Work to build a suicide prevention fence across the Aurora Bridge has been underway for months, but there’s still no sign of the fence itself. WSDOT tells us that will all change next week when crews start putting up the fence posts on the west side of the bridge.

So what’s taking so long? WSDOT says it has been dealing with small details they hope will make a big difference in the end. They drilled about 2600 holes for anchor bolts, used an x-ray device to make sure they didn’t hit rebar, and repaired the bridge’s steel that was damaged by corrosion.

The fence posts will go up first, followed by the fence panels. The fence should be finished by the end of the year. Image from WSDOT

We’ve been waiting in anticipation since we first discovered that Le Reve Bakery was opening in Upper Queen Anne in August.

For those of your whose mouths have been watering these last three months, we have some exciting news—the Parisian bakery could be opening its doors as soon as next week, on Friday, November 12. That is if everything goes according to plan, the bakery said today. “That’s our target, and we’ll probably hit it,” says a Le Reve employee.

The new eatery, at 1805 Queen Anne Ave N (the former home of Urban Kids Play and its successor, the drop-in childcare center by the same owners) will be open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Monday, and closed Tuesdays.

Le Reve will have a seasonal menu filled with pastries, sandwiches, soups, salads, pizza, specialties, locally owned Olympia Roasting Co. coffee, and of course, bread. For those sweet tooth cravings, check out their cake and pastry offerings (custom cakes will be available made to order). And like another new local, seasonal Queen Anne Ave addition, Homegrown, Le Reve will also be selling box lunches and pastry packages for on-the-go customers.

The bakery will also be offering in-house events and workshops for kids and adults, including cooking and baking classes, themed birthday parties, date nights, girls’ night out, ArtSmart classes, and Urban Manners workshops.

Tucked away in a very unlikely place is one of Seattle’s newest and most visually impressive parks.  Thomas C. Wales Park has been open less than a week at 2401 6th Ave North just off Dexter Avenue.  So few people know about it that we were the only ones there on a sunny day during the lunch hour.

The area, which was formerly called Dexter Pit Park, has undergone a transformation that features some striking artistic elements.  An artist named Adam Kuby created the park’s “Quarry Rings,” five raised gabion rings that offer bird and bat nesting.  The stone and gravel used on the rings pay tribute to the site’s history when it was a gravel pit in the early 1900′s. 

The park was re-named Thomas C. Wales Park in honor of the late Assistant U.S. Attorney who was murdered in his Queen Anne home in 2001.  An official celebration to mark the park’s opening will take place next spring.

A new women’s high-end consignment and resale shop, My Dressing Room, is opening up at the top of the hill, at 1817 Queen Anne Ave N.

The shop will be offering new and lightly used women’s fashions, and is having its grand opening on Saturday, November 13. My Dressing Room will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

The store is now accepting consigned clothing. Check out its consignment policy here.

We’ve been meaning to write up something on neighborhood star Kelley Moore for quite some time now. Kelley, in addition to being an inspirational designer and lifestyle expert, has been a loyal Queen Anne resident for 11 years, and is Seattle’s go-to gal for all things inspirational when it comes to entertaining.

Kelley is an entertainment columnist for Seattle magazine, a regular guest on KING 5 Morning News and KONG TV, and hosts her own TV show “Moore to Life” on KING 5, as well as her own web series “So Much Moore.” Outside of the Pacific Northwest, Kelley has appeared on some pretty big-name TV shows, including Ellen, The Today Show, The View, Rachael Ray, and Tyra Banks.

Running her business, Kelley Moore Creative Media, out of her Queen Anne home, Kelley is an event design guru, and prides herself in helping people find their own signature style.

“Long story short, but I was a social worker who became a designer and have been growing my brand based on the messaging that relationships and expressing yourself can be grown through entertaining and design,” Kelley says.

Kelley’s so busy, it’s hard to keep up. But in the spirit of the upcoming holidays, she’s put together a series of “Falling Into the Holidays” workshops on tips for your holiday celebrations—everything from Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years decor, to chocolate tastings, wine pairings, and hostess gift guides. The first series is today, with three others happening over the next six weeks. Check out details here.

