So I woke up Saturday mornig, pleased that the sun was out for a change.  So I slapped on my tennis shoes and went for a long walk down Broadway and around Capitol Hill.

I’ll admit being more than slightly displeased with myself for having an extensive internal argument about whether I should spend about 6.5 million of my alloted 2,500 calories on a Sourdough Jack when I arrived at the Jack In the Box.  I knew I’d be getting there in a few minutes.  Of course,  after much deliberation, common sense prevailed and I had decided I would pass the restaurant and leave all the Sourdough burgers in there where they belong.

But it turns out the decision was moot,  because the building was shuttered up.  That’s when I started looking around Broadway, and I begane to understand what people are talking about when they discuss "The Death of Capitol Hill."

Now to be clear, I am a fan of progress. I think the people who contribute the most to the economy ought to be able to live comfortably in areas closest to where economies are driven.  And to be fair, there is no reason a single Jack in the Box restaurant should take up place on a thriving street corner just blocks from the downtown core. But, that’s what makes Capitol Hill interesting, and makes it not Belltown. But with all these new condos going up, the ability to grab a quick bite disappears a little more each time. 

Now, the more I walked, the more bums I wandered across.  A homeless guy trying to trade jokes for quarters outside Dick’s.   A few collections of folks loitering in odd places.  I thought about Capitol Hill, this odd mix of rich and poor, business people and artists, hipsters and tech nerds.  Maybe progres should slow down, and allow some of the old landmarks and apartment buidlings to stay up.

I was following two bums, one guy pushing the other’s wheelchair.  Suddenly the pusher stopped, reached down by a tree, picked up a discarded beer bottle, and drank what must have been a few remaining sips. That swung me the other way.  Just like anything, neighborhoods go through stages.  It can’t stay the same forever, and renters don’t get to dictate the way it gets shaped.  Some people will be able to say they lived through Capitol Hill’s golden age.  And a lot of people will complain how the new Capitol Hill will be devoid of soul.  But a new neighborhood will spring up, and while Cap Hill pushes out some of it’s poor and most colrful people in favor of richer more corporate types, someplace else will welcome them in.  That’s just how it works.