The Sunset's owners don't care because they all live somewhere else (in this case, California). So, yes, the anger that I do have is directed at them as absentee landlords.

Somewhat fortunately, Avalon will be landlords -- as these are apartments that are going up -- so they will be somewhat beholden to tenants. That is more than I can say for the condo builders who build shoddy units, sell, make off with the money, and are long gone when post-occupancy problems arise.

Hey I said Ballard had a few nice places. But Sunset Bowl needs to go. I wish I could blow it up or burn it down. It will probably take them forever to tear it down.

"the institutions that make the neighborhood desirable in the first place."

Desirable to who, you? Apparently even the owners of Sunset Bowl didn't care about you or their loyal customers. Maybe everyone's anger should be directed at them, old Ballardites too, I'm sure.

"is there anything you DO like about Ballard?"

The rattle and hum of cranes and bulldozers that rile up the old timers.

Suthii (and neener, for that matter): is there anything you DO like about Ballard? You post on this site a lot, so you're somehow invested in the community. So far, though, all I can gather is that you don't like any business that is greater than 10 years old or any building less than 3 stories.

People here are in favor of density. I think that's pretty clear. But what good are all the apartment buildings in the world if there's nothing to actually DO? That's why is such a shame to see Sunset Bowl disappear. We can accommodate growth, but it shouldn't come at the expense of the institutions that make the neighborhood desirable in the first place.

Sunset Bowl is tacky and ugly and I can't wait til they tear it down. That, of course, will take forever.

Ballard does have some pretty nice old places but in general, its just tacky and ugly.

And to the person who said" I’m against the Walgreens and Safeway down there if for no other reason than they are SOOOOO working class. Ever seen the people in those places? Yipes, no class."

Isn't the point that Ballard is losing too many working class people?


At any rate, one day the Ballardites complaining will pass on and most of their heirs won't care about preserving Ballard. They'll sell and people will adjust.

" those being built now seem to be made of cheap, shoddy materials and synthetics"

What, you'd prefer good old fashioned, solid old growth trees and hard woods be used, like most of the craftsman we all admire in Seattle? Do you have any idea how expensive it is to build homes like the old craftsman these days? Maybe you can afford it.

"appear to be catering to the majority who take part of the throw-away lifestyle…"

Is that a conclusion from peer-reviewed research or just opinion? Most of the folks I know in condos can't afford a house, that's all. Nothing to do with throw away lifestyle.

But hell, just label them 'yuppies', that way you don’t have to understand the world around you.

Brollard, Balltown, Bromont, whatever you want to call it - it's here. Ballard is, and has been, my beloved home for close to 30 years, with the exception of a short stint in Capitol Hill for about a year just a couple of years ago. Every non-wholly suburban mixed-use neighborhood around has been pounded by development, but the strange thing is that it seems to be taking most folks by surprise - it shouldn't! Next time you see a "Notice Of Proposed Land Use Action" pinned to one of your favorite buildings, vacant lots, or what have you, please take the time to evaluate the information, and take whatever steps you find proper to give your opinion and input. Change happens - it's the degree and depth of change that you, as concerned citizens, can impact.

I am not sure about condos having a smaller "carbon footprint", considering the majority of those being built now seem to be made of cheap, shoddy materials and synthetics and appear to be catering to the majority who take part of the throw-away lifestyle...

I'm all for density; however density for density's sake is just folly. That sort of land speculation just leads to empty housing units, people getting priced out of the area, and ghosts of life that used to be there. Neighborhoods are much more than just packing people in. They need something do in addition to sleeping and then leaving the neighborhood to go to work elsewhere. Parks, libraries, and different kinds of gathering spaces serve the essential functions of bringing people together and creating a functional social environment and lively communities. Unfortunately, public gathering places in Ballard, and elsewhere, are always most vulnerable. This is especially true of "semi-public" spaces that are open to the public but are owned by private entities. I'm not necessarily knocking that system; however, I do believe that private property is not absolutely private. We need density, for certain, but what we need more of is balance.

" Complaining is all we can do, really."

Which seems to be the main pastime around here. My gripe is all these old Ballardites who complain about change as if they, their parents and their grandparents didn't affect change that bothered previous dwellers. If you ask me the only folks with a right to complain about 'change' here are the Indians. Everyone else is just a tourist. I'm all for more density, we can't have huge sprawling cities with everyone living in 3000 sq foot homes. If the Sunset lanes lot houses a couple of hundred people, that's far better land use in my book. The aesthetics of what they put up is another issue, but since old Ballardites seem to think that Denny's is a national monument, I’m not sure I can trust their judgment.

