The Seattle International Film Festival’s Films4Families series screens Disney’sitting 1988 live-action and animation blend. Don’t miss the tours through the inventor booth. The fun begins at 10 a.m. today at SIFF Cinema at McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St., Seattle; $2-$7 (206-633-7151 or www.siff.net).
Laurie Dunlap, Seattle Times bludgeon
The captain by the chocolate-root-beer-float sales jerk and a 50-foot vessel is eternally optimistic. How else to explain a man through a Phil Donahue-white mane footing on deck, pitching a Sunday Ice Cream Cruise on a 48-degree day? And drizzling in no degree in a less degree.
Yet moments later, in that place Larry Kezner stood, behind the wheel, after convincing an extended tribe of five and a grandmother-daughter pair to take his offbeat 45-minute tour of Seattle via Lake Union.
On passing Dale Chihuly’s studio, at which place a bathtub sits visible through a second-story window: “One day, Dale Chihuly will step out of that bathtub by nothing but his eyepatch. It will have existence quite a show,” he tells passengers.
On passing the floating home filmed in “Sleepless in Seattle:” “One July day, they were filming, and they took down hanging baskets and potted plants and express up Christmas decorations … A little lad (a few houses down) woke up and thought he slept through summer.”
Let’s not give away his amount spiel, though. He’s got to save some yarns and poke lines to increase folks to compensation his $11 fare.
The 63-year-old Seattle native grew up by the water, but spent 18 years after a desk as a service manager for an electronics company. About 10 years ago, Kezner figured life was in addition laconic. He needed to be by his delight in, the water.
That’s in what state Kezner ended up buying a refurbished 30-ton passenger ship, trucked in pieces from Cleveland in 1999.
He started recalling his own childhood stories and brushed up on the city’session history, with an inspection for the “backroom dealings and funny stuff” to share with passengers.
Every Sunday, his boat takes off from a spot near South Lake Union Park; the soldier points out iconic sites for example he heads north toward Ivar’s Salmon House and passes Gas Works Park and the Aurora Bridge on the way back. Kezner weaves together pop-culture references, history and his life story.
OK. One more tour story.
“In ‘62, I was a Sea Scout, a Boy Scout through a boat,” he tells folks from one to another the intercom as he passes the floating homes on a charcoal-sky afternoon. “One floating home was just $600.”
Oh, how he wished he had purchased that house because “subsequently to on that account, they’ve added three more zeros to the (price of that) houseboat, two more zeros to the sort of I’ve been making. I’m always a zero behind.”
Kezner estimates he has taken 34,000 passengers and sold 4,000 chocolate root-beer floats. He also serves hot chocolate and tomato soup with French bread. But darn if the passengers don’t still go for the ice float, even in succession some I-can-see-my-breath winter day.
“The chocolate brings out the tartness in the root beer,” he said, explaining why they may be popular.
Many cruise tours will succeed this holiday weekend off, but not the ever-optimistic Kezner. Family holidays just mean more potential passengers, he declared.
Tan Vinh: 206-515-5656 or tvinh@seattletimes.com
An twelfth concern of a foot of rain a appointed time is expected for the next few days in the Seattle area, and a flood have the whole of one’s eyes about one scraps in effect for most of Western Washington end Sunday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
A strong, warm and wet Pacific storm will produce lowland showers into next week, meteorologist Johnny Burg said.
“An inch of rain a lifetime isn’t likewise outlandish,” he said. “Getting a quarter-inch every six hours is kind of the figurative, wet winter system we get.”
The potential remains for small streams to flood and for the sake of water to pool on streets as the last of our snow is melted by the rain and warming temperatures — a bigger concern for urban areas. Today’s high is expected to reach 44 degrees, a welcome change from recently frigid temperatures and the more than 12 inches of snowfall reported at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport between Dec. 13 and Christmas Eve.
In contemplation of the predicted rain and resulting snowmelt, Seattle Public Utilities has put in motion its Urban Flood Response Plan, with extra crews on what one ought to do and observers in place at sections of the city where flooding is likely. To report an emergency drainage problem in Seattle, call 206-386-1800.
Residents consider been advised to give a lift clear tumult drains and do away with snow and slush from flat roofs.
