Going Back to Ballard
I first visited Ballard in the late 1990s, en route to the salmon fishery in Bristol Bay, Alaska. My older brother, a veteran commercial fisherman and a native son of Ballard, found me a job on a boat that would deliver me to Naknek, Alaska where the gill-netter I'd be working on was waiting. I flew out from my home in Washington, DC and reported to duty aboard the 156’ schooner FV Stormy Sea, a WWII refitted yard freighter that hailed from Petersburg, Alaska. A perennial top producer in the notorious opilio crab fishery, the Stormy was offloading gear at Fishermen's Terminal in Magnolia and taking on cargo destined for delivery to the towns of King Cove, False Pass and Dillingham, Alaska. Loading and chaining down the freight made for long days broken by meals taken alone in the ship's galley. I slept on board in the greenhorn quarters near the engine room, from where the steady chatter of the big 3512 Cat diesel sounded like a non-stop torrent of ball bearings pouring onto a steel tabletop. Outside of a couple meals and one or two supply runs made to and around Ballard, I had little interaction with the local community during this process. Three days after my arrival we were slipping through the Ballard Locks and making our way north in the Puget Sound on the 5-day ride north. My personal family reunion with Ballard would have to wait.
Captain Ballard Lost a Coin Flip
Named for ferry boat captain turned developer William Rankin Ballard, the historic neighborhood along Salmon Bay was once an independent town settled by immigrants who worked the fisheries and labored in local mills before the area was annexed to Seattle. Their pioneering energy lives on in the architecture and in the very bones of the buildings those early arrivals built: in massive fir beams and black iron girders pocketed into stout brick walls, and in the handsome facades lining the angled avenues south of Market Street, between Leary and Shilsole Avenues to the east and south. All points lead down to the water, the lifeblood of old Ballard, where many of the products of those early mills were shipped out to the world. When Captain Ballard and his investment partners in the West Coast Improvement Company decided to dissolve their land development partnership in 1887, no one wanted the Salmon Bay property. It fell to Ballard as the loser in a last ditch coin flip.
SEATTLE'S FIRST YEAR-ROUND FARMERS MARKET OPERATES EVERY SUNDAY BETWEEN MARKET STREET AND 22ND AVENUE RAIN OR SHINE WITH THE ROAD CLOSED TO VEHICULAR TRAFFIC
A Prodigal Grandson Returns
Driving across the Ballard Bridge two decades later on a recent Saturday in late January, I watched the commercial fleet at Fishermen's Terminal spreading out below our moving car. The asynchronous jostling of the platforms and masts reminded me of the many times I'd stood on a deck amidst them waiting to throw, or slip the lines which signify the beginning or end of a journey. The train bridge was lowered, and no vessels of size appeared to be waiting to enter or exit the Ballard Locks. We were on our way to take possession of an industrial space we envision carrying BlazOn Heaters to the next chapter of our own history. Part of my job will involve setting-up our assembly facility in the new space, located in the historic heart of Ballard. I looked forward to learning more about the area where three generations of my family had been raised; a place known to me only through the anecdotes told by my father and grandmother.
Ballard Landmark District
BALLARD AVENUE UNDER LIGHTS - COURTESY OF BALLARD ALLIANCE
Downtown Ballard today is a boisterous enclave of commerce and industry harmoniously balanced with the area's strong maritime and industrial roots. Some of Seattle’s best restaurants and chicest clothing boutiques fill the century-old storefronts up and down Ballard Avenue—the heart of the thriving area—also known as the Ballard Avenue Landmark District. Once occupied by merchants trading with lumbermen, fishermen and prospectors, the bustling zigzag of high-end retail shops and foodie restaurants now provide Seattle with some of its hippest vibes and choicest social venues. Restaurants like San Fermo (5341 Ballard Avenue, rotating menu of hand made pastas and sauces), Carta De Oaxaca (5101 Ballard Avenue, exemplary service and true Oaxacan flavors) and The Walrus and Carpenter (4743 Ballard Avenue, ask for the chef's menu) set a very high bar for taste and excellence, all within close proximity to one another.
