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Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Underground Maps

On June 6, 1889, the entire central business district of Seattle was destroyed by fire, and it was unsurprisingly, a turning point in our city's history. In the wake of the fire, the downtown buildings were rebuilt 20 feet above the original street level.


It was the network of underground passageways [aka areaways], that came to mind when I read Silvia/A Stranger View's Bee Sewcial prompt, Underground Maps. Silvia shared a pin board, Beesewcial Subway Map, and it seemed to give me permission to go anywhere, so underground Seattle it was.


One of the unique details of the bygone days that are still very much visible today are the purple pavement lights - basically 'skylights' in the current sidewalks, which once provided light to shine down to the businesses below. I represented these sidewalk prisms with very tiny piecing. Each 'skylight' finishes at 1".


My block measures 16 1/2" x 19 1/2", and it really is a fairly accurate representation of Seattle's remaining underground network. Believe it or not, this historical area has been a tourist attraction for over 50 years. Silva asked us to 'take her places,' and I think Seattle's underground was a unique and worthy destination.

10 comments:

  1. A unique and worthy destination and a fantastic block!

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  2. A history lesson and intriguing quilt block making in one post. Love the post and the block.

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  3. Somehow I missed that part of Seattle history when we visited on our honeymoon in 1981. Still one of my favorite places and nice to know more of its history.

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  4. Fantastic underground representation of Seattle! The history is so fascinating!

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  5. I took the underground tour when I visited Seattle last year, so interesting! I really like your interpretation of it as a quilt.

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  6. The Underground was my favorite tour we ever did in Seattle! We went in the dead of winter once, and since we were the only four in our group, the guide took us way off the tour route. So fascinating! And your block is lovely, too. I knew exactly what those purple bits were!

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  7. Great! A wonderful way to represent this piece of history!

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  8. Wow love it and love learning about the underground.

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  9. I love maps! This block is so gorgeous. And that tiny piecing. You have outdone yourself :)

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  10. very beautiful and so lovely work :) i like your good idea ,Thanks for the inspiration!

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