The 500 Block of East Pine, One Night Only

Yesterday afternoon we got a last-minute invitation to captothehill's remembrance of the 500 block of East Pine, a $10,000 party the bloggers won back in July.

In one of the recession's little ironies, the condo development planned for the block stalled after demolition resulted in a nightspot diaspora, and now it's a gravel parking lot, dreaming of better days. The JanSport-funded tribute began at 8 p.m. and lasted until 1 a.m., with a long line of would-be partygoers lined up outside Havana, waiting to gain entrance to Havana's parking lot.

It was not easy to get in, even if you were on the list--sometimes you had to ask the list-holder to check twice, step out of line, show him an email from the marketing company that organized the event, have him stare blankly at you, and then finally grab the list and point to your name. But in the end, it was worth it, because there's something oddly thrilling about seeing hipsters dancing to '80s music while wearing backpacks.