As promised – some recent observations and photos of the KIRO site on Vashon --- but more than that this post offers some perspective on how radio can spark curiosity and the thirst for exploration. Thank you Ken Zick: your words and photos say a lot. I have always been drawn to explore the uninhabited results of great human endeavors. Warehouses on weekends, lake resorts in the winter, hydro-electric dams just about any time after they have been completed. Some of this fascination stems from stories told by my grandfather - a civilian conservation corp veteran who ran pack horses for survey projects in Colorado. More than the family connection however, I like to see the results of systems, organizations and goals far removed from their point of origin. In walking these sites, I make up motivations, challenges and interactions and assemble into a narrative that spans distance and time. When I moved to Vashon in 2007, the KIRO broadcasting site on the road to Maury Island evoked such a narrative for me. I loved the blend of the building’s Art Deco style and signage and the obviously modern and still functioning antennas and dishes on the outside of the building. Peeking in the back showed cozy, domestic spaces true to the era. A round window, wood paneling, a tiled fireplace that evoked pictures of radio execs holding meetings over drinks as they planned the next phase of a growing radio empire. It was fun to imagine folks in sharp suits and nice dresses travelling to the wilds of Maury to hold these meetings. Why such nice décor? Why so far away from Seattle? A visit seven years later still shows the Deco styling and functioning equipment on the outside but the apartments in the back appear to have fallen victim to time, weather and disuse. A construction effort to clean up after what appears to be water damage to the interior is underway and the glittering narrative is harder to evoke. KIRO still appears to be using the site – but for broadcasting only, no strategy meetings.
Posted on: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 00:15:33 +0000
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