Former News Tribune arts writer Jen Graves pays a virtual visit to her old haunts with this take on the Saturday demolition of the Luzon.

She doesn’t buy the “it just had to happen” line by city officials and calls it the final blow by former Seattle Mayor Paul Schell who maneuvered the demolition of the rest of the block in the 1980s.

“If you didn’t learn this lesson in the ’80s, then apparently you never will: If you make your historic buildings dependent on the market, then you will lose them.” Graves wrote.

The item is rated R …

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Here is the number of people who attended the Puyallup Fair Sunday, as compared to the same day of the fair last year.

Below that, you can see how many people attended the Puyallup Fair during the entirety of its run, as compared to how many came to the 17-day event last year.

Sunday, September 27, 2009
2009: 88,669
2008: 77,737
Difference: +10,932

2009 total: 1,183,035
2008 total: 1,163,969
Difference: +19,066

That makes the 2009 Puyallup Fair the 19th-best attended in history of the event, which started in 1900.

Attendance at the Puyallup Fair which ended Sunday was 1,183,03, the 19th highest tally since the fair started in 1900, fair officials announced.

The 17-day fair greeted 19,066 more people than last year. The Sept. 11 opening day attendance did set a record with 86,332, the biggest opening day crowd in fair history. Opening day included the annual Puyallup Fair Western Rodeo Parade and Cattle Drive down Main Street in Puyallup and free gate admission until noon.

Highlight features included the Al’s Brain exhibit, with 10,000 plus people submitting entries in hopes of being one of the 150 lucky winners …

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Here’s how many people attended the Puyallup Fair Friday, as compared to the same day of the fair last year. Further below, you can see the total number of people who have attended the fair so far in its run, as compared to how many came during the same period last year.
2009: 65,275
2008: 66,017
Difference: -742

Cumulative to date 2009: 981,246
Cumulative to date 2008: 1,008,377
Difference: -27,131

Here’s how many people attended the Puyallup Fair Thursday, as compared to the same day of the fair last year. Further below, you can see the total number of people who have attended the fair so far in its run, as compared to how many came during the same period last year.
2009: 53,886
2008: 50,565
Difference: +3,321

Cumulative to date 2009: 915,971
Cumulative to date 2008: 942,360
Difference: -26,389

Here are how many people attended the Puyallup Fair Wednesday, as compared to the same day of the fair last year. Below that, you can see how many people in total have attended the fair so far during its run, as compared to how many came in the same period last year.

Wednesday, Sept. 24 (day13 of fair)
2009: 67,270
2008: 61,176
Difference: +6,094

Cumulative to date 2009: 862,085
Cumulative to date 2008: 891,795
Difference: -29,710

Several of my co-workers at The News Tribune have asked me to investigate whether the scones served at this year’s Puyallup Fair are smaller than those served in years past.

Here’s a photo of a scone I bought at the fair this year, followed by a photo I took last year of a scone I bought then.

Is there a difference? It’s hard to tell from this one example; this year’s scone seemed taller, while last year’s seemed flatter and wider. But perhaps they were still the same volume, just a different shape.

I was interviewing a …

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Here’s how many people attended the Puyallup Fair Tuesday, as compared to the same day of the fair last year.

Further below, you can see how many people have attended the fair so far during its 17-day run, as compared to how many visitors came during the same period last year.

Tuesday (Day 12 of fair) :
2009: 50,088
2008: 56,246
Difference: -6,158

Cumulative to date 2009: 794,815
Cumulative to date 2008: 830,619
Difference: -35,804