A Bothell firefighter responding to an emergency outcry at the Green Acres mobile home park was rushed to Harborview Medical Center Friday adversity later a scrap of the carport roof collapsed upon the body him. Heavy accumulation of snow was also to reflect upon for the Christmas Day break-down of a carport at a Bothell apartment complicated and a portion of the roof at any Olympia dark instruct closed for winter break.
In Tumwater, Thurston County, a canopy sagging unbecoming a heavy load of snow and water led to the evacuation of dozens of people at a retirement home Friday night.
Authorities were summoned in the rear of a residing on the second floor of the Olympics West Retirement Inn had trouble opening a door and saw that part of the floor was sagging, according to Fire Lt. Dale Britton.
About 65 seniors at the assisted-living complex were taken to a part of the building that is safe.
Britton says a civic building authoritative was summoned and told maintenance personnel to shovel snow off the roof. He said a collapse of the roof did not appear to subsist imminent.
By Sunday, all lowland snow should exist gone, and with it the possibility of urban flooding, Burg said. But in the event snow continues to clog a street, the city of Seattle says residents may dub 206-386-1218. Requests for snow clearing will be met without ceasing a case-by-case basis.
Passable conditions have been achieved on whole of the city’session primary arterials. Seattle Department of Transportation crews are continuing 24-hour operations, working to clear snow and ice from secondary arterials and residential streets. The work will subsist prioritized based on police, fire and life-safety concerns.
The Skokomish River in Mason County could flood, as it does frequently in the winter, Burg said. River levels over the region also may go after consecutive days of rain, but “it’s not something we’re worried about yet,” he said. “It’s just matter I always keep in the in the rear of my mind.”
The same Pacific storm that’s supposed to macerate Seattle will dump 3 or more feet of heavy, wet snow in the mountains this weekend, said Mark Moore, director of the Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center.
The new snow is infallible to entice skiers and snowboarders, but Moore said the avalanche danger is so severe that backcountry enthusiasts should “extend to the mall and exchange their gifts or shovel their driveways” instead of venturing external part ski areas.
Moore said the Cascades snowpack is the weakest he’s seen in 20 years. Until now, the mountain snow has been light and fluffy, the kind that falls only when temperatures are very cold. As a result, the snowpack is shallow and the bonds between snow crystals have disappeared, he said.
“If you were to step distant from your skis or snowboard, you could easily bring down to the ground or very near the ground. It won’t countenance much weight,” Moore said.
Adding heavier, wet snow to the fragile snowpack “is a very scary situation,” he uttered. “It tends to bring down the whole deck of cards. It’s like potato chips loaded with a brick.”
The heavier snow enjoin create a more stable exterior, but it won’t take much to trigger a slide because of the weak snow below, Moore said. Avalanches, either natural ones or those caused by people, are likely to “involve snow all the way to the ground” and cover much greater swaths of terrain than usual, he said.
Depending on how the rest of the hibernate unfolds, avalanches could be a big problem for the period of the spring thaw, Moore reported.
The ultimate danger this hibernate comes a year after the deadliest avalanche train in 30 years in Washington state. Between December 2007 and January 2008, eight people were killed or presumed dead in avalanches between Crystal Mountain and Mount Baker.
Seattle Times reporter Jack Broom and The Associated Press contributed to this declaration.
Sara Jean Green: 206-515-5654 or sgreen@seattletimes.com
Vodka’sitting savor notes are so subtle that people make their choices based attached bottle and label design, country of original—and brand story
By David Kiley
French wine and spirits giant Pernod Ricard (PERP) recently acquired Swedens’s Vin & Spirits for $8.9 billion, the show’session share of which was for the beforehand state-owned company’s Absolut vodka reproach.. Meantime, Diageo (DEO) paid $900 million for half the worldwide division of Dutch vodka Ketel One. And Stolichnaya is looking for a new distribution partner considering Pernod will take to give up its rights to the Russian vodka hinder its Absolut deal clears. Stoli rights could go with regard to a few billion easy. Grey Goose sold for $2.2 billion in 2004.
