VIDEO and SLIDESHOW: Residents see the sights in east Ballard

More than three dozen people turned out June 13 for the East Ballard Community Association's East Ballard Walking Tour.

The gaggle of residents followed tour leaders Dawn Hemminger and Shannon Dunn to various sites of historical and current interest while meeting neighbors and making small talk.

Hemminger said the two-hour tour, which started at Cafe Bambino on Northwest 65th Street, was a chance for neighbors to meet each other and become inspired to do some exploring of their own.

The tour made stops where trolley lines ran and old grocery stores used to operate. It also brought attention to some east Ballard residents doing unique things with their homes.

The Herndon's home at Northwest 64th Street and Eighth Avenue Northwest makes use of a rainwater catchment system to conserve water and solar panels on the roof for added electricity.

Erin Jenkins has created large gardens in her sidewalk planting strips. The Seattle Department of Transportation repealed the fee for hardscape improvements in planting strips this month.

"One of the things that is coolest about Ballard is that every house is different," Dunn said. "It's very special for that reason."

The tour drew attention to recent neighborhood improvements and improvements that are still on their way to being achieved.

Curbside planters have been created outside Blowing Sands Glass Studio on 14th Avenue Northwest to filter out gas and oil from water runoff before it can reach the Ship Canal.

The neighborhood has received money for a traffic circle at Northwest 60th Street and Ninth Avenue Northwest, but the traffic circle has been slow in coming. Friends of West Woodland have applied for city funds to improve the playground at West Woodland Elementary.

The tour ended with a free slice of pizza at Crash Landing Pizza on Northwest 65th Street.

The event was widely considered a success, and even the weather – sunny and 70 degrees – cooperated.

"We actually brought sunscreen as kind of a joke," Dunn said to the crowd. "But, Seattle came through for us."

Dunn said there will be more walking tours in the future, possibly with a different theme for each.

"I think there's huge potential and lots of hidden wonderful things to see," she said.