The is-it-or-isn't-it debate over the historical and aesthetic importance of the old Ballard Denny's was ended today with a backhoe. With none of the pomp and circumstance of the discussion surrounding the building's meaning and importance to Ballard, a backhoe began clawing into the building this morning. According to MyBallard.com which has tirelessly documented the drama and debate of the Denny's, by 7:30 a.m. "crews had already taken down the vaulted roof." Where the......

Seattlest has lived in eight cities across the country, and we have to be honest. We've lived in Seattle longer than we have anywhere else because we love it here. It's clean, it's culturally vibrant, it's full of extraordinary natural beauty, it's safe. But, we've never been able to reckon with the fact that it's just so damned wealthy and white. Much as we like to think of ourselves as forward-thinking, inclusive citizens, we......

We understand you're upset, Belltown. What, with all these drug deals going on right outside your high-rise condos. You've video-taped and photographed the deals going down, you've created a YouTube channel and taken your complaints to local blogs and newspapers...and still it doesn't stop. Maybe that's because the drug dealers and users in Belltown were there long, long before the condos and well before the neighborhood was given its trendy name. What you all......

Listening to KEXP the past few mornings, we heard an ad for 12th Ave's Trace Lofts that caught our attention, and not in a good way. Apparently, one of the establishments going into the condos' Trace North building is a Mexican restaurant. Named Barrio. Take it away, press release: Barrio, pronounced "bä'rē-ō'," takes its name from the Spanish word for "neighborhood," a term generally used to describe a cohesive place. The food will take......

"Angular Shadows" by Ray Tracing It's entirely possible that these condos will never be more beautiful than they are in this picture. And all that beauty's on display in the Seattlest Flickr pool. Thanks for sharing!......

A new report tells us what we all already know, painfully and personally: rent in Seattle is at an all-time high and rental vacancies are sparse. If you rented an apartment in Seattle this March, you paid on average $1,071. That's up 8.5% since last March. And you're paying all this if you're lucky enough to have found an available apartment. According to the report: "Apartments generally rent within 30 days of hitting the......

The apt title of this photo "Not Much Longer," makes Seattlest sad. Courtesy of smohundro, another one of our great Seattlest Flickr Contributors The end is near for Sunset Bowl and its patrons. The local bowling alley, which has been open for over half a century, is set to close its doors April 13th. (Officially 1a.m. on Monday morning.) So take the time this weekend to say goodbye and get in a few last games......

Those folks responsible for the "Ride the S.L.U.T." t-shirts--the fine, tiny coffee vendor next to Taco Del Mar in the SoLa neighborhood (or is it SoLu?)--are going to be charging you more from here on out. Kapow! Coffee is paying the price of gentrification, condos and slutty streetcars. According to the Times, the 200-square-feet of splendid coffee making real estate has been feeling the push-and-pull of larger nearby coffee vendors and the sudden boom......

A citizen-led group has been established in Ballard to save the Sunset Bowl from imminent closure. Save Sunset Bowl has already received 2,500 signatures from local voters to keep the bowling alley alive....at least until the summer of 2009, when the new owners of the property plan to break ground on a multi-use development. Supporters of the Ballard landmark got good news on Tuesday, when the spokesperson for the new owners said they would be......

A small crowd has gathered on East Pine to watch the demolishing of a once quintessential Seattle block. The condos have officially won, as the buildings which once contained Seattle divey-landmarks the Cha Cha, Bimbo's Bitchin' Burrito, and Kincora's are no more. Eagle-eyed Seattlest editor Kim has sent us a couple of mobile photos of the destruction. Sadly, she reported overhearing at the scene, "Am I missing something? This apparently means nothing to me." We'd......

BCC Mikie Ballard, the company that owns the Denny’s building recently granted landmark status, is now suing to reverse that decision. These guys are serious too. They want to tear down that Denny’s something fierce. The PI says that they brought more than a dozen legal theories down on the heads of the Seattle Landmarks and Preservation Board. Oh, and they’re pissed: "The Board's decision ... was sentimental and capricious, but not legal," says one......

In short, no. (Duh.) But, Paste magazine ran an article recently suggesting that, perhaps, it's on its way out. We thought the article made a lot of valid and interesting points, like this one: “Mayor [Greg] Nickels and other city leaders don’t have a clue about the impact of their policies on this community,” says Tim Hatley, lobbyist for the Seattle Nightlife & Music Association. “If you’re Dan [Cowan, owner of Seattle fixture the......

Archie McPhee's latest bumper stickers, posted in Seattlest's Flickr Pool Ballard residents, tired of seeing their local landmarks and homes swallowed by condos and "multi-use buildings," have taken a stand on one beloved icon of "Old Ballard." The icon? The Denny's on the corner of Market and 15th Ave NW, long a late-night stop for drunk bowlers from the now departed Sunset Bowl, bearded fisherman and other creatures of the night, including Seattlest. The......

Two events occurred this weekend that damaged our long and strongly held opinion of Wallingford as a sleepy bedroom suburb-within-the-city this weekend. Yes, Wallingford still tears down 4-unit rentals in lieu of 4500 sq ft single-family monstrosities at a prodigious pace, and can only get riled about an issue if it involves people using Gas Works for anything other than leisurely walks, but this weekend it showed signs of life. First, people used the park.......

While the city goes about with itself, Seattlest spends countless hours in an ivory tower somewhere between Pike Place Market and the Lusty Lady. We pace the floor with a hunched back, wringing our hands, wrinkling our nose and whispering, "what, what, what... is the meaning of this?" Location: 2nd and Pine. Old purpose: parking lot next to Macy's Garage. New purpose: Huge gaping hole. For at least six months now, we've walked past this......

When ever someone takes the time to type up an email to Seattlest we're prejudiced from the start to believe its contents (Seattlest readers being an unusually truthful and informed bunch), but this one is hard to swallow: I work next to the Sunset Bowl and just found out it's closing in April. The loss of yet another bowling alley is sad, but I won't miss their prices. Anyway, just thought I'd let you guys......

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