Friday, May 11, 2007

Over on Metroblogging, a contributor muses about planting ivy to cover up the ugliness of the viaduct on the Seattle waterfront. The idea is silly even without considering that ivy is an invasive species that is illegal to plant locally. One of the commenters mentioned covering it in moss instead, which sparked in me the following vision:

Because Seattleites can never agree on what to do with the viaduct, its likely fate is to slowly decay over the years. An earthquake might topple some of the columns, but others will remain. As we continue to argue about how to properly tear a broken viaduct down, it will slowly be retaken by nature.

Moss will cover the columns and dandelions and horsetail weeds will insert themselves in the cracks. Invasive blackberries will cover the old road surface, providing habitat for rodents and adventurous vagabonds. Seeds from fir trees will eventually find a niche among the weeds, slowly transforming concrete into a new urban forest along the waterfront.

Three hundred years from now, the viaduct will remain as a ruin of our time, eternally demonstrating the inaction and stupidity endemic to our way of life.

The only question is whether our descendants will be buzzing around the Viaduct Forest in electric cars powered by renewable energy, or living primitive lives amid the ruins.

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