Everybody Knows It's Better ... Is Gone
The University of Washington Tacoma discovered on Tuesday that its iconic Alt Heidelberg ghost sign is gone. According to Peter Callaghan at the TNT, a masonry subcontractor made the decision to remove the sign in spite of city design guidelines that call for its preservation. While removed a couple months ago, it was only discovered when the blue tarp came off the wall on Tuesday.
We’re deeply saddened and dismayed and heartsick over this,” said UWT spokesman Mike Wark. He said the UWT strives to preserve the historic painted signs it inherited but was told by a subcontractor that the condition of this one was too fragile to withstand brick cleaning and tuck pointing.
Photos provided by UWT
We don’t know what else to say …
Link to The News Tribune
Filed under: General
22 comments
R RR Anderson May 27, 2010
down the memory hole…
T the Jinxmedic May 27, 2010
What I see is a project for the arts program- sign restoration! They did it for the “$1.00 a Day will Dress You” sign on the Pythian Temple back in the late ’80’s…
And while we’re at it, we should build a new Luzon building, too, but somewhere better -not next to a crappy former parking garage.
J Jesse May 27, 2010
I’m not surprised and I wouldn’t blame the contractor here. Wasn’t he hired to tuck-point that wall? That in itself would destroy what was left of that mural and puts the blame on the UWT for poor planning. Then add water damage from rain, capillary action, and time. If anything that sign should have been sealed with a high solid sealer back before 2000 so they could have done it with a product (still legal at that time) that would have had a shot at saving the mural for a few extra years. In all, you cannot expect to paint brick, mortor, or concrete without a weatherproofing product under it (and on BOTH sides of the wall to prevent capillary action) as a primer —- and I doubt that existed in the 1930’s.
The only reason that mural was still there is because it was on the north side of a wall escaping much sun exposure and therefore water wasn’t being pulled out of the inside of the building through the wall by the sun. It’s the same reason inside murals last much longer.
A Altered Chords May 27, 2010
This is an opportunity for the Harmon to craft “Heidelberg Alt” It would be a true to style Altbier. But for goodness sake Harmon – lager it for at least 1 month. Don’t serve green beer. (underaged…nothing to do w/ carbon footprint)
C captiveyak May 27, 2010
Jesse,
Your comment is spot-on. What upsets me is the lack of communication (whether it be by the project managers, the university, or the cotnractor), especially when dealing with an iconic feature.
B broadweezy May 27, 2010
effin a-holes. I probably wouldn’t be so ticked about it if was the Harmon sign, or Slumberite, or any other sign for that matter – but it was the freekin HEIDLBERG sign!! What the hell?! That’s like the equivelent of some bonehead contractor bleaching the hell out of the Tacoma Dome, turning it pink and then asking “uh gee boss, was that supposed to happen?” Eyeroll…utter head-shaking eyeroll.
R RR Anderson May 27, 2010
some one activate the Chris Sharp bat signal!
Rally the cartoon crows!
E Elizabeth Burris May 27, 2010
Tim , I am interested in starting a community garden at the Japanese Language School site.
Liz Burris
A Altered Chords May 27, 2010
It’s like drilling for oil and springing a leak you can’t fix until it ruins almost an entire ocean.
R RR Anderson May 27, 2010
@inacoma
yours must be a lonely path.
R RR Anderson May 27, 2010
everbody knows street art is a joke.
T Thorax O'Tool May 28, 2010
Why not just repaint it?
Or why not someone just buy, re-open and start brewing again at Heidelberg?
T Thorax O'Tool May 28, 2010
Note to above comment:
I know next to nothing about beer other than it’s basically liquid bread and that I don’t like beer. Also, I understand distillation and fractionation, but know nothing about running a brewery.
J Jesse May 28, 2010
Ok, this pains me to write this being a Coug and all but maybe the sign can be re-done in it’s exact form, font, and type style to say “Everybody knows it’s better UW Tacoma”
You could still have the prince toasting in exact form but it’d be relevent to today… and oh ya, paint the damned thing with epoxy chemical bond paints and weatherproof it to last this time so it’ll stay longer. Mmm-kay?
PS- Did I really just type something nice about UW? Ahem… GO COUGS!!!!
I inacomaintacoma May 28, 2010
i think the recycling of the brick and sht into a university deserves a fking ghost sign made with the blood of each and every septum pierced waitstaff and service hipster in the greater tacoma area. starting with psp. and then coat it with some environmentally unfriendly chemical just to keep with thecoma traditional commonsense practice.
@ IR baboon anderson
waaazaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap
A Argh Argh Anderson May 28, 2010
“All those moments will be lost in time… like tears in rain…”
W whatever May 28, 2010
Slow news day??
I inacomaintacoma May 28, 2010
@argh argh
we need an army of hairy bear loggers to teach them well and let them lead the way. show them all the beauty they possess inside. give them a sense of pride to make it easier. let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be.
N Nick May 28, 2010
Well at least it lasted as long as it did. These days we can’t get art to last longer than a week before it gets washed away… just look at Frost Park! :-)
R razorhoof May 29, 2010
Thorax, I’d love to see that happen. unfortunately you’d need to purchase the building, renovate it and get it up to code. Then (depending on brewery size) drop a couple hundred thousand on brewing equipment. I don’t know anyone willing to take a risk like that. But it’s way past the time that Tacoma had a REAL brewery. ..and in the “brewery district “ no less.
J Jesse May 29, 2010
Anyone wanting to start a brewery with me is welcome to use my garage.
D Dave L May 29, 2010
After the Luzon, I thought I’d at least have time to heal before the next Tacoma history debacle inevitably happened. Especially with the layers of bureaucracy that generally exists on UW projects.