Belltown
Belltown is the most densely populated neighborhood in Seattle, located on the city’s downtown waterfront on land that was artificially flattened as part of a regrading project. Formerly a low-rent, semi-industrial arts district, in recent decades it has transformed into a neighborhood of trendy restaurants, boutiques, nightclubs, and residential towers as well as warehouses and art galleries. The area is named after William Nathaniel Bell
“Wedged between the Space Needle and Pike Place Market, this Seattle neighborhood is a gritty, historic icon of its own. And the community is fighting to keep it that way.”
Belltown continues to be a neighborhood in flux with the growing pains to prove it.
Elliott Ave and Vine Street
The Cottages and Belltown P-Patch
Our Father who art in heaven….
“Lord, You are Father to us, and we confess that it often comes to easy for us to place you in heaven while forgetting your presence in our midst. Help us to see the sacred spaces that remind us of your role in the story of this place. Here in these gardens we are reminded of the psalmist words that all of creation reveals your glory. We pause to give thanks for those who have labored here to honor your creation. May we see the sacred revealed to us in the hidden spaces and may this corner be a space where your glory is continually revealed to all who work the ground and to all who pass by.
Vine St and Western Ave
Growing Vine Street
Growing Vine Street turns an eight-block length of Vine Street in Belltown into an urban watershed and street park comprised of:
Cistern Steps and Beckoning Cistern
Hallowed be thy name…
Lord, we long for your presence to come to this block in a special way. Even in the midst of upheaval and change, may your name be lifted in the peaceful places and may your creative character and care continue to be reclaimed in the thoughtful design of spaces. We long for you to come back to planet earth and reclaim what is yours, but in the mean time may your peace be present to all who wander through this corner of the city.
3rd Ave and Cedar Street
New Horizons and Street Bean Coffee
An outreach that partners with homeless youth ages 14-23. One of its many facets is “Street Bean Coffee” that is their job training and community outreach
Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven …
Lord Jesus, we pray your blessing on the work that is done here … for the lives restored and for those who labor to reclaim young lives on the margins … those that many regard as “lost”. May this be a “thin space” where heaven truly meets earth with redemption and new hope.
Bell Street and 4th Ave
In the Shadow
The Franklin Apartments were built in 1918 after the first phase of the Denny Regrade (1906-1911) during the Seattle Boom from the Klondike Gold Rush … They were landmarked in 2015 with plans to build 2 condo buildings incorporating them into the design. They are shadowed by a building that recently sold the 4th most expensive condo listing in Seattle @ 3,125,000
Give us this day our daily bread …
“Lord, everyday people on this block worry about not having enough food, clothing or shelter while living in the shadow of extravagant wealth. The economy of man here can seem hopelessly skewed and we confess to losing our reliance on you as provider. As buildings rise and fall, we pray that the forces of change be tempered by your unchanging love for all who call this home. May your economy of love balance the scales between want and need.
Bell Street and 4th Ave
Mary’s Place and a disappearing shelter
For the past several years this has been housing up to 48 displaced women and children through Mary’s Place, a significant resource for women and families in the Seattle metro area. Known as EFS (Emergency Family Shelter) it’s now on borrowed time as the development wheels continue to turn with this new land use plan
And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us …
Father, may we see this life as a journey and not a competition. Help us to consider how we may be companions instead of adversaries. As the sacred spaces of relief and restoration are removed, may others rise up in their wake. We long for healing and hope and the day when your people and your church inhabit this space of restoration.
Bell St and 3rd Ave
Belltown Dog Park
This is a central gathering place for many … and not always with the best motives … drugs and dogs are the biggest activity and both cater to the extremes of the population
Drug and opioid use is at epidemic level
Seattle has more dogs than children living within city limits
And lead us not into temptation …
Lord, In this place of recreation and remorse, may your spirit be made manifest. We pray that this not be a place of either or … may those who make this a daily part of their lives be able to see past the mask of circumstance and understand that not all is always as it seems. Temptations here are as many and as frequent as the busses. May this be a space where names are known and deep and restorative community established and may the value of companionship manifest itself beyond the dogs who play here.
Bell street and 2nd Ave
And the battle continues …Wayne Apartments
“Constructed sometime between 1889 and 1891, Belltown’s Wayne Apartments building is one of City’s oldest buildings. It is currently very run-down, but nevertheless provides amazingly affordable housing” … it has been a continual front on the battle between old and new Belltown … finally thought to be settled when it was landmarked in 2015
However, the fight for it’s future continues.
But deliver us from the evil one …
Father, may your spirit of peace prevail over the years of conflict here. We pray that peacemakers would be present and active here, that the future would honor the past, and that the story of this place would not be lost in the pursuit of a future identity. In a place where each side views the other as evil, we pray for the opportunity for peace and partnership
Western Ave and Battery Street
End of an era
The “Alaskan Way Viaduct”, opened in 1953, had been a fixture of the Seattle transportation and waterfront scene. Replaced by a tunnel, it was closed forever in January 2019 and the process of demolition is well underway.
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen
Again, Lord, we pray that you would be glorified in this neighborhood and throughout the city. We pray that people would praise you and look to you as the one who never changes. May they see these undeniable evidences of change as an urgent call to engage the story that has been written here long before memory and continues far beyond imagination. We lift up the future as yours an pray for those who will continue the work of redemption and restoration … longing for the day of your return … when all things will be renewed. “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” Amen
