Seattle then and now


I saw this movie on TV in 1975,two years after it's theatrical release.
At the time, Harper's magazine published an article that said Seattle had the best "quality of life" of the 50 U.S.cities surveyed (Newark was dead last,at 50th place). But I saw this movie and I thought,"how can THAT be true? Seattle looks like a dump,and a sleazy,rain drenched dump at that."
I now live in Seattle,and it us a completely different place from the Cinderella Liberty days of 1973.I didn't grow up here ( I grew up in San Diego)but I have found that many native Seattleites are quite nostalgic about this film.Is anyone else on this board from Seattle,and if so,do YOU think 1st Avenue was better then,with all the pawn shops and porn places,than it is now,with high priced condos replacing the vices of yesteryear?

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Yes, I grew up in Seattle, and I could say the exact same thing about Horton Plaza and vacinity with the exception of rain it was a sleazy dump of an area. And I say that because I lived the 2nd half of my life in San Diego, not so appropriately named: America's Finest City.

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I'd like to see this film. I lived in Seattle in the early 70's, and I remember going down to a temporary labor office that was just off Pioneer Square. I interacted with hobos who hung out in that area. In those days, homeless people were almost all white and Indian men with drinking problems. They rode the rails. There were few homeless women or blacks. The Pioneer Square and Belltown areas had large populations of low-income people. Now I think those areas are pretty gentrified.

I'd like to see it to get a glimpse of the Seattle I remember. In some ways the Seattle of today is better. I suppose gentrification is good in that the city has a good tax base, and a lot of downtown office workers live within walking distance of where they work, unlike then. But I think the old Seattle did have a charm that might be partly gone now. It used to be filled with cheap apartments and bars and restaurants that catered to low-income people.

"Extremism in the pursuit of moderation is no vice."

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"Seattle looks like a dump,and a sleazy,rain drenched dump at that."

Yes, I can see how you could describe some parts of Seattle, especially along 1st Avenue at that time, that way. But you always felt like you were close to the beauties of nature there. You could see the mountains in the distance, and the bay was pretty.

Fortunately I didn't live down on 1st Avenue or Pioneer Square. I lived a short bus ride away in the Greenlake area of north Seattle. I think it would've been kind of grim to live in those downtown areas.

Greenlake was always pretty, but even it has become more gentrified in the last 40 years as people with more money move into the area. My father had a 3-bedroom apartment there for $150 a month in 1969, but today you couldn't touch something like that for less than $1,200, I assume. Maybe more like $1,500.

"Extremism in the pursuit of moderation is no vice."

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My parents bought a three bedroom in Wallingford right off 45th in 1964 for $10,000 and then sold it in 1974 for not much more. That same house today was valued at about $680,000. Thank you Microsoft.

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I have a question, for those living in Seattle at the time this was filmed. (I lived there for 20 years later.) Where was the ferris wheel John and the kid/his pal rode? Of course there's the huge new one there now, but I'm wondering if this was just a passing carnival or a fixture on the waterfront. Maybe it was at Seattle Center - ?

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Yes Seattle Center did have rides right up until 2000's there used to be rides at Woodland Park Zoo also

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Funny, I don't remember that. Been here since '85. Well thanks.

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I was stationed at Ft Lewis between Korea (67-68) and Vietnam (68-69). We'd take the bus to Seattle when we got a pass but we hung on "The Ave" near the UW campus. There was wide open street dealing in those days and it was a good place for out-of-place GI's to score. I did see Buddy MIles at the Eagles Auditorium.

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See for yourself -- original footage from Cinderella Liberty, along with the same locations (and camera angles) today. I think Pike Place Market, especially Post Alley, used to be a lot cooler.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8I00weQ3pE

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