Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BELLTOWN RELICS
Belltown was a featureless amalgam of dull warehouses and low-rise office blocks
in the mid-1980s, and well off the radar of the city's condo-dwelling yuppies. Of-
fering cheap rents and ample studio space, it became an escape hatch for under-
ground musicians and hard-up artists whose arrival heralded a creative awaken-
ing and led, in part, to the spark that ignited grunge. But, while the grit and grime
of '80s Belltown were crucial components in the rise of the Seattle sound, the
music's runaway international success had a catalytic effect: Belltown - much to
the chagrin of the hard-up rockers who created it - became cool.
So followed a familiar story: seedy inner-city neighborhood attracts artists,
gets creative, becomes cool, attracts hipsters, gentrifies, and loses its edge. Bell-
town's rise, brief honeymoon and rapid decline largely mirrored that of grunge,
which, in the eyes of many purists, died the day Nirvana'sNervermindhit No 1. By
the 2000s, many locals thought the neighborhood was over. Condos were rising,
wine bars were replacing exciting music venues, and the martini-and-cocktail set
had suddenly decided it was the ideal place to live. But all was not lost. A handful
of Belltown's more tenacious older businesses, despite frequent threats of clos-
ure, have put up a brave rearguard action. Bars such as Shorty's continue to at-
tract a loyal clientele, old record shops have benefited from a resurgent interest in
vinyl, and the neighborhood's most iconic club, the Crocodile, reopened in 2009
after a two-year hiatus. Add in the general air of excitement among the people
that crowd the streets, restaurants and clubs every night (even if half of them
now wear stilettos), and reports of Belltown's death have clearly been exagger-
ated. Sure, the bars no longer place cardboard boxes on their toilet floors to soak
up the urine, but - rest assured - there's life in the old beast yet.
For a taste of the grittier Belltown of yore, check out the following survivors:
Mama's Mexican Kitchen
(
Click here
)
In operation since 1975, Mama's has seen
off punk, grunge and everything since.
Shorty's
(
Click here
) No-compromise dive bar with pinball machines.
Crocodile
(
Click here
) The live-music venue that opened at the height of grunge
was recently reincarnated in slightly less grungy form.
Rendezvous
(
Click here
)
Velvety bar with good burgers and an adjoining bur-
lesque theater that's been around since 1927.
Singles Going Steady
(
Click here
)
Memories of punk rock in a vinyl/CD store.