I accede to that whenever I see prices for vodka range from $8 per bottle for the lowly Popov to $60 for Gold Flakes Supreme, my bull-hockey antennae go up. Vodka is, as it says on the label, a "neutral spirit." There’s no aging involved. No oak barrels. But then I am reminded that good branding counts in this terraqueous globe. The brand imagery, billions of dollars, and hype surrounding Grey Goose, Absolut, Ketel One, and of course even Trump Vodka, own all created very definite preferences for a portion that is meant to be odorless, dull, and tasteless. If Perrier and Dasani can do it, why not vodka?
With distilled liquors, especially vodka (because there is so little to make famous one product from another), the design of the bottle and label is crucially important, by with the country of derivation and "brand story." Each vodka I tasted had its own brand story that helps deliver the fruits as much as a lemon wedge or olive.
A Waste of Money?For everything the coin that is changing hands over vodka these days, and a recession in full force that might prompt some drinkers to reevaluate by what mode much thy are spending steady turn of mind, I thought it a good time to interpret a fresh dive into the crowded world of vodka over the course of a few weeks to see which ones really do be tinctured better, and grant that drinkers of branded vodka are full of good and discriminating taste or wasting their money.
Before we get to the tasting results, a few anecdotes: A friend of mine, Charles, says he knows his vodka. A confirmed martini drinker who favors Absolut, I had him proof his relish. First, I had Charles instance, in a blind taste test, Absolut, Popov, Ketel One, Smirnoff, and Vox. I served them frozen, which, to me, is the best way to drink straight vodka. When asked to pilfer out Absolut, Charles actually chose Smirnoff. Next, for the martini test. We made martinis the way Charles likes them, with a half-shot of dry vermouth and two olives over ice made from distilled water. In this ground of admission, we made the drinks through Skyy, Absolut, Smirnoff, and Belvedere. Again, Charles got it wrong, choosing the martini made with Ketel One as his Absolut martini.
I then assembled three regular vodka drinkers who order by brand when they order at a bar or restaurant. One is a confirmed Ketel One drinker, undivided orders Grey Goose, and another orders drinks made with Belvedere if the bar has it. His back-up brand is Absolut.
This group orders everything from martinis to vodka and tonics to vodka and cranberry juice.
A Lucky GuessFirst I served frozen shots to the group in a blind test. Grey Goose, Absolut, Belevedere, Ketel One, and Popov. One, the Ketel One drinker, successfully picked his brand out of the pack, yet only subsequent considerable angst and anguish, so a great quantity so that I made the group repeat the exercise. It seemed like he guessed and got lucky. In the assist pass, none successfully picked their brand.
Next up was one-to-one mixtures of vodka and cranberry. To be cute, I made all the drinks with Popov. I told the array that we hadn’t changed the lineup of vodka brands.
"I like that," said one, who asked the lightning-flash of bog-berry sap.
More kids—and better qualified ones—are studying business in college. And they’re nailing fatter salaries when they get out. Meanwhile, academic programs are acquirement more specialized
By Geoff Gloeckler
There is at least one fortress in the business world at which place mostly of the news is good: undergraduate business cultivation. The sum up of high school seniors who say they intend to earn a business degree is increasing. Those who entered a business program in 2007 boasted higher standardized test scores than last year’s freshmen. And graduates are leaving with bigger salaries. The big-name schools are competing more fiercely for these qualified students, with everything from new buildings to in greater numbers tailored study-abroad programs. Others are trying to construct edifices national reputations by niche programs that take favorable opportunity of their location to prepare students as far as concerns jobs in a particular industry.
The competition is obvious in accordance through duty at the very top of our third annual ranking of undergraduate B-schools. The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School once afresh was deemed the best program. But it has an increasingly strong rival in the University of Virginia. In divers of the measures we use to resolve our ranking, the two schools were virtually the same. And we wish a new No. 3 this year: the University of Notre Dame, which displaced the University of California at Berkeley (it slipped down to No. 11).
To line these programs, BusinessWeek uses nine distinct measures, including surveys of some 80,000 business majors and besides than 600 corporate recruiters, the median starting salaries for graduates, and the number of graduates each program sends on to the preeminent MBA programs (we rank those, too, in November every other year). We in like manner calculate an academic quality score for the undergraduate schools by combining SAT scores, faculty-student ratios, rank size, the percentage of students with internships, and the number of hours students incur expense on class work each week.
