August 2000

Tuesday, August 1, 4:15 p.m. - Today was the first day I really wished I could post a movie instead of a still shot.  While I was taking the photo, the cranes were all dancing around.  It was very cool to watch.  They are building out what I am pretty sure are the stanchions for the seats on the east side of the stadium.  They are slowly moving longer going west.

Wednesday, August 2, 4:30 p.m. - Today's action appears to be atop both of the northern most corner posts.  The one closest to me has a crane dropping or picking up a square rim.  The cool looking green crane is doing something at the northeast corner post.  Pretty darned exciting! Add-on Note:  Eagle Eye Sean Watts says that the cool looking green crane is actually a cement pump filling up the form.  I'd just like to say that this website would be a shoddy compilation of typos and not nearly as informational if it weren't for Sean who must read every entry the minute I publish it.

Thursday, August 3, 4:30 p.m. - Today there doesn't seem to be much action on the site.  But, keep in mind, my only measurement of activity is if there are a bunch of trucks moving, a bunch of cranes moving or noise.  I'm sure they are working just as hard at something besides moving the big stuff and making noise.  Of course, we had enough noise today (and tomorrow and Saturday and, I think, Sunday) with the Blue Angels.

Friday, August 4, 5 p.m. - For the past few days, at least, it looks like they are using the center area of the site to build up smaller things that will go together to make up the bigger things.  There are a lot of wooden frame looking things there and some metal looking things.  I'm sure they are really huge but from my vantage point and in comparison to the corner posts and big cranes, they look like little pieces of things.

Saturday, August 5, 8:30 a.m. - It's a cool, quiet morning here and I can hear hammering and other minor construction noises.  As the city wakes up, these will be drowned out but they are kind of nice to hear in the early morning.  The northeast corner of the stadium seems to be growing quickly.  There are two guys on the top platform working there this morning.  And there are three water trucks wetting down much of the area.  We haven't had rain for a couple of weeks and there is none in the forecast.

Sunday, August 6, 12:30 p.m. - It's a quiet day on the site.  Nothing is moving.  BUT that does not mean it's a quiet day in the neighborhood.  The Blue Angels are creating quite the racket.  They are causing me to miss some of the play-by-play of our spectacular defeat of the Yankees.

Monday, August 7, 4:30 p.m. - There doesn't seem to be a lot of action today.  I mean really.  I can't see any people moving around and the trucks are all still.  Wonder if they are all in a meeting.  It looks a lot hotter than it really is.  The sun is out (obviously) but it's very pleasant.

Tuesday, August 8, 4:30 p.m. - I just don't get it.  I can't see any change from yesterday.  Wonder what these guys are doing??!!  Don't they know that it makes my job way much more difficult?  Ok, so I'll gloat on the first game of the Mariners' double header today.  We're in the 8th and it's Seattle 12 and Chicago 2.  I hope the Mariners don't use up all their runs in this first game!

Wednesday, August 9, 4:15 p.m. - Check the red circle... We've got real progress.  They put a big gray thing on the growing northwest pillar.  I just realized that the pretty blue crane hasn't been moved in days.  Hope it's not paying standard Seattle parking rates for downtown.  The project will be seriously over budget if that's the case.

Thursday, August 10, 4:15 p.m. - They are rapidly building out the corner nearest me.  But the blue crane hasn't moved.  Maybe we should start taking bets on when they will ever move it.  I really don't think it's going to be part of the new stadium, but then, I could be wrong.

Friday, August 11, 4:30 p.m. - Well, it looks like there's another bit of the structure growing just south of the pillar closest to me.  I put an arrow pointing to it.  Otherwise, not much new today.

Saturday, August 12, 1:45 p.m. - It does not look like there is anybody working on the site today.  I can see a couple of guys walking around but not action.  However, somehow between 4:30 yesterday and now they put more stuff on the towers.  I circled it.  Wonder how high they are going to go?!

Sunday, August 13, 1:25 p.m. - There's one security guard walking around the site and that's the only action today.  But, Safeco field is full to the gills and the game has just started.

Monday, August 14, 4:15 p.m.  - They seem to be doing more work on the towers but it's hard to see much progress in other areas.  According to various news reports, they should be doing some fairly dramatic stuff by the end of August. They'd better get on the stick!

