Driving into Pullman on Davis Way, this concrete sign (photo taken 6/22/09) "greets" motorists. It's across the street from the Hilltop Inn and Hilltop restaurant.
Do you know this sign's history? Who built it? When was it built and installed? What did it cost? Please tell PULLMAN :: Cup of the Palouse by e-mailing wildcatville@gmail.com and we'll post that information here.
While the sign is "greeting," without using the word "welcome," there are plans for a friendlier sign, also on Davis Way, a few meters down the way. See the Moscow Pullman Daily News story below about the new sign. Also, see this story from Wildcatville about the new sign's location.
Burgerville/Daily Grind site in Pullman on Nov. 10, 2008, prior
to it being torn down on the same day. And as an empty
side-of-the road area. Wildcatville photos.
City arts commission begins project to spruce up site on Davis Way
By Hillary Hamm
Moscow Pullman Daily News staff writer
By Hillary Hamm
Moscow Pullman Daily News staff writer
June 22, 2009
Judy Willington remembers her first time entering Pullman as "not the most welcoming."
Willington arrived in the United States from Vancouver Island in 2000 and headed into Pullman, which was her home until 2004. The young mother now lives with her family in Colton, but recalls that after experiencing what she calls the "golf course hills" of the Palouse, Pullman's entrance was a bit of a let-down without even a formal "Welcome" sign.
"It was my first experience in the U.S.," she said. "Even now it's not very appealing. It's a hole in the ground."
The Pullman Arts Commission agrees and has embarked on a community project to create an entryway that will be a source of pride for residents and a pleasant welcome to visitors.
Commission Member Kathleen Bodley said the group has just started to assess the area on Davis Way - formerly the site of a Daily Grind espresso drive-thru and, even further back, a Burgerville - to pinpoint what kind of upgrades are necessary.
"I think it can be a very attractive entrance to Pullman," she said. "It's just not a very welcoming portent of what Pullman looks like."
Bodley credits Mayor Glenn Johnson for starting efforts to make the entrance more appealing.
Johnson took the initiative in November and pledged $500 to demolish the dilapidated drive-thru. The additional $1,500 needed to raze the building was raised within a day.
Bodley said the group hopes to prune back the unruly trees that cover a portion of the area, which right now looks like a deserted gravel parking lot with a hole surrounded by pylons where a structure once stood. Grass and landscaping, along with sitting-area ideas, are being considered for the site, which is owned by the Community Action Center. Bodley said plans for the site also include installing a map system of Pullman that will highlight the locations of parks and recreational trails.
Pullman resident Alan Hodgedon, who has lived in the area since 1969, encourages any project that will highlight the trails and improve the entrance that he said needs work.
"I think it's wonderful," he said. "I support it."
Bodley said she would eventually like to see more formal "welcome to Pullman" signage.
"Pullman deserves a kind of landing pad when you come in," she said. "We want 'Welcome to
Pullman,' not just to WSU. That's become a very important theme to us."
Johnson said he wants a sign that incorporates the word 'welcome' in many languages.
"We have so many international students and faculty at our university, and I thought they would like to see 'welcome' in their language," he said.
Johnson said he's pleased the commission is as excited about the project as he is. He added that for now, there's no cost estimate for the project, but he believes a lot can be done with volunteers, donations and some tourism grants.
"Everyone takes pride in it and there's some ownership in it, and that's how things get done," he said. "I think there's some good potential there."
Bodley said some progress should be made at the site come September.
Arts Commission considers new welcome park for Pullman
City leaders approve efforts to continue planning
By Sarah Mason
Moscow Pullman Daily News
January 22, 2011
Moscow Pullman Daily News
January 22, 2011
Pullman may soon get a new face as plans to create a small park on Davis Way develops.
The Pullman Arts Commission proposed the Davis Way park in September 2009 and recently got permission from the Pullman City Council to work with the Community Action Center, which owns adjoining property.
"The idea behind it is to at least utilize that property and beautify it," said Mike Yates, a Pullman Arts Commission member.
Part of the 12,500-square-foot plot being considered for development is currently a gravelly-dirt area that appears to be used as a turn-off or turn-around point for drivers on Davis Way. Development plans include erecting an informative sign with a map of the city, planting trees, flowers and shrubbery and building a gazebo.
"It would be to beautify the entrance into Pullman, in a way," said Mark Workman, the city's public works director. "There would be a welcoming gazebo that would have information on the city of Pullman and WSU in the form of a map ... and information on other attractions and maybe information on events that are happening in Pullman."
