From:	Mongoose m0ng005e@*********.com
Subject:	New Seattle (Review?)
Date:	Tue, 9 Feb 1999 16:06:05 -0600

:> BWAHAHAHAHA! For those of you who are not familiar with the Ballard
:district,
:>
:> it is famous for it's population of white trash punks, retired
fishermen,
:> and
:> bad drivers. There must have been some serious renovation done in the
next
:> 60
:> years.


Well, in fact, I and Rob Boyle live in Chicago's "Wicker Park".
(That's "Wicked Park" in SR/ bug city parlance). 10 years ago, this
neighborhood was nothing but Polish furniture shops, Mexican immigrants,
white trash, and punk rock junkies (Skinny Puppies "to dark park" is about
scoring smack in WP).
Today, you can't walk a 100 feet without finding a swank restaurant or
new condo. Rents regularly exceed $1200 a month for a 2 bedroom. Its
still mixed income, and there are still gang shootings, but might not be
in another ten years. Hell, my new roommate works at the mercantile
exchange... and my upstairs neighbor was shot in thew street 4 months
ago... The old anarchist book store is now a wine bar... I didn't
recognize half the building on a street I walked down yesterday, because I
hadn't been there for a year...
My point- "Seroius renovation" takes nothing LIKE 60 years. It just
takes a bunch or real-estate companies getting together and deciding an
area is now "trendy" and intentionally courting the proper businesses.

Mongoose