Blame the unadventurous for killing unique old Seattle

Sometimes it’s better to be old than good. That’s what KIRO Radio’s John Curley sees happening to old Seattle. The city’s old businesses are becoming a trendy venture.

Local residents moving out as newcomers flock to King County

The Seattle Times’ Danny Westneat writes that because growth is so dizzying, the hottest thing right now in Seattle is buying and selling nostalgia in the forms of books, stories, and photos.

Curley says it feels like Westneat mourns the losses associated with development while simultaneously shaming and congratulating us.

Meanwhile, Knute Berger, with Crosscut, says that if you don’t like the way things are going, you can always go to Portland, a time warp to Seattle of the 70s and 80s, where local means local and cranes don’t litter the skyline.

The killing of old Seattle

Curley believes two things are killing the old Seattle staples. First: the value of the dirt far exceeds the ability to sell the goods. Then these plaecs lose their lease while somebody else comes in with a more commercially viable option.

The second, and the more interesting killer is the unadventurous consumer, Curley says. The fact that people don’t want to spend money at a place that defies convention. If you’re new to town – and most people are — you don’t necessarily feel safe going into some place that’s foreign to you. Even though it’s been around for a long time. There are people who want to experience the local, native option. And there are others who feel more comfortable at Starbucks.

“It’s the unadventurous — the ones who want to have consistency and want to know that they won’t be made to feel uncomfortable,” Curley says. “I think it’s because people have become more and more isolated. The inability to even make eye contact with a stranger, to have a conversation with a stranger. We are more and more into our phones and less and less connected with human beings. I think we want the safety, and that familiar becomes safe. That way you don’t have to walk into the restaurant you’re unaware of or read 50 reviews before walking in.”

Curley’s co-host Tom Tangney likens the phenomenon to visiting Paris and eating at McDonald’s. You know the bathrooms will be clean and can be reassured that it will meet certain standards.

“Seattle may be becoming a world class city on par with places like Los Angeles, Boston or New York. The problem is if we lose our character and it’s just like when you’re in midtown Manhattan you’re now in Downtown Seattle,” Tangney said. “Is that really the place you want to live in? I think the people that mourn the loss of Seattle are people who grew up here and remember it.”

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