1980-1990's Seattle (Vancouver: condos, credit, how much)

[asw1]

I've been searching for old seattle pics online but all I'm coming up with are really old, black and white pics from the depression era.

Basically, what I'm looking for are pics of the downtown/capitol hill area from my generation, late 80's through the 90's. i'm not looking for pics of the skyline or anything like that.....mostly just street level pics. i want to remember what existed there before the condos were built or before the whole block was tore down. it would be kind of cool to see pics of the old video game arcades i used to go to all the time, the speakeasy cafe before it burned down or even a pic from a couple years ago of the block that used to have the kincora and the cha cha?

seems like every business i walk past i always ask myself, "what used to be there?"

so if anyone has pics you dont mind posting here that could be cool or maybe if someone has a link to a website that would be cool too.

cheers!
-Aaron

[godhead]

Hey! I found a wonderful site of old shots of the streets & neighborhoods in Seattle in the 70s.
credit Stephen Cysewski.
Wandering In Seattle: Stephen Cysewski
I had fun trying to place each shot where some of these buildings no longer stand. Hope you enjoy.

[scirocco22]

Yes, we had a Cysewski thread if you want to read some of the comments:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/seatt...s-seattle.html

[asw1]

I've been to that site before but lost the link so thank you for posting it here.

Wow...amazing to see how much this town has changed. Taverns everywhere, gas guzzeling, air polluting cars and busses, torn down buildings, a huge variety of independant stores. Herfy's, "The Bon". This is the gritty, blue coller, beer drinking industrial town I remember only slightly before my time here. Sometimes I'll walk by a corner downtown and just wonder "what was just here.....what was here like 5 years ago?" They tear stuff down and put stuff up so often it's hard to keep up.

Remember Belltown before they built it up?
It was nice seeing a pic of the Monestary the way it was before they tore it down. At least I think that was the Monestary?

Thanks for sharing this with me

Cheers
-Aaron

[JesseJB]

Go to YouTube and watch the documentary "Streetwise" for a gritty look at Seattle in the early 80's.

[asw1]

Originally Posted by JesseJB

Go to YouTube and watch the documentary "Streetwise" for a gritty look at Seattle in the early 80's.

That's a classic, man. I actually ran into "Tiny" a few months ago.

[absurd_planet]

That was amazing, Seattle never gets any respect. I've had several opportunities to go to Vancouver but i always skipped Washington. It's looks similar to S.F. Los Angeles has a completely different style of architecture other than neighborhoods downtown like the old bank district. Word!

[41Willys]

The days of Seattle Grunge era! Early 90's

[pw72]

The Cysewski photos are compelling, and definitely show a grittier Seattle. "Streetwise" also shows the same. People tend to forget that Seattle was an industrial, blue-collar town, beginning with logging and fishing, moving into WWII with Boeing, and didn't really start changing until the late 70's and 80's. That "industrial" feel is still there in pockets, but not nearly to the extent that once existed.

[absurd_planet]

That's interesting because in contrast i'd say Los Angeles became more industrialized over that same time period. Many people don't realize how dystopian parts of L.A really have developed in part because of the un-restricted sprawl that continues to this day. The government has attempted to clean/re-organize a lot of the worst areas but it's out of control. That said, I love it here.