My Posse's on Broadway

Seattle's Capitol scene circa 1985:









In the mid-'80s Seattle's Capitol Hill and Broadway were a bit different than they are today. Actually some people would probably say it was similar to today--a little run down, seedy, and with violent tendencies, but it was worse when I was a teenager. During the late-'80s Broadway was made over. The sidwalks were widened and redone, a lot of fancier businesses moved in, the Broadway Market was built, and all the spots where homeless and youth used to hang out were made not so friendly to loitering. Broadway became a lot more yuppie and gay, and not so much the hip neighborhood to hang out in. Of course over a decade later it's become a bit more run down, and areas like the Pike-Pine corridor that once housed crack apartments and junkies are now full of hipsters with white belts and Rod Stewart hair.

When I first went to Capital Hill in 1984, through probably around 1987, the place to hang out was "The Wall." The Wall was a brick and cement wall in front of Baskin and Robbins (AKA 31 Flavors) about 4 foot tall that usually had about 100 punk, goth and new wave kids hanging around it and the surrounding benches and corners. They later put metal spikes along the top of The Wall and statues on the benches so no one could sit on them. But in the hey day of Broadway being a teenage hangout spot, that area was hopping every Friday and Saturday night. We'd go there to hang out,meet girls, find out about shows or parties, buy or sell drugs or just get into a little trouble. These photos are from Fall or Winter of 1985.

Sir Mix-A-Lot's classic video for "My Posse's on Broadway" was filmed right around the same time and has some great shots of old Broadway and Dick's. I remember for a year after the song came out everyone driving down Broadway cranking the song, it was pretty hilarious.