Queen Anne, W Roy St at 1st Ave W

216) Night Out Series (1 of 4). We visited the Queen Anne neighborhood to attend a play at On the Boards and found ourselves with some time to kill before the performance. Naturally, I took this as an opportunity to grab some mailboxes, so settle in! We’re going on a mini-adventure! First up is this box directly across the street from the venue! What a cultured box it must be! Day after day it gets to hear theater-goers discuss the latest shows. This is a happy box.

Dowtown, 1st Ave at Pine St

215) You hear about crime on the streets, but it doesn’t really hit home until it happens to you. There I was, just trying to grab a quick photo when, without warning or provocation, the mailbox pinned me up against the post and took my wallet. In broad daylight! Fortunately, the mailbox is bolted to the sidewalk and wasn’t able to make much of a getaway, so I took my wallet back and kept on walking.

Westlake, Dexter Ave N at Crockett St

214) As I’ve said several times before, I will never pass up the opportunity to enjoy a nice sit while out hunting mailboxes. It’s made even better when I can enjoy a nice backdrop like this one at Lyon’s Grocery! But hey, notice anything a bit unusual about this box? Normally, they’re installed so the slot faces the sidewalk, but this one is turned 90 degrees. Call your city council members and demand answers!

Downtown, Columbia St at Western Avenue

212) You’ve probably noticed by now that I identify quite a few mailboxes as being sad. Well, add this one to the list. Positioned directly under the Columbia Street onramp, this box knows that its days of watching merry travelers jump onto 99 are numbered. In a few years, the viaduct, and this ramp itself, will be but a memory, leaving the box with an uncertain future as the waterfront begins its shaky transformation. Sad, sad box.

Magnolia, 21st Ave W at W Emerson Place

211) You’ve certainly heard of tourist traps like the Oregon Vortex and other such places, where the laws of physics supposedly don’t apply (spoiler alert: they do). Well, I think this building — home of Icicle Seafoods — might qualify for such a designation. Why? Because despite being on a relatively quiet street, cars magically appeared every time my camera timer clicked down from 10. The street would be deserted. I’d set the timer and run up the stairs, counting down from 10 in my head. 4… 3… 2…1… CAR! After this happened a few times, you can probably appreciate why I threw my arms up in victory when I finally saw that I was getting a clear shot. Oh, this box? His friends call him the Icicle Box. He thinks it’s because he’s so cool, but it’s actually because his friends think he’s a drip.

Downtown, Western Ave at Spring St

208) Another first! All my data told me this box was supposed to be one block south from this location… yet here it is. Not only that, evidence suggests that it was installed at this spot relatively recently (note the white discoloration on the sidewalk around its feet). I have never — NEVER! — found a box that had been moved. If anything, they are quietly “disappeared,” never to be seen again. This box obviously has some friends in pretty high places.

Magnolia, Thorndyke Ave W at 21st Ave W

207) There are two things I want to say about this picture. This box is on Thorndyke, an absolutely evil stretch of road that is cursed by anyone in Seattle who does distance running. It goes for about a bajillion miles at just the right grade to ensure a total muscle burn. And it’s uphill both directions! The second thing I want say is that absolutely everything in this photo is crooked.