Can buildings learn?
Seattle is littered with buildings that seem obsolete in our post-pandemic economy. Now an unprecedented number of them are going up for sale and selling at deep discounts. Some of those new owners will renovate to retain the history or character of a building. Others will tear them down and start again. In a Booming city like Seattle, we need to use every square foot of space. So how do we build for the future without demolishing our past?
To find out, Joshua revisits a lost neighborhood karaoke bar and a renovated Elk’s Temple in Tacoma. And he learns that renovation and rebuilding aren’t our only options.
A special thanks to all you listeners out there who financially support KUOW. You make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/booming. Thank you.
Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Carol Smith. Our producers are Lucy Soucek and Whitney Henry-Lester. Our hosts are Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg.
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Monica Nickelsburg
Labor & Economy Reporter
Monica Nickelsburg is an economy reporter covering labor issues, the changing nature of work, the rise and fall of industries, technology trends, and workplace equity. She has extensive experience covering Amazon, Microsoft, and other major players re-shaping the Seattle region.
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Joshua McNichols
Growth and Development Reporter
As KUOW's Growth and Development reporter and co-host of KUOW's Booming podcast, Joshua's "growing pains" beat sits at the nexus of housing, transportation, urban planning, government and the economy. His favorite stories also include themes of history, technology, and climate change.
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Lucy Soucek
Podcast Producer
Lucy Soucek is a podcast producer who works on THE WILD with Chris Morgan, a podcast about the wonder and resilience of nature. She's trudged through waist-deep sawgrass looking for pythons and planned reporting trips 5,000 miles away in Ireland.
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Whitney Henry-Lester
Podcast Producer
Whitney is a podcast producer at KUOW. She helped develop some of KUOW's first podcasts, including How's Your Day? and Second Wave.
More stories from Whitney Henry-Lester »