Tuesday, August 15, 5:25 p.m. - I got stuck at work and was late getting today's photo.  It occurred to me that it won't be too long before I'll be needing to get home during lunch to snap the photo because after work will be dark.  No huge differences today.  And, the blue crane, still hasn't moved!

Wednesday, August 16, 4:15 p.m. - Today I put arrows on the growing seat foundations.  They are building the wooden forms on the ground and then gradually building out the seats - at least on the south and east sides that I can see.

Thursday, August 17, 4 p.m. - See those big trucks in front?  They've been bringing in those long concrete things for several days.  I think they are going on to the seat structures.  Things are otherwise just moving along.

Friday, August 18, 5 p.m. - We finally got rain!  It's been forever.  We had a nice, steady shower this morning and it's cleaned everything up and cooled everything off.  And, it's made a really nice sky in today's photo.  But, the big news... are you ready???  They moved the blue crane!!!  It's out of this picture, over on the far southwest corner of the site.  Amazing.

Saturday, August 19, 12:30 p.m. - New stuff!  Look in the bottom left hand corner of this photo.  Big old rusty looking steel structures of some kind. This is getting interesting!

Monday, August 21, 4:14 p.m. - Today they put a wooden grid over the trailer things next to the rusty steel things in the bottom left hand corner of the photo.  Looks like they are creating a lattice for vines but I'm thinking that might not be it.

Tuesday, August 22, 4:00 p.m. - Well my vine lattice guess was wrong.  Today they nailed a roof over the lattice work so now those trailers have protection.  I can't quite figure out why they need it.  And, the blue crane is back.  My mom will be so glad.  She's very fond of that blue crane.  Hi Mom.

Wednesday, August 23, 4:30 p.m. - Today they put a tar layer on top of yesterday's roof.  I don't get it.  This roof is over three trailers like the kind that are on the back of tractor trailer trucks.  Off of the photo, to the left (I didn't get it in the shot) are new office trailers.  They now have about 30 trailers of offices on the site.  Must take a lot of office work to build a stadium.

Thursday, August 24, 4:30 p.m. - A new fence!  Check the red circle.  They've fenced off the area around the new trailers.  Jeremy Crowther sent a note saying that the roof was probably so that if and when it ever rains again, they can keep equipment and work on smaller pieces in a protected area.  I suspect he's right.  There's more of those long concrete things coming in - see arrow.  I can't tell where they are going on the site.  They are just too wide to look like they are going into the seat supports but it could be that my view is just skewed.  They must be going someplace because they keep trucking them in and then they disappear into the site somewhere.

Friday, August 25, 4:30 p.m. - Colin Walker chimed in about the newly roofed trailers with what sounds to me like the best guess yet.  He thinks they might be for the storage of highly flammable things like  acetylene and oxygen tanks.  These would need shade from the sun as well as other protection.  I love all the theories.

Saturday, August 26, 3:15 p.m. - Today was supposed to be a rainy day but someone forgot to bring the rain.  We did get clouds as you can see.  Not too much going on today - there are a few people out there working but the big guns apparently took the day off.

Sunday, August 27, 3:00 p.m. - The story today is sky... and clouds.  My angle shifted a little to the left, but it doesn't matter because there is no action on the site and the sky is the story anyway.  Actually, I notice  that my angle has kind of been traveling this past week.  I'll get back with the program on Monday.  I promise.

Monday, August 28, 4 p.m. - They are really building out the seat areas.  It's kind of cool to see them grow.  There's a new big wall on the west side that I can't get into a photo and can really only see by leaning out over my rail.

Tuesday, August 29, 4:45 p.m. - It's kind of strange today.  The site seems totally still and empty.  It's like it is Sunday.  Wonder if they are having some kind of all-site meeting this afternoon.

Wednesday, August 30, 4:15 p.m. - There's a lot more action on the site today.  New noises and just generally more people and trucks moving around.  It looks like they are getting close to finishing all the seat holders on the south and east sides.  Wonder what's next?

Thursday, August 31, 4:15 p.m. - This picture doesn't show much change at all.  But, I was home at lunch time and the site looked like a bee hive of activity.  People and trucks and stuff moving all over the place.  They did do a lot of rock pile moving today but I can't figure the plan.  It seemed like they moved one large part of the pile from here to over there.  Seems kind of like changing the air in your tires, to me.