Keep up with Kelley’s tips, thoughts, and daily bits of inspiration on her blog.

We’re a little late in posting pictures from the annual neighborhood trick-or-treat even on Queen Anne Avenue Sunday—but better late than never, right?

Our friends over at Zaw took some great pictures of costumed neighbors and shared them with us.

This Halloween there were quite a few Queen Anne-ers who dressed in matching ensembles for the day!

All in all the Halloween festivities were colorful as always.

Check out more of the Zaw team’s photos on their brand new blog.

Have some great Halloween pics you’d like to share with the neighborhood? Email us at tips@queenanneview.com and we’ll add them!

Ever wonder why SDOT plows some streets during a snow storm and not others? Each year, the city releases a map detailing which streets will get level one priority (achieve bare and wet pavement on all lanes), level two priority (achieve bare and wet pavement on one lane in each direction), and level three (curves, hills and stopping zones treated). The goal is to keep major arterials and bus routes clear, but that means most residential streets won’t see a plow.

Seattle under a blanket of snow in December 2008

Around Queen Anne, 15th Ave and Elliott Ave are both level one streets.  There are also several level two and three streets.  You can check out the citywide map or take a look at the map for Queen Anne.

Homegrown is opening its Upper Queen Anne location today. The local sustainable sandwich shop chain moved into the old Peet’s Coffee & Tea location on caffeine corner, at 2201 Queen Anne Ave N., in September, and has been prepping for opening ever since.

Homegrown offers sustainable food and serving materials, so that everything is 100 percent compostable and recyclable (everything you don’t eat, that is!).

This location is the local chain’s third, after Fremont and Capitol Hill. When we first spoke with owner Ben Friedman back in September, he said the new shop would be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. But from the looks of the website, the shop is starting out with daytime schedule, open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. We’re checking with Ben on whether he plans to roll out dinner service soon. Update 11:52 am: We just got confirmation from Ben that Homegrown will be extending its hours to include dinner time in the near future. “We’re just doing a staggered start,” he writes. “Dinner should be rolling later this month!”

Homegrown offers meals made with seasonal, local, and sustainable products. Take a look at the menu here. The eatery also offers catering services, and special order tote lunches delivered straight to you Monday through Friday (luckily for fans in Queen Anne, the delivery range covers the hill, Fremont, downtown, Eastlake, and Capitol Hill).

Costumed kids filled the streets of Queen Anne on Sunday, and right about now they’re probably counting up their stock-piled bounty, arranging them into categories, and either rationing their candy treats, or filling up on them—or a little bit of both.

MSN Money’s SmartSpending blog has a smart idea that will keep your kids from needing extra visits to the dentist and that will give America’s overseas troops a taste of home. Dentists across the nation are buying back extra candy for $1 a pound, and sending it to the troops through the Halloween Candy Buyback. The only participating location in Seattle is in Greenlake.

For more information, read the full story on our sister-site, Maple Leaf Life.

While the weekend was full of Halloween festivities, two local business silently closed up shop for good on Friday. Underdawg Records in Lower Queen Anne announced it would be closing last month, shuttering its doors this past weekend.

(Thanks to reader Jai Schellhammer for the picture!)

No word yet on what will be going into its space at 532 Queen Anne Ave. We’ll keep you posted as we find out more.

While Underdawg was ushering in its last few customers on Friday, another business—this one at the top of the hill—also said goodbye.

Flow Restaurant and Lounge, which opened up at the corner of Boston Street and Queen Anne Ave N back in February, also closed on Friday night. Flow was the latest venture from owner of Orrapin Thai Cuisine next door, and the former restaurant at this location, Opal Bistro.

One of our readers heard rumors that the location will be transformed into a Mexican restaurant. Blake wrote us last week,

We were at Flow until around 10 last night and we started talking to the waiter who mentioned that this Friday was their last night in business…. I guess the owners are closing up shop and a new “high-end” mexican restaurant / lounge is moving in.