Soft Rock!

[elfs]

Not so hard as before.

I always giggle every time I walk past the Hard Rock Cafe's new location in downtown Seattle. This is its second home; it's first used to be closer to the financial district, but far from the tourist zone. From the new locale the iconic Pike Place Market sign can be seen, and it's right between two major tourist destinations.

That said, I giggle because it now occupies what was, for all of the 90s and much of the 00s, the most downtrodden pawn shop in the city, above which was unquestionably Seattle's sleaziest adult magazine, toy and video store. From the big open pit design which allowed the proprietor to watch every browser who might want to lift a copy of Aunt Peg's Photoshoot or a Doc Johnson Butt Plug, to the scary back booths with loose latches where, if you listened, you could hear men willfully violating the "one occupant per booth" rule as a video played to them on a cheap looping analog player.

Compared to that, the Hard Rock Cafe is pretty limp.

That said, at night, walking past, the broad alleyway separating the Cafe from the Starbucks next to it still reeks of overcooked hot dogs, steam, and stale urine.

That's Seattle for ya.

Comments

[en-ki.livejournal.com]

It's cruel of you to remind me that I'm not in Belltown, and also that not only am I 6 hours from the Noodle Ranch, but it is, in fact, gone forever.

And Coffee Messiah? FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU

[lisakit.livejournal.com]

At first I thought you were referring to the guitar being upside down instead of, well, erect.