A few months ago I went to visit Cory & Clea down in Rip City and Clea gifted me a stack of books that included How The Dead Dream by Lydia Millet.
Recently I’ve been kicking around several books here & there. But last week this one got me started to finish. Reading it on train rides north, train rides south, even coffee breaks in the Hans Rosling Center. I actually read the entire book.
Each morning I hop off the train and I hop on my bike at 43rd & Brooklyn. Each afternoon I hop off my bike and I hop on the train.
What does this book have to do with the IHOP that used to live at 4301 Brooklyn Ave NE? What does anything have to do with anything? I don’t like to share too much about books when I recommend them. I’ll let you decide for yourself.
After you read this novel, we can talk more about the old U-district IHOP. It was constructed right about the same time as the Safeco Building in 1973, nestled in near the loading dock of that 22 story eyesore of a zoning violation. It’s the tallest building in Seattle outside of downtown. It’s now owned by UW and they call it “the tower”. I still like to think of it as “the Safeco Building” with a U-dub sticker pasted on top, because that’s what it is. I like to think of 1001 4th as “Safeco Plaza” - which became their HQ in 2007 when all those well-dressed office workers moved out of the U-district.
In the early 90s I ate at that IHOP a couple times before or after movies at the Neptune. (I also visited Big Time at least once in 1991. But not again until this electric ass bathtub gig 27 years later)
That old IHOP has been gone for 20 years as construction began way back when on the light rail station I visit twice a day these days. I hop on my bike then I hop on a train then I hop on my bike then I hop on a train then I hop on my bike…
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