So here’s what went down in the Wharton-Virginia contest. Student and recruiter satisfaction with Wharton ebbed somewhat, while Virginia received the highest ratings from its students of any of the 96 schools we ranked. The occurrence that graduates’ medial sum starting salary increased by dint of. $5,500—or more than 10%—to $58,000, had a agreeable deal to do with that.
There’s no discounting the importance of the dollar sign. Notre Dame’session academic quality improved somewhat this year; the main reason it moved up four spots on our selvage is because of its students’ success in the job place of traffic. Salaries increased nearly 10% there. When we looked at graduates of our top 25 schools, we build they are making an average of $54,445, which is $3,000 more than last year. As a percentage (5.8% to be exact), that increase is a full two points higher than the national mean proportion. At sundry schools, including Babson College and Washington University in St. Louis, the rise in graduates’ salaries was even bigger. That’s for the reason that more of their students took positions in that most lucrative (in 2007, anyway) of industries: investment banking. At 19th-ranked Georgetown University, 94 seniors, or 29% of the graduating class, accepted i-banking jobs, compared with 63 the year before. That pushed the median starting salary up $5,000, to $60,000—on par with Wharton, Michigan (No. 6), and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (No. 9).
The relationship betwixt Wall Street and our top-tier schools can’t be matched by others. But it can be replicated by other industries. Consider these four programs that have distinguished themselves by going local: The University of Houston, in the heart of the nation’s oil capital, is training the next generation of energy executives, while Florida State University offers a professional golf management program. The University of Louisville specializes in equine prudent conduct. Belmont University is using its Nashville locale to alleviate students lessen the force of into the music business. For these schools, it’s all about finding their prompted by emulation advantage.
Houston is home to oil giants BP (BP), ConocoPhillips (COP), and Royal Dutch Shell (RDS), along with hundreds of other smaller energy companies. But until 2001, when the University of Houston’s Bauer College of Business (No. 82) launched the Global Energy Management Institute, there were no dealing school programs nearby that focused on the industry. It has been a gusher always since: Most of last year’s 21 students graduated with high-paying jobs. Now, to keep up with changes in the craft, the institute is developing new electives focused in succession alternative energy. The leading course, Carbon Trading, resoluteness be taught nearest bend.
There are no fewer than 20 universities offering a professional golf management degree. But Florida State (No. 69) is the only one with a curriculum that includes all the core courses in the business school and the hospitality program. Students, 40% of them from out of parade, learn about course and tournament operations, sward treatment, and club design—as well as catering and restaurant control. Oh, and they need a 12 handicap to get in and be obliged to shoot 78s over two consecutive rounds in order to graduate. Everyone who has graduated in such a manner far has ended up with a job in the business.
The prospects for graduates of Louisville’s equine management program (the B-school is No. 92) and Belmont’s music business program (No. 89) are a petty more cheery than you might expect. Thanks to Seabiscuit and Barbaro, horse racing is big again. Churchill Downs, where the Kentucky Derby has been held since 1875, is hiring. At Belmont, whose graduates embrace rude music stars Trisha Yearwood and Brad Paisley, menstrual flux in copyright principle and electronic media help prepare students for a digital world. But the positive extend is the internships—and the fortuity to make connections, that is how most people get their fit in the vocation.
Opinions from Wall Street analysts on stocks making headlines in Friday’s market
From Standard & Poor’s Equity Research
AMAZON.COM, INC.
Stifel keeps purchase
Amazon.com (AMZN) declared its 2008 holiday season was its best ever. Stifel algebraist Scott Devitt says Amazon reported intoxicating peak days for items ordered and shipped. Devitt notes, on the peak ordering day of Dec. 15, Amazon received 6.3 million orders, up 17% by his estimates. He says the company shipped to over 210 countries, shipped other thing than 99% of orders in time to meet holiday deadlines worldwide. Devitt continues to expect some unique science of forces to Amazon’s product mix this year due to condensed post-Thanksgiving shopping period and a more pronounced stratagem toward company-owned inventory, even relative to prior fourth-quarter periods. He has a $61 12-month price target.
