Local News

Sketched Jan. 9, 2013

When the Columbia City Cinema closed in 2011, many worried the neighborhood theater was gone for good. But just as the building was about to be leased for storage space, a good guy burst onto the scene to save the day.

In only three months, David McRae has brought the building up to code and replaced old movie reels with new digital projectors. All three screens of the new Ark Lodge Cinemas are now open and screening new releases including “Les Miserables” and “Zero Dark Thirty.”

The “film bug” runs in the family, says McRae, 52. He grew up helping his father run the Cine-Mond theater in Redmond in the ‘70s, before multiplexes became popular, and he spent the past two years doing film-to-digital conversions in theaters throughout the country.

McRae wants Ark Lodge to be a magnet for the diverse community of Columbia City. In addition to box-office hits, he plans to show independent films and even silent movies. And though he took a risk to get the theater up and running again, he says he’s in it “for the long run.”

The historic Ark Lodge, built by the Masons in 1921, still retains most of its character.

McRae has seen the transformation of the movie theater industry first hand. Films that used to be delivered in heavy boxes full of movie reels now come inside a hard-drive that he plugs into the projector. “You push play just like a DVR,” he said. In the sketch, McRae checks the show times programmed for “Promised Land.”

What has drawn your attention around Seattle lately? Send me your suggestions of interesting places and people to sketch via e-mail, Facebook or Twitter.

Sketched Aug. 18 at Columbia Plaza
My Thursday post featuring members of Old Rides Seattle and their vintage automobiles drew some interesting comments I wasn’t quite expecting. “Beetlejuice” wrote that these cars should be filled with concrete and buried. “They are a waste of space,” he wrote. Terry Parkhurst made the point that classic cars are usually much better mantained than the cars you see on the road and shouldn’t be dismissed as “gas guzzlers.” All opinions are welcomed so thanks for chiming in!
Energy-saving arguments aside, I think everybody would agree on one thing: classic cars are easy on the eye. That’s what makes them fun to draw. And who doesn’t turn to look when you see one on the street?
A few curious people even stopped to talk to Valerie Pipkin as I sketched her 1955 Buick Roadmaster last Wednesday at Columbia Plaza.
She likes classic cars for the same reasons I do. “I don’t care about the mechanics. I just like the way they look,” said Pipkin, a member of Old Rides Seattle since 2008. “They are like rolling pieces of art.”
Pipkin bought her car at Hot August Nights, a popular car show in Reno, Nevada, that attracts automobile enthusiasts from all over the country.
She said she was sold on it as soon as she saw the interior’s blue and gold upholstery and art deco dashboard. She also loved all the “bright work,” the chromed fender benders and metal decorations that adorn the exterior body of the car.
It all makes it look very luxurious, but Pipkin said this car was the “Cadillac of the working class.” If you couldn’t afford a Cadillac, you bought a Buick.
Pipkin’s Buick was her ticket to join Old Rides Seattle in 2008. To become a member, you need a car that is at least 30 years old and is in driving condition, explained founding member Henry Nelson.
That will make our family’s cars qualify in a couple of decades. We have a 1999 Chevy Prizm and a 2003 Pontiac Vibe. I don’t see them as “art” right now, but years from now some chrome may do the trick.
Where to see more classic cars
This Sunday you can see more than 150 classic cars as Old Rides Seattle hosts their second annual Columbia City Classic at Columbia Plaza from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information visit www.oldridescarclub.com.
COMING UP
Back to school is around the corner. Do you have any interesting back-to-school stories that I should consider sketching? As a parent, the first picture that comes to mind is of little kids whose backpacks are bigger than they are, but for a possible future sketch I’m interested in talking and sketching adults going back to school and pursuing new careers. Are you one of them? I’m always happy to hear from readers. Please contact me at gcampanario at seattletimes dot com or via Twitter or Facebook. Have a great weekend!

I’m not what you would call a car aficionado, but cars run in my family. My dad was an autoworker for 35 years in Spain and I married the daughter of a retired GM autoworker who also collects classic cars, like this old Ford for example.
I thought of both of them this week as I sketched members of Old Rides Seattle, a car club started by Central Area automobile enthusiasts in 1972.

Henry Nelson of Beacon Hill, also a GM retiree like my father-in-law, has a long resume in the automotive industry. He worked as a sales manager overseeing all Chevy dealerships in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska and was the head of the Department of Automotive and Diesel Technology at South Seattle Community College.
Nelson is also one of the founding members of Old Rides, “the longest-running predominantly African American car club north of Los Angeles,” he said.
Of nine cars that he owns, he likes his 1940 Cadillac Sedan the best. “It would be like a Mercedes Benz today … only the rich people drove those type of cars in 1940.”
Nelson warns that car collecting is an expensive hobby. He even bought the house next to his to expand his garage, which also includes the first car he ever owned, a 1950 Ford Custom that is currently in the shop being rebuilt.

Clifford Holland, also of Beacon Hill, retired in 2003 and joined the car club in 2005. He was a store manager at Safeway, where he worked for 38 years.
He purchased his 1956 Ford Thunderbird in 1982, when it was already starting to become a collector’s model. It’s the car he always wanted since he was 15, but wasn’t able to afford until his mid 30s.
He said the frame, engine and interior were restored to get the automobile back to the original specs, a process that took a year and a half.
For Holland, “it’s a sense of pride when you have a very nice-looking automobile.” He is currently serving as president of the car club.
Friday I’ll introduce you to another member of Old Rides Seattle, Valerie Pipkin, of South Seattle. She likes classic cars because they look like “rolling pieces of art.” That’s exactly why I enjoy drawing them.
Where to see more classic cars
This Sunday you can see more than 150 classic cars as Old Rides Seattle hosts their second annual Columbia City Classic at Columbia Plaza from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information visit www.oldridescarclub.com.