In the past, the plot was used for local businesses like a burger restaurant and a Daily Grind coffee shop. Workman said the area used to house a sign that confused tourists.
"It used to be a car hop-type drive-in there years ago called Burgerville and people coming into town would see that and think that Pullman's name was 'Burgerville,' " Workman said.
Once the park is established, Workman hopes visitors and residents will use the area to get to know more about the city and to meet up with friends or relatives before an event like a Washington State University sports game.
Yates said the park would be constructed in three phases and the work would be done by volunteers and would be funded by city money, according to the 2009 plan. Part of the plan is to identify city funds that the commission could use for the park, but Workman said it is likely some of the funding would be through donated money. The park would be maintained by city staff after completion.
Council approves drastic changes
Three of four projects heard by city council were approved for continuation Tuesday night.
By Kyle Kinard, WSU Daily Evergreen, Jan. 20, 2011
The Pullman City Council approved the continuation of three projects Tuesday night that could change the face of Pullman and the way its residents live.
Following the consent agenda, the council heard four presentations from four organizations looking to make a change in Pullman. The first presentation was given by the SouthEast Washington Economic Development Association. The second was given by Mike Yates, a member of the Pullman Arts Commission regarding their Davis Way beautification project. The project aims to spruce up portions Davis Way and make the main entrance to Pullman more vibrant and welcoming, Yates said.
The project has been in planning phases for nearly two years, he said, and the Arts Commission is ready to see more physical progress.
“What we wanted to do was come up with a plan that basically gives us (the ability to) move forward,” he said. The beautification plan mainly concerns a piece of property along NW Davis Way that locals will know as the former location of a Daily Grind stand.
“The plan (for the former Daily Grind location) is basically going to be in three phases,” Yates said.
- “One: get it cleaned up, get it graded out, make it look good.
- Two would be to go in and define the space with fencing and landscaping.”
- Phase three, Yates said, would be for further planning on lot, including the possibility of a welcome sign and a gazebo.
“What we’re (going to) try to do is come up with a plan now where we can actually go in and start making progress in beautifying (that portion of Davis Way),” Yates said.
Yates said the Pullman Community Action Center (CAC) initially said the city could use its portion of the Davis Way lot. However, legal entanglements regarding the lot have slowed progress on the project.
The council granted the Arts Commission the go-ahead to continue planning their Davis Way beautification project, and Yates said he would continue dialogue with the CAC to move forward with the beautification process. Park Superintendent Alan Davis gave a presentation concerning the Lawson Gardens Master Plan Development.
(Remainders of article, concerning Lawson Gardens and Smart Grid, not included.)
...........
Moscow Pullman Daily News editorial
OUR VIEW: 'Welcome gazebo' site is on road out of town
By Lee Rozen, for the editorial board
Posted Jan. 26, 2011
The Pullman Arts Commission has come up with a singularly blockheaded idea.
It is the sort of project that gives arts commissions a bad name.
The commission wants to put a small park on Davis Way, a park that will be more parking lot than lawn and will be squeezed between a four-lane highway to the south and 20-foot drop off to the north.
It will be roughly the shape of a garden slug seen from the side. A 12,500-square-foot garden slug.
To create this park, the commission has talked the City Council into giving it permission to work with nearby property owners, identify city funds the commission could use for the park and seek donations. Then it is expected that the city would maintain the park.
To create the park, the parking area would need to be paved and fill would have to be dumped into part of the drop off to stabilize the slope. A 270-foot-long by 10- or 15-foot-wide grass strip would be planted along the north edge of the property.
It would overlook some commercial-style properties. Lovely.
To keep little Jacks and Jills from tumbling down the hill, a 300-foot chain-link fence would be built. Even lovelier. By the way, no fence would keep them from running into traffic on Davis Way.
But the Coup deVille of all this would be eight benches and a "Welcome Gazebo."
We don't know about you, but when we are approaching a new town after driving for several hours, the one thing we are not looking for is a "Welcome Gazebo" containing an informative sign with a map of the city.
You know, there's an app for that.
Now, we might be looking for "Welcome Restrooms" but not a "Welcome Gazebo."
Not only are we not looking for it on the right hand side of the road, where it would be easy to pull into, we are certainly not looking for it where Pullman wants to put it - on the left hand side of the road, the side of the road leading out of town, where we would need to cross traffic to enter and leave its parking lot, which is on a hill. Imagine the fun that would be during a rainstorm or when the snow is 4 inches deep.
And we certainly wouldn't be looking for it just 1,000 feet before we got to the Washington State University Visitors Center.
Let's sprinkle some salt on this slug of a park.
