Evidence That Sneakers on Power Lines Mean Drugs Around

At least, we think this picture counts as evidence.

To recap, as Seattlest Jack pointed out a couple of days ago, there's some urban legends about the meaning of sneakers hanging from power lines. Obviously, as an urban legend, there's a lot of interpretations, as commenters on Jack's post pointed out: Some said it means drugs can be easily scored in the area, some think it's a gang thing, others heard it meant that someone had been killed nearby. Apparently in one UW dorm, people tossed shoes over the power lines when they got laid in the dorm for the first time. Only one of you posited the theory that it meant someone got new shoes. Growing up, we'd always heard that kids did it to celebrate graduation.

Well, the shoes above are hanging directly outside the window of Office Nomads on Boylston Ave., just off Pine. It's right behind Seattle Central and across from a parking lot which is next to an empty lot. Although we just noticed the sneakers, we spend a lot of time ignoring work by staring out the adjacent windows and can tell you that plenty of people use the isolation of the garage stairs and the empty lot to shoot up and that others here at ON say the shoes have been there for a long time.

We don't know how much actual scoring goes on, but it sure is a safe spot to do your smack. If you're looking for one.