Musical Chairs on the Capitol Campus

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Musical Chairs on the Capitol Campus

Submitted by Crenshaw Sepulveda on Sun, 06/18/2006 - 11:22pm.

It seems to me that the various agencies on the capitol campus love moving into new digs. For what ever reason it seems that they will move to another location, Tumwater, Lacey, who knows where. They just get this itch for new surroundings and more spiffy facilities.

I imagine that at some point in time, maybe sooner than later, the Superintendent of Public Instruction will want to move out of that nasty old Capitol building by Sylvester Park. So this is what I am thinking (picture me rubbing my hands together with an evil grin) the vacated location would be the perfect location for a new Olympia library. A huge magnificant old building, right adjacent to Sylvester Park. Library, park, what a fine combination. Sure the building would need to be restructured to be a library. I'm sure there are issues to deal with. But I see in this scheme something perfect. I see a true civic center. I can envision the Urban Rest Stop. I see room for the Free School, day care centers, all kinds of possibilities. WiFi into Sylvester Park. The list can go on.

I don't know if the SPI will want to move elsewhere. The trend is that they will at some point in time, and when that happens we should make our move. Failing that, I see that a library along with a park would go a long way to creating a true civic center. Thanks Meta and Jade for the inspiration.

^@^

Crenshaw Sepulveda's blog
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That is a truly wonderful

Submitted by Mike on Mon, 06/19/2006 - 7:39am.

That is a truly wonderful vision. It would transform the park. The SPI has always been my favorite building in Oly.

Song

Submitted by Sarah on Mon, 06/19/2006 - 12:11pm.

I can hear that song "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" with new lyrics......."I'm dreaming of a new library"........

Musical Chairs on the Capitol Campus

Submitted by CIAGuy on Mon, 06/19/2006 - 5:42pm.

there's nothing "nasty" about the old capitol, it was refurbished about 10-15 years ago and looks as good inside as it does outside. As for it being a library, there are structural considerations. Libraries, because of the book stacks, need to be purpose built to handle the heavy floor loads. When the State Library got booted from the campus, one of the sites under consideration was the old Sunset Life building at Carlyon Ave. and Capitol Way. Beside being woefully undesized it wasn't strong enough.

Actually

Submitted by Crenshaw Sepulveda on Mon, 06/19/2006 - 8:30pm.

I love the Old Cap building, and I wish they stay there forever. But it seems to me that these government bureaucrats love relocating, for what ever reason, when what they have is good enough, or in this case, incredible.

"I would make it impossible for the covetous and avaricious to utterly impoverish the poor. The rich can take care of themselves."
^@^

Wandering around in a delerious state

Submitted by Crenshaw Sepulveda on Tue, 06/20/2006 - 6:27pm.

So yesterday I wandered around the SPI building and it is huger than I remembered it being. The part fronting Sylvester Park would make for a remarkable library and the anchor of a true civic center. The back part of the building would make some very remarkable housing and office space. I realize I was pretty delirious yesterday, but in the light of day today it seems like a darn good idea. Downtown needs more residents. We need to have the library downtown. We need to have a true civic center, or town center, or commons, or what ever you want to call it.

"I would make it impossible for the covetous and avaricious to utterly impoverish the poor. The rich can take care of themselves."
^@^

Crenshaw Sepulvada...

Submitted by Rick on Tue, 06/20/2006 - 6:32pm.

...for Mayor.

Yes!

Submitted by Sarah on Tue, 06/20/2006 - 7:45pm.

Crenshaw Sepulvada for Mayor.

The mayor of Lacey

Submitted by Crenshaw Sepulveda on Tue, 06/20/2006 - 8:21pm.

I was reading in the Sitting Duck today that the mayor of Lacey does not believe in downtowns. He said they were a thing of the past. He is envisioning a couple of business districts, I guess he means some bigger strip malls or something. What a wonderful civic center the Home Depot/Costco make in Hawks Prarie. I fully understand the the tax grubbing some of these cities engage in. For sure these mega shopping areas produce lots of tax money for the cities. What they do not produce is living wages, a reduction in air pollution, a decrease in traffic congestion, money that is reinvested in the community. Most cities will go for the quickie buck from these strip mall developers, but in the end they always end up screwed. Shopping opportunities are good things for a city, but you can't build a city around shopping opportunities, and shopping opportunities provided by national businesses are parasitical and give nothing back to the city. There is more to a city than fast food, home improvement products, and mega pet food stores. Lacey is well on its way to becoming just another blighted spot on our landscape.

Tumwater's mayor seemed to have an approach that Tumwater does need a civic center, especially since they lost their civic center to the freeway. I think they lost a lot when Costco and Fred Meyer and Home Depot went in. I hope they find their civic center, they deserve one. I'm not sure if they will actually get one.

The Olympia mayor seemed to understand the importance of downtown but I'm wondering if he actually knows what comprises a downtown. I think that the downtown businesses have a certain notion of what a downtown must be but I get the feeling it does not involve diversity, inclusion, and empowerment. I'm afraid that without our voices we will have a Disneyland version of downtown.

I am proud of Olympia for not supporting the downtown Quiznos. I feel bad for the investors, but it was an investment, albeit a foolish one. Maybe they could reinvest in Lacey. While I'm at it, I"m not so crazy about the Subway by Meconi's up by the Capitol. But that might have more to do with that creepy Jarrad guy that shills for them more than anything else.

"I would make it impossible for the covetous and avaricious to utterly impoverish the poor. The rich can take care of themselves."
^@^

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