Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center Pavers - Seattle, WA - Donated Engraved Bricks and Pavers on Waymarking.com

If you're visiting the Groundspeak headquarters you might notice two statues of famous fictional characters 'J. P. Patches and Gertrude' who are part of a display here titled Late For the Interurban. J. P. and Gertrude entertained generations of people on local TV Station KIRO from 1958 to 1981. Patches was played by Chris Wedes (who passed away July 22, 2012) and his comical partner, Gertrude, was played by Bob Newman. The two formed a perfect partnership and they, with additional cast members, appeared on TV twice a day for many years and finally appearing on Saturdays only until their last broadcast in 1981. This verbiage was taken off a bronze plaque on the statue and says It was the longest-running locally-produced children's television show in United States history, and boasted a daily audience of more than 100,000. With no script, no researhals and no second takes, the broad slapstick and high energy offered a welcome alternative to the formula then common in children's programming.

The brick pavers and bronze plaques that you see around the statues represent the donations and gifts to support the Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center. One of the bronze plaques on the CU2TV sculpture (a prop used on the show) says the following:

Through the donations tin can, this sculpture also supports Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center, where J. P. and Gertrude were frequent visitors. Your donations will help keep this important institution at the forefront of the medical research and care for our community's most precious asset - our children. Although the show went off the air in 1981, decades later J. P. Patches remained in demand for personal appearances. Patches Pals (now grown in body, if not in spirit) still looked forward to a cherished moment of conversation with The Clown. This statue was inspired, funded and created by Patches Pals the world over to honor two of the most beloved figures in Seattle television history. __________________________________________________

One of the donors was none other than Paul G. Allen, co-founder of Microsoft. All the brick pavers contain names centered in a black television. There's a wonderful web link to the Urban Sparks website that highlights the making of these statues by local artist (and former Patches Pal) Kevin Patelle.

The following website has a good article about Chris Wedes' life and also mentions his show being the longest-running local children's television show in U.S. history and you can visit J. P. Patches' official website here. RIP, Patches...

Setting of your bricks:: City Streetscape Name of Display: Late for the Interurban Approximate number of bricks in display: 500 Name on One Brick: Paul G. Allen

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