THORNDYKE BUSINESS CENTER SAYS 'THORNY' HAS BECOME A MASCOT
Fremont may have its troll and Lenin, Ballard its locks and lutefisk and Queen Anne its hill and staircases, but Magnolia has Thorny.Thorny is a robot, about two-feet high, made of white plastic with red taillight eyes and a Darth Vader mouth, and perched on a brick embankment at Thorndyke Plaza. Most the time he sits there, in the rain, wind or sun, biding his time. Other times, he'll hold a cup of flowers in his outstretched claws. People popping into the nearby Brewhaha coffee house will sometimes inquire about Thorny. If the flower cup falls, or if the wind has blown Thorny slightly askew, neighbors coming for a bite at Time 4 Pho or to make their appointment at the plaza's hair salon Epic Styles have been known to replace the flower cup and reposition the robot.It seems this plastic namesake of the plaza, has become a mascot of sorts for businesses and neighbors of the Thorndyke neighborhood of Magnolia. Nothing terribly noteworthy about that except that not that long ago Thorndyke has been viewed as a seedy section of the neighborhood, wedged between the Magnolia bluff and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe switch yard. About a quarter-mile from one of the neighborhood's welcome sign's on Dravus Street, the Thorndyke stretch was an area where people just drove through or if they stopped, it was to get some cheap malt beer. And with for lease signs in some of the windows at the plaza and across the street, the area was not esteemed among its more affluent parts of the neighborhood and more cheerful business centers such as the Magnolia Village.At yet there, for seven months now, sits Thorny, unstolen by would-be droid-nappers, unsplattered by would-be vandals. Thorny, whose given name is the Toymax RAD 2.0 is endeared among the citizenry of Thorndyke. He has become a litmus test for the community, proof positive that the area's former seedy element has evolved into a friendly community of neighbors and businesses."I figured some kids would take it or that it would be broken into a thousand pieces," said Brewhaha espresso shop owner Patrick Mouton, a collector of kitschy artifacts and who put Thorny out on the embankment late last year. But the next day, someone had put flowers in his cup and people had put him in different poses, Mouton added. "People treat it like a neighborhood icon."Mouton has leased space at Thorndyke Plaza for five years and has been decorating his shop with funky items he picks up at estate and yard sales. There's several old album covers on the wall, old 70s style radios and record players, and 8-track tapes of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Ambrosia and The Chi-Lites standing in the window sill. One customer, who was apparently visiting from 1973, had zipped in to try out a few of the tapes in the tape deck in his van.Thorny was one of Mouton's finds and he originally put him out on the embankment to unload it. Sort of a gesture of goodwill and a shrewd business decision. He'd also put books and other knick-knacks just outside his storefront to give to customers if they so desired. But Thorny sits away from the other items and his longevity has told Mouton that the neighborhood has "turned a corner.""There's the pho place and the hairdresser and a chicken roasting place that has come in and a furniture place, too," he said of the rise in plaza tenancy and of the businesses opening across the street. "It's really great to see it come alive."At Machine Entertainment, owner Dean Zelikovsky is also optimistic about the neighborhood changing for the better. He has lived just two blocks away for 10 years and has run his 18-year-old business at the plaza for seven. The recent influx of business tenants at the plaza has helped do away with the perception of seediness of the area (though he acknowledges there are still bars in the window of the Corner Market across the street)."There are more legitimate businesses here," he said. "There is definitely a change in the vibe here and this is the first time I've seen all the spaces here full. There are no vacancies."There are no big developers sniffing around the area yet to develop condos, for example, Zelikovsky said. But he is certainly encouraged as is Mouton. Zelikovsky said the neighborhood now has the beginnings of a community."Occupancy, good services, friendly people, community," he said.Two doors down from Machine Entertainment, Pho owner Eric Kim is also encouraged. Until recently, he'd been working for a cable company installing cable systems in Magnolia homes. He did that for four years in Magnolia and had gotten to know the neighborhood well, though he himself lives out of the area. On his rounds as a cable installer, he would stop at QFC to get something to eat and that's when he figured the neighborhood needed something more than the grocery store and Red Mill Burgers as dining options. So he went for it, opening just about a month ago, and already receiving a good review from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper.Kim had noticed Thorny but didn't think much about it the robot's streak of good luck."I didn't know that robot was such a celebrity," he said.Mouton isn't sure how much longer Thorny will last. There's a chance that his growing publicity will also be his undoing. If that doesn't kill him, the weather will. If the robot is taken, he will put something out there in its stead. But he's hopeful Thorny's reign will endure."For me," Mouton said, "it's a symbol of how cool the neighborhood is."[[In-content Ad]]
