung up on the oft-tagged underpass mural near Woodland Park Zoo.

The Seattle Center Foundation is looking for your memories of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair for its upcoming 50th anniversary in 2012. “The Next Fifty” celebration includes an online time capsule. You can submit an image, story, video or audio file from the fair until May 21, and you’ll automatically be entered to win a Heritage Package (annual family passes to the Pacific Science Center, Seattle Center Monorail, and the Space Needle – a $2,400 value).

PhinneyWood and MyGreenLake reader Dru posed a question to both blogs recently: What’s the deal with the worn “Geo Hansen” stamp he’s seen on several local sidewalks in both neighborhoods?

Our friends at MyGreenLake were so intrigued they spent hours trying to track down the information, and finally did, thanks to a lot of help from Seattle Public Library librarians. The short answer? George Hansen was the man who constructed those sidewalks, at the turn of the last century. For the long answer, read MyGreenLake’s full post.

You’ve got until Friday to enter your house in the Greenwood-Phinney Historical Society’s contest to locate the oldest house in the neighborhood.

Houses must be within the Phinney-Greenwood neighborhood (50th to 105th Streets, Aurora to 8th Avenue NW) but contest entrants need not live within the neighborhood. The house does not need to be yours! You can enter any house that you feel might be the oldest! More than one entry per person is acceptable.

Once you find a likely winner, take a photo and send copies of your documents identifying the construction date of the house to: GPHS Oldest House Contest, c/o Phinney Neighborhood Center, 6532 Phinney Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103.

You can find more tips here on researching the age of your house.

The winning entry will be determined by oldest construction or building permit date of all entries received. Entries must be received by Jan. 15. The winner receives a copy of “Seattle’s Greenwood-Phinney Neighborhood” signed by author Ted Pedersen and breakfast for two at Mae’s Phinney Ridge Café.

The Greenwood-Phinney Historical Society is trying to find the oldest house in the neighborhood, but they need your help. You could even win a prize!

We do have houses built before 1906. Perhaps we still have a few houses that were built before 1900? Hint: if you find a construction date of 1900 in King County Tax Records keep digging! The house might actually be older than that. Building permits will give you a more accurate construction date.

Houses must be within the Phinney-Greenwood neighborhood (50th to 105th Streets, Aurora to 8th Avenue NW) but contest entrants need not live within the neighborhood. The house does not need to be yours! You can enter any house that you feel might be the oldest! More than one entry per person is acceptable.

If you find a likely contestant, take a photo and send copies of your documents identifying the construction date of the house to: GPHS Oldest House Contest, c/o Phinney Neighborhood Center, 6532 Phinney Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103.

The winning entry will be determined by oldest construction or building permit date of all entries received. Entries must be received by Jan. 15, 2010. The winner receives a copy of “Seattle’s Greenwood-Phinney Neighborhood” signed by author Ted Pedersen and breakfast for two at Mae’s Phinney Ridge Café.

Here’s some info from the Historical Society to get you started:

Where can I find a photo of my older home?

Puget Sound Regional Archives has a collection of King County property record cards beginning in 1937 and kept current to 1972. These cards generally contain tax assessments, a photograph from 1937, approximate construction date, building use, small sketch of the footprint of the building, and some floor plan diagrams. For more information, call the archives at 425-564-3940. Email: archives@bcc.ctc.edu. To access this information you will need the tax identification number of the house or the legal description.

How can I find out the previous owners and the remodeling history of my Seattle house?

Contact the Department of Planning and Development for their Building Permit History files. Most of this information is available on microfiche. The office is at 710 Second Avenue, Seattle WA 98104. 206-684-8850.

Where can I find the tax records for my home?

King County Tax Records are on-line for all homes currently standing. Dates older than 1900 are not always accurate due to the millennium computer glitch. If your home has a tax record date of 1900, but may be older, you will want to research further. A building permit may be a better gauge of your home’s construction date. King County Parcel Viewer is where you’ll want to go on the internet.

What about more information about previous owners?

The Polk Directories would be a great start. Take a look at the archival Polk Directories at the downtown Seattle library reference section. These will tell you the names of who lived at your home in years past.

What about even more information about previous owners?

Stay at the downtown library and look up Census information! Now that you have the names you can learn the number of family members living in the house and also what the head of household did for a living.

The Aqua Theatre at the southwest end of Green Lake used to be a hot spot for entertainment. On Saturday, you can relive those days with the unveiling of signage celebrating the Aqua Theatre’s history. (The photo below of an Aqua Follies crowd is from Seattle Municipal Archives.)

Friends of the Aqua Theatre, Seattle Parks and Recreation, and the community will unveil an interpretive sign at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the remains of the theatre, next to the Green Lake Small Craft Center, 5900 W. Green Lake Way N.

According to a press release:

Becky Sokolow, whose father produced shows and designed sets for the theatre in the 1950s and 1960s, formed Friends of the Aqua Theatre and applied for and received a “small and simple” award from the Neighborhood Matching Fund to chronicle the history made at the site from 1950 to 1964 on interpretive signage.

