GritCity - The other new Tacoma

You'll like Tacoma

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008

Posted by Kelly Davenport @ 05:45:37 pm

Quick, name that city:

The draw of a neighborhood bracketed by an Interstate and a Superfund-listed river is obscure.… Then in the late 1990s, displaced artists and artisans drawn by cheap rents started moving to (redacted) to open tile works, Vespa repair shops and glass blowing studios.

You would be forgiven for guessing Tacoma. We've got our own little Beltway, the 705; the Asarco site; glass blowers; artists on scooters; and yes, cheap rent.

But this New York Times article is about Georgetown, the Seattle neighborhood, and how it's apparently the last bastion of art and culture in all of the Evergreen City.

Hm, that sucks.

“Georgetown is really the last outpost of any blue-collar, bohemian arts culture in Seattle,” said Larry Reid, curator at Fantagraphics Bookstore and Gallery.

The only conclusion I can draw is: Seattle is the new Tacoma. Go forth and gloat.

Categories: Observed, Feelin' crafty • 3 comments

COMMENTS:

Comment by Savvy_Reader @ 18:33 - Wednesday, June 4th, 2008

Tacoma doesn't even seem to want the Kalakala bad enough, yet Georgetown took-in the Hat and Boots"
http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=3480
http://www.hatnboots.org/
...and Georgetown has the coolest steam plant ever:
http://www.asme.org/Communities/History/Landmarks/Georgetown_Steam_Plant.cfm
(Wait - I shouldn't have given them the idea about the Kalakala.)

Comment by melnewp @ 22:48 - Wednesday, June 4th, 2008

"new Tacoma" totally made me think of the cemetery... in university place. screw Seattle, UP ftw. (up town center is the new asarco? something like that?)

Comment by kalvyn @ 10:14 - Thursday, June 5th, 2008

I actually knew it was Georgetown after the Vespa reference in the quoted article.

Of course, the coolest place two-wheel related in Georgetown isn't the always trendy Vespas but the vintage cafe racers of Twinline Motorcycles:

http://www.twinlinemotorcycles.com/

Georgetown is still pretty gritty, but it too shall be gentrified into Starbucks oblivion.

Tacoma's still got the Java Jive, though!

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GritCity

You'll like Tacoma.

Cole Cosgrove
...has lived in Proctor, Stadium, St. Helens and now owns a house with his wife, Kim, in Central Tacoma, near Sixth Avenue. He’s proud to have an “S.” in front of his address. He likes playing at Wright Park at 1 a.m. in the snow, walking along Ruston Way at 5 p.m. in the sun, and trying new bars anytime it rains. To make money, he writes headlines at The News Tribune. You can reach him at cole.cosgrove@thenewstribune.com.

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Kelly Davenport
My life in T-shirts: Ask Me About My Cat - Legalize Frostitution - Death Before Decaf. You get the idea. I enjoy lint-rolling, bons mots, magazine launch parties (if I was invited), paying too much for groceries, and the occasional semicolon. I'm a copy editor at The News Tribune, but I won't correct your grammar at the bar. Contact me at kelly.davenport@thenewstribune.com.

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Laura Gentry
...lives in Seattle (so you don’t have to) with her cat Peanut Zeta-Jones. The self-proclaimed “Webmeister” of TheNewsTribune.com, Laura spends her spare time driving on I-5, sifting through estate sales, writing songs about Miss Zeta-Jones and wishing she was somewhere else regardless of where she is. You can reach her at laura.gentry@thenewstribune.com, but it’s in your best interest not to.

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Niki Sullivan
...is a political reporter for The News Tribune. She likes sunshine, soup and puppies. Beyond that, it gets dicey. Contact Niki at niki.sullivan@thenewstribune.com.

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Brian Everstine
...has a debilitating fear of children, horses, sauerkraut and mustaches, but an irrational affection for generic cereal. A recent college graduate (WSU) from Spokane, he is a news reporter for The News Tribune who is still adjusting to life on this side of the mountains. Contact Brian at brian.everstine@thenewstribune.com.

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