Monday, March 27, 2000

By VANESSA HO
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

	Perfect demolition leaves Dome a fallen souffle More stories ... Photo galleries VR tour from the field Live shot of where the Dome used to be

For 24 years, Kingdome Bill greeted motorists in the north parking lot. He had a gregarious smile, elegant white gloves and long-stemmed roses for his regular female customers.

Rain or shine, he stood proud on the tarmac, missing his post only once, when he had a heart attack. Yesterday, Kingdome Bill -- 80-year-old Bill Parkinson -- wistfully watched on television as two decades of good times flattened to the ground.

"I'm sad," he said from his South Seattle home. "It's been a big part of Seattle."

He began his job as a parking lot attendant in 1976 and loved the chance to meet hundreds of people.

An avid motorcycle fan, he recalled the day daredevil Evil Kneivel pulled in, bedecked in jewels, rhinestones and leather.

But more than anything, he enjoyed meeting regular folks, such as the Rosen family from Vancouver, B.C. After chitchatting, Parkinson offered the Rosens' children a ride on his motorcycle.

"And you know what that does to kids that age, don't ya?" he said. "They fall in love with you!"

They begged their parents to visit "that man at the Kingdome" whenever they came to Seattle.

A co-worker dubbed him "Kingdome Bill" soon after he started work, probably for his stalwart white-gloved stance. The gloves weren't required, but Parkinson liked their crisp look.

Last month, a friend signed a birthday poster with the tiding: "Congratulations Bill. You outlasted the Dome."

A few months ago, he took a solitary stroll around the Kingdome.

"I looked and looked at it," he said, "and I couldn't find a thing wrong with the building. It was in too beautiful a condition to come down."