The Aqua Theatre, an open-air stadium with an over-water stage, seated an audience of 5,500 showcased the talents of entertainers from 1950 to 1969, and hosted opera performances, Broadway musicals, and the first Seafair, including the Aqua Follies with its cast of 125. All of the original structure has been removed because of structural concerns, except for one set of concrete bleachers.

Other notables who performed there included Bert Parks, Bob Hope, Cole Porter, Sonny and Cher, Led Zeppelin, and the Grateful Dead.

Some of the former actors, directors, performers and divers will be on hand for the ceremony.

A couple Phinneywood readers collaborated on this “then and now” look at the Stewart Building. Reader jm found this 1951 photo of Stewart’s radio shop on the Seattle Municipal Archives Photograph Collection and Mike Veitenhans colorized it:

[Photograph No. 54428 from the Seattle Municipal Archives]

Then Mike took a shot of the Red Mill building as it looks today:

Thanks, jm and Mike (and thanks, Mike for being an advertiser)! Let us know what you think of this feature. If it’s something you like, we may do it again.

Quilters from Gee’s Bend, AL, an African-American community internationally known for its quilts, are visiting Taproot Theatre next week in conjunction with Taproot’s production of “Gee’s Bend.” Here’s some info from Taproot:

The people of Gee’s Bend have a rich history going back to the days of slavery, when the peninsula was the site of a plantation established by Joseph Gee in the early 19th century. Fast-forwarding nearly two centuries, many residents are descendants of former Gee’s Bend slaves. Throughout the years they became sharecroppers and land-owners and marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. (their mules even pulled his casket after he was assassinated). Their quilts have been sold at Bloomingdale’s and have been exhibited at museums across the country, including shows in the Puget Sound area.

The quilters will participate in post-play discussions at Taproot after the evening performance on Feb. 18 and the matinee show on Feb. 21. Ticketholders to any “Gee’s Bend” performance can attend on a space-available basis, but seating priority goes to ticketholders for those performances. Gee’s Bend runs through Feb. 28. Click here for more info and tickets.

The quilters also will attend the opening reception of “Quilters of Gee’s Bend: Quilts and Etchings” at Greg Kucera Gallery downtown. The gallery show runs Feb. 19 through March 28. Tacoma Art Museum is hosting an afternoon tea with the quilters on Feb. 20 from 3-5 p.m.

You can see a little preview of “Gee’s Bend” on the Seattle Channel.

The Seattle P.I. reports today about a new book by Jim Selvidge, a pioneering exhibitor of foreign films in Seattle. In the late 1950s and early ’60s, Selvidge turned Phinney Ridge’s old vaudeville venue, the Ridgemont, into an influential art house showing only subtitled foreign films.

Those who have lived in the neighborhood for a while remember the Ridgemont, at Greenwood Avenue and N. 78th St., before it was closed and demolished to make way for a condo building, which kept the name Ridgemont and has a movie theater marquee sign.

Because of the films he chose to show at the Ridgemont, Selvidge endured severe censorship, the Ridgemont was attacked with eggs and feces, and someone shot out Selvidge’s car window as he was driving.

Update 2 p.m.: Paul just sent us this photo of the old theater building and sign (where someone rearranged the letters) taken during a Greenwood Classic Car Show shortly before the building was demolished. With that great old car and taken in black and white, it sure looks like it was taken during its heyday!

Updating our post from Oct. 27, the Southwest Seattle Historical Society/Log House Museum will be collecting mementos of Nov. 13, 2008, from all over the city for a time capsule to be buried at Statue of Liberty Plaza at Alki in West Seattle.

Photo credit: West Seattle Blog

You’ve got until Dec. 31 to bring your item(s) to the Log House Museum at 3003 61st Ave. SW, Seattle, WA 98116. The time capsule will be buried next year, then reopened on Nov. 13, 2058. For a full list of submission requirements and ideas of what to submit, check out the West Seattle Blog.

Our friends at the West Seattle blog wanted us to spread the word about a new time capsule being put together in time for the 157th anniversary of the landing of the Denny Party at Alki. The time capsule will be buried at the new Alki Beach Statue of Liberty Plaza on Nov. 13.

The Southwest Seattle Historical Society is coordinating the project, and they want the capsule to include items showing what life was like on Nov. 13, 2008, all over Seattle. Items could be something simple – a photo of you and your child walking to school, minutes from a neighborhood association meeting, or, perhaps, a printout of your favorite local news blog (hint, hint).

The time capsule will be opened on Nov. 13, 2058, the bicentennial of the Denny Party landing. Stay tuned for details on exactly how and when to submit items.

Also, the group is looking for volunteers to help make sure schools and other organizations know about their effort. Please e-mail Andrea Mercado of SWHS at amercado@loghousemuseum.org if you want to help.

Check out this 1891 photo uploaded by the Seattle Municipal Archives that just appeared in the Phinney Ridge Greenwood photo pool in Flickr:

It’s a photo of a private transit car owned by Guy Phinney, for whom the ridge is named.