Walking through the Ballard Landmark District, you can feel the creative Zeitgeist of a community fashioned by artisans over a 175-year period of growth and industry. All of that history has combined to create the perfect environment for sustaining creativity and innovative design. A brief stroll down the avenue reveals a wealth of diverse artistry and commerce. Artisan wood-crafters Keil Studio (5336 Ballard Avenue) display avant garde furniture in their storefront studio one-half-block southeast from the old Ballard Town Hall monument at 22nd Avenue. Organic dessert restaurant Hot Cakes Molten Cakery (5216 Ballard Avenue) serves-up hand-crafted decadence, featuring a lava-cake base baked to order and served on bespoke wooden slabs with ice cream and choice toppings. The nearby Hotel Ballard (5101 Ballard Avenue) soars above the avenue with the lofty grace of an urban duchess, and their resident Olympic Rooftop Pavillion and Stoneburner Restaurant offer exquisite venues for upscale dining and larger events.
Sample Ballard Avenue Walking Menu #1:
When the quality of food choices are as plentiful as they are on Ballard Avenue, a good option is to spread out your meal. Here's my Strolling Meal of the Week:*
- Appitizer: Carta de Oaxaca: Tostados - Sit at the back bar and eyeball the mezcals.
- Salad: Bad Albert's : The Cobb Salad - Huge portions, great ambience.
- Primi: San Fermo: Capellacci al Formaggio - The taste sensations are borderline illegal (the menu changes often so get in there!).
- Entree: Stoneburner: Roasted Halibut Cheeks - Get them when and while you can.
- Dessert: Hot Cakes Cakery: Dark Decadence - Self-explanatory.
*This menu could easily feed two people—consider the extra plates.
FISHING VESSELS DOCKED AT FISHERMEN'S TERMINAL
Just a block-and-a-half from all the action, Salmon Bay bristles with the masts of Seattle’s North Pacific Fishing Fleet, which supplies the US with an extraordinary 13% of its total annual fish harvest. Some of that deliciousness is showcased in local restaurant cuisines and at the annual Ballard Seafoodfest. On the inland side of the Ballard Marina, the 117-year-old Salmon Bay Sand and Gravel Company sprawls for several blocks along Shilshole Avenue. Largely responsible for supplying the foundations of the neighborhood itself, SBSG still ships concrete products worldwide, including materials used to build the US Embassy in Prague.
The southeast end of Ballard Avenue hosts several companies which have been plying their trades to local industries for the better part of a century or more. Ballard Sheet Metal Works (4763 Ballard) has been offering custom fabrication solutions to the greater Puget Sound area since 1907. Nextdoor neighbor Ballard Industrial (4749 Ballard Avenue) has been providing services to the marine, manufacturing and construction trades for 75 years.
CC FILSONS IN BALLARD
Across Dock Street venerable Seattle institution CC Filson (5101 Ballard Avenue) sells their rugged outdoor wear in a vintage shop which serves as a visual metaphor for the iconic profile of their tested brand—and as a virtual homage to the neighborhood where they reside. At 5100 Ballad Avenue, with a quarter-century under their belts, good neighbors Bad Alberts Tap & Grill offer great fare with daily specials and home-cooked vibes. Their Karaoke Saturdays always bring a big crowd.
THE BLAZON EMBER HYBRID MARINE HEATER IS A STEADY MARINE COMPANION
And right next door, BlazOn Heaters is proud to be joining the list of ground-breaking industry leaders setting-up shop in the heart of historic Ballard. Our BlazOn EMBER hybrid marine heater will fit right in at the marinas lining Shilsole Avenue. And we look forward to partnering with local restaurants and hotels to get our BlazOn EMBER portable patio heaters warming-up patrons all along the avenue: Ballard Avenue—our new home.
We know we are in the right place to launch our industry-changing heating products, amid the verve and vigor established by generations of entrepreneurial pioneers. We are glad to take our place in the spirit of can-do history which keeps this vibrant piece of Seattle at the forefront of industry, innovation and cutting-edge chic. If you want to hear more about the new space, drop me a line at nomad@blazonheaters.com. To order your Limited Edition BlazOn EMBER click here!