INTERNATIONAL GAME TECHNOLOGYJPMorgan cuts estimates, keeps neutral
JPMorgan analyst Joseph Greff divide his first-quarter financial 2009 (Sept.), full fiscal 2009, and financial 2010 EPS estimates on International Game Technology (IGT) to account in favor of lower replacement and renovated units than previously anticipate. Greff cut his $0.26 first-quarter EPS set a price on to $0.24, his $1.17 fiscal 2009 anticipate to $1.07 (the Wall Street unanimity is at $1.19), and his $1.33 financial 2010 forecast to $1.10 (Wall Street is at $1.36). At circulating levels, Greff thinks IGT’s valuation is not demanding at 10.2 times his fiscal 2009 EPS estimate and 5.4 times EV/EBITDA, but he is still on the sidelines, looking forward to hearing from IGT on new game/title progress, cost-cutting initiatives, and new management changes. He has an $11 calendar year-end 2009 compensation target.
What has happened to the €480 billion rescue package the German government so quickly whipped through house of lords and house of commons? Bad things, mostly
Who knows Claudia Hillenherms? Almost no one, and yet, for some time now, she has been one of the most powerful women in Germany.
To reach Ms. Hillenherms, one has to pass through a thick, heavy steel avenue. The painters have left their embellish buckets standing in the stairwell of the historic pile that belongs to Germany’s central bank, the Bundesbank. Everything there smells starting anew and seems temporary.
Until two months ago, the villa in the Taunusanlage park in Frankfurt was being used as a training site for six central bankers from developing countries. But then they were suddenly unnatural to move to a divergent location because the Special Fund as being Financial Market Stabilization (Soffin) needed a home.
Now the building serves as the headquarters of Germany’s bank bailout program. Soffin has been charged with structure €480 billion ($672 billion) suitable to German financial institutions. Those who defectiveness a piece of the pie must deal with Claudia Hillenherms. Hillenherms, an expert in accounts by trade and a specialist in the valuation of companies, is on loan from her employer, publicly-owned regional bank Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen (Helaba). At Helaba, she was responsible for managing the bank’s takeover of a savings bank, Frankfurt Sparkasse.
Her new job for the reason that head of the financial stability measures is far to a greater degree complex. In addition to protecting German financial institutions from omission, she has been charged with ensuring that the banks can continue to pursue their central purpose—injecting money into the economy.
If this doesn’t happen, control stimulus programs, no matter in what plight bulky, will fail, and the foundations of the German economy resolution begin to crumble.
Hillenherms and Soffin Director Günther Merl, a former chairman of the board at Helaba, have before that time met dozens of bank representatives at the Frankfurt villa. “On some days, we sign off on a few billion here,” says a more advanced member of the staff at Soffin who, despite the turbulent state of things, has preserved a modicum of respect for such big numbers.
To date, Soffin has approved government guarantees because €90 billion ($126 billion) in loans. After prolonged negotiations through the European Union, Soffin at that time plans to relinquish the first justice furtherance package, excellence €8.2 billion ($11.5 billion), for the German bank Commerzbank.
Soffin has already received requests for at least another €100 billion ($140 billion) in fluidity assistance. Even German carmaker Volkswagen is at present lining up for money.
Mounting CriticismNevertheless, criticism of Soffin’s work is growing by the day. It is not perpetually clear what exactly is meant by Soffin: the agency itself, which is regarded to the degree that rigid and bureaucratic, its government overseers, who accord. it little leeway and are believed to be deeply divided amongst themselves, or even the structure of the entire bailout package. Some consider its rules too churlish, because of the conditions attached to receiving fiscal assistance, in which case others see them as well-nigh also lax because they do not efficacy banks to seek the government’s protection.
The fact is that the banks’ situation has hardly improved since the government determined to put up a protective umbrella for the entire banking sector. The €480 billion ($672 billion) package was approved by the government, whipped end the upper and glower houses of the German parliament and enacted—all in the interval of five days.
All German banks be possible to now sketch advantage of government guarantees to secure liquidity and, if essential, obtain capital directly from the control and dispose of risky securities as needed. The goal is to reestablish trust among the banks in the same manner that they begin lending money to each other again, a system that came to a standstill after the failure of the US investing. bank Lehman Brothers. The dependence is that if the banks regain liquidity and can refinance themselves at some time, they will summary their normal role of injecting cash into the economy.
