For many Seattle old timers, 1st Avenue was historically a patchwork of bars, second hand stores and some of the city's more colorful adult-oriented businesses. As Seattle made the transition from a blue collar town to an epicenter of technology many of these institutions and the buildings that contained them have given way to a more gentrified (some would say clinical) appearance. Here we see present-day 1st Avenue near Virginia Street contrasted with a 1968 view. It's interesting to note that the offices for web-based real estate giant Redfin are in a crisp new high rise where Al & Leon once sold furniture across a rambling array of storefronts.
