Cheap Seattle: Nordic Heritage Museum

This post has absolutely nothing to do with South Seattle. It's just a bunch of snapshots from Ballard's Nordic Heritage Museum, "the only museum in the United States to honor the legacy of immigrants from the five Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden." I paid a visit on Friday because I'm still on maternity leave and have nothing better to do than to act like a tourist in my own city.

The museum is full of life-size dioramas depicting life in old Ballard and other Scandinavian immigrant communities.





























The sauna exhibit in the Finland room:



I inadvertently dressed on-brand for the trip, in a skirt from Finland. It's not Marimekko, but some other brand they sell at Tuuli downtown. I love this print and these colors.



While I did enjoy the dioramas and the current photography exhibit, I wished the museum devoted more space to showcase modern design in Scandinavia, which is home to some of the world's best printmakers, textile designers, glass artists, and furniture makers. (The seating area did have some pieces from Ikea, though.)

The Nordic Heritage Museum is located at 3014 NW 67th Street in Seattle. Museum hours are 10am - 4pm Tuesday-Saturday and 12pm - 4pm Sunday. Adult admission is $6.

Oh, hey, while I'm totally off the topic of South Seattle, I'll add these shots of the Rendezvous in Belltown, where I had a couple of my five (?) vodka sodas last night.

Viva Monstero!

Monstero! used to be one of Georgetown's most distinctive street characters. A photo from the art walk in July, the month before some asshole set the car on fire:



Last night Monstero!'s keepers, Willow and James Fulton, threw a Day of the Dead benefit party to help with car's recovery fund. They celebrated with alcohol and fire.











The eyes of Monstero!























The party was held in the Miller Building, also home to the lovely Georgetown Pharmacy.



I got my Halloween candy there this year. I chose the good stuff: Kit Kats, Whoppers, Reese's.



(Holy crap, we kept the baby out until 1 a.m.!)

Photos from Last Night's Haunted Brew House Tour

For the second weekend in a row, Theater Off Jackson is presenting haunted tours in the old Rainier Brew House. I took the 8 p.m. tour on Halloween night. (You still have a chance to go if you're free tonight!)



First I milled around and drank some Manny's while waiting for the tour to start.





TOJ and Friends of Georgetown History teamed up to create a presentation of old Comet Lodge Cemetery materials, including grave rubbings and photocopies of old articles.





Some of my neighbors live on ground that used to be the baby section of the cemetery.





This old photo shows how big the cemetery used to be. A bunch of houses stand there now.



They also posted a photo of the Brew House back in its glory days. It's worth the tour admission just to see the inside of this building -- the music and performances are bonus.





The performances were fun, though. This guy strung solid metal rings together with the help of some magical Rainier beer.









And up the stairs, Ensemble Sub Masa played spooky songs.





The accordionist (my pal and former Eastlake neighbor, the lovely Marchette!) wandered among the crowd like a ghost.



I spent the rest of the tour trying to stand as still as possible to get photos of the dark empty spaces.









Though some of them weren't as empty as they first seemed.







I was one of a couple tour stragglers, both us of fighting over who got to be last one so we could get good shots of all the creepy shadows. Sabey's Jim Harmon patiently waited for us to finally make our exit.















After I finally left, one of the TOJ folks directed my attention to this old poster that Sabey provided for the event. She even showed me how to use the flash on my camera (someday I will learn how to use that thing!) so I could get a picture of it.



"Malt Rainier -- The pure malt tonic for mothers who require additional nourishment and strength."

I hope the Manny's I drank last night has a similar effect. Because it's a heavy burden to be in charge of a baby who measures up in the 99th percentile of CUTENESS.



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Related Posts:

* Daytime photos of the Georgetown Brew House

* Last year's Georgetown Haunted Tour

* About the Comet Lodge Cemetery