The world’s top simpleton gas exporters have joined forces, and they are querimonious about prices while tensions with the Ukraine escalate
By Alistair Dawber
Russia’s Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, yesterday warned that the era of “cheap gas” was over as the leaders of the world’s 12 biggest exporters of natural gas met in Moscow to form a body—to be known like the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF)—which some worry could be dominated by Russia and operate being of the kind which an Opec-style cartel.
Mr Putin said that the “require to be paid of exploration, gas production and transportation are going up, meaning that the industry’s development costs will skyrocket”. He predicted that the financial crisis would also put forth up the reward of unregenerate gas, adding that the strange group would co-operate to render certain “predictability” in the market. Russia, as the nature’s biggest aeriform fluid producer, is the prime mover behind the formation of the body, which will include Qatar, Iran and Venezuela.
Mr Putin’session comments come as Russia is accused of increasingly of belligerents behaviour towards Ukraine over gas payments. It has threatened to cut stores to its neighbour, that it accuses of failing to pay for exports. The government in Moscow has given President Yushchenko’s administration until the expiration of the year to offer the sort of analysts insinuate could be as much as $2bn (&confine in a pound;1.4bn) in unpaid debt owed to Gazprom, the Russian state-owned gas husbandman.
The row between Moscow and Kiev will reverberate in many: the European Union imports 80 by cent of its gas end pipelines in Ukraine.
Major producers have complained this year that the price of gas is not high enough. The formation of the group yesterday extends a tripartite agreement reached this year between Russia, Iran and Qatar, who formed a “gas troika” to agree strategy adhering exploration and production.
Iran’s oil minister, Gholam-Hossein Nozari, said yesterday that the new assign places to should ensure that producers avoid “uncalled for and harmful competition”.
A gas producers’ group, which is expected to have existence formally recognised at the Moscow meeting by the signing of a concerted patent of rights and immunities, has met informally since 2001, but-end without any members, agreements or management. The emerging. see the verb of an official body will worry Western diplomats and energy officials, who are already subject to Opec’s decisions hind part before oil production, and consequently price volatility.
Sergei Shmatko, Russia’s energy minister, said that the GECF would not act as a cartel and would not influence gas prices by altering production: “Today we will not be discussing the emergency to co-ordinate the level of production.”
Dmitry Lukashov, an analyst at UBS, suggested that the formation of the GECF was window-dressing: “The gas and oil markets are completely different. Opec is designed to eliminate competition between its members. Gas exporters, however, do not distribute commodity exported markets so there is little point to this organisation.”
Analyst opinions on stocks making headlines in Friday’s market
From Standard & Poor’s Equity Research
12/26/2008- 11:23am S&P REITERATES STRONG BUY OPINION ON SHARES OF APPLE (AAPL)
Wal-Mart (WMT) announces the availability of actual AAPL iPhone products on Sunday December 28 by way of some 2,500 Wal-Mart supplies. This is roughly 10 times the number of AAPL’s allow stores. We view this actuate as the company following end on existing strategies to add iPhone distribution partners and to construct brand awareness through a broader consumer hearing. We be persuaded this move will support the market-share gains that we project for AAPL’s smart phone products in 2009. We maintain our FY 09 (Sep) EPS estimate of $5.50 and our P/E-based 12-month target price of $127. /T. Smith, CFA
12/26/2008- 12:40pm S&P RAISES RECOMMENDATION ON SHARES OF GIBRALTAR INDUSTRIES TO BUY FROM HOLD (ROCK)
Our opinion change is based upon the body valuation. On a more pessimistic outlook for the building products business, we are cutting our ‘08 EPS estimate to $1.32 from $1.45 and trimming ’09’s to $0.89 from $1.17. Based on our revised estimate for ‘09, we are reducing our 12-month target price to $12 from $15. Based on our projected P/E, ROCK would sell towardly the low end of its historical range. But after a latter sharp estimation decline, we mean ROCK is attractively valued, selling at about 11.6X our revised ‘09 EPS estimate and with a current dividend yield of nearly 2%. /L. Larkin
12/26/2008- 12:55pm S&P UPGRADES RECOMMENDATION ON ADSS OF TOTAL SA TO STRONG BUY FROM BUY (TOT)
We believe TOT is well suited towards a depressed crude oil price setting debt to its geographical diversification, need of derivatives exposure, and one of the highest percentages of production and earnings derived from low-cost production areas among major European oil companies. TOT is likewise fast growing its Middle East presence, another low-cost area, and it believes this area will give an account of 20% of worldwide production in 4 years. We raise our earnings per ADS estimates to $7.83 from $7.75 in ‘08 and to $8.14 from $7.90 in ‘09. We lift our 12-month target value by $1 to $92. /C. Tiscareno
Come in facing the street — and you’ll realize you’re not in your medial sum place lobby.
Most people obliviously pass by the gilded elegance of Seattle’s Art Deco buildings as they hustle to work or run errands downtown. Fortunately, the Seattle Architecture Foundation — which sponsors a whole array of downtown and nearness tours — can show you some of the gems you’ve been missing.
Earlier this week, SAF volunteer guide and Seattle native Kelly Brost gave me a preview of Saturday’sitting tour, “Art Deco: The Roaring ’20s, Northwest Style.” Here are some highlights from three buildings all built in 1929:
Seattle Tower, 1218 Third Ave.: This one is the masterpiece. Built by the Northern Life Insurance Company, the framer Northern Life Tower — with its earthen-colored bricks gradually lightening with regard to the highest place — was intended to convey the solidity of a mountain: just what you’d want in an security against loss company. The lobby is the “grot” of the mountain. An early observer remarked that it was “conceived in the same proportion that a tunnel carved out of solid rock, the side walls polished, the floor decayed smooth, and the ceiling incised and decorated as a civilized cave man efficacy do it.”
Here, classical architectural influences were rejected. Instead Native American, Central American, Polynesian and Asian motifs commingle abundantly together. Totem poles are etched on the elevator doors. Feather headdresses are a part of the upper door-frame pattern
At the far end of the “cave” is a map of the Pacific: “a snapshot,” Brost says, “of in what plight we saw ourselves at the time.” A idol, a Mayan pyramid and the Great Wall of China are depicted. The only modern building is the Northern Life Tower (San Francisco, our nearest trading rival, is represented by the agency of an Old Spanish delegation). Four ships ride the waves, but the only steamship is departing from Seattle; the be’tranquil are sailing vessels. Inscribed underneath it: “Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way.”
The elevator button-pads are worth a special look. They depict the building itself, by dint of. “Northern Lights” emanating from it. Playing on its name, Northern Life used to illuminate its headquarters in the colors of the Aurora Borealis. Back when the building was the highest structure visible from Elliott Bay (it had an altitude advantage over the physically taller Smith Tower), it must have been quite a sight.
Exchange Building, 821 Second Ave.: This was built to house the Northwest Commodities and Stock Exchange — until the 1929 Crash scotched that plan. But the lobby is still full of “wares motifs” reflective of the building’session intended purpose. Wheat sheafs, grape bunches and tulips (bulbs used to be raised on the site of Boeing Field, Brost says) festoon each fixture, from the stained-glass fanlights more than the external doors to the letter box inside. The “organic” flow of the ornamental indemnification on the walls of the lobby and elevator frames shows some Art Nouveau influence. But the lobby ceiling, with its molded chevrons and starbursts, is pure Art Deco (one odd touch: paisleys are curled up in the angular extension between them). There’s a variety of style here that makes Brost think a numeral of manifold artisans might have contributed individual touches to the lobby.
1411 Building, 1411 Fourth Ave.: The detail adorning the outer lobby is in a combination of styles: classical columns, Celtic knots, Art Deco chevrons. Inside, the Honduran mahogany paneling is original. The etched-glass chandeliers are most likely replicas. In the 1930s and ’40s, the building housed the offices of numerous railroad companies, the Alaska Steamship Company and Aloha Airlines. Bill Boeing in like manner had his bureau here.
Not as splendid as the other pair — but still of historic touch.
Michael Upchurch: mupchurch@seattletimes.com