Suthii -- I don't begrudge Sunset Bowl's owners their right to sell their property. Or anyone else, for that matter. But, as many others have said, that doesn't mean I have to like what they put up. (If what replaced Sunset Bowl were the second coming of Funplex, I'd be thrilled.) My point is that your insinuations that Ballard residents are to blame for our own situation is somewhat off-base. Complaining is all we can do, really.

Out of curiosity, why are you so invested in the fate of Sunset/Avalon? How does one less bowling alley make your life better?

Peter -- Berkeley is someplace I'd rather not be compared to. If hippies belong anywhere around here, it's Fremont. Ballard -- and Seattle generally -- aren't like anywhere else, or at least they shouldn't be. Let's not give transplants the wrong idea, eh?

"your people are winning…one crappy condo at a time."

Condo? Wouldn't touch one but at least they have smaller carbon footprints, reduce sprawl and employ thousands of construction workers.

Does giving $100 a year to Oxfam makes us better folks than giving construction workers jobs?

I would argue the tipping point was when they closed the Eagles hall on 24th. But that could be around the same time as the Matador came along.

I used to be proud of living in Ballard but now I find it almost embarrassing.

By the way, trafiic in Ballard was absolutely unbearable on Saturday. Condos and town homes that have no soul have ruined this neighborhood. I find it amusing to watch the current units sit unsold as hundreds more come online. Looks like there will be some cheap apartments in the coming years!

Peter - we can't let them win without making some statements. How sad that the only way to distinguish your neighborhood from another is with a street map. How inviting is that!

I'm not ready to give in!

Suthii - You must be new here. Let me be the first to welcome you to Seattle. This city you've moved to (for a job, or to attend school), is a very liberal city. Think Berkley, or Cambridge. You are surrounded by liberal, free-thinking near-hippy white people.

Shocking isn't it? You should have done your research. There are other, more conservative cities like Detroit or Houston, but Seattle isn't like them. We care about our community, and issues like urban blight and homelessness (we even give MONEY to charity!).

Sure we live in a free market economy and people should feel free to do what they want with their paycheck. But at what cost? I'd be fine with tearing down Sunset if the developer was going to put up affordable housing, but he's not. It's just going to more of the same money grab that has been rebuilding Ballard over the last 5 years. Turning the small enclave we all grew to love into something indistinguishable from a hundred other cookie cutter communities just off the freeway.

When did all this start? Does anyone know what the tipping point was? I usually peg it around the time they tore out the bookstore and installed the Matador. One look at that place and I knew it was all over. Bland, characterless cheese. Matador begat NoMa begat Bal-Mar begat Hjarta ad nauseum.

I still get letters from developers in the mail, wanting to buy my house sight unseen so they can tear it down and put up 4 skinny townhomes. I'll never sell, but I may end up renting it and moving to Vermont. The quality of life around here just sucks since the mouth-breathing, talk radio loving Ron Paul fanatics decided to move into Canal Station.

Don't worry Suthii - your people are winning...one crappy condo at a time.

"the people complaining are people who haven’t sold their homes and still live in Ballard"

Well, they should have gone down to Sunset and demanded that it charge them $100 for a round of bowling so that the owners could make as much money as they could by selling.

Otherwise, rent the Big Lebowski and smoke a fat if you want to enjoy the old days.

"we have little control over which homeowners (or, in the case of Sunset Bowl, business owners) sell their properties."

You sound like that's a bad thing?

"now let me see if I can remember which Walgreens has my prescription!"

What, you can't read street signs?

I'm against the Walgreens and Safeway down there if for no other reason than they are SOOOOO working class. Ever seen the people in those places? Yipes, no class.

Suthii, the people complaining are people who haven't sold their homes and still live in Ballard. Or they rent. So your comment doesn't make sense on its face.

Other than ourselves, we have little control over which homeowners (or, in the case of Sunset Bowl, business owners) sell their properties.

Yea, Tom! It is that comfortable feeling of the familiar. I like the phrase "chain-dominated intersection." When that happens you can't tell one neightborhood from the next - now let me see if I can remember which Walgreens has my prescription!

What do we do to preserve the right balance of the long-time neighborhood and the needs of a changing population?

"Viva Yuppiesville."

Go to love Ballardites. Throw out a pejorative and pretend you're open minded. So people who don't enjoy bowling are yuppies?

Well, here's an idea, if you don't like 'yuppies' don't sell your homes for $500k to them. Simple as that.

Or does the marketplace only have to end with your favorite pastime?

Hey, I didn't check this fine site yesterday and only now realize that I, too, used the clever title that you used first to title my post to Seattlest. Sorry about the appearance of plagiarism! :)

I liked the place because it was walkable/bus-able bowling. It was like a neighborhood park because it provided the opportunity to do something that you couldn't do anywhere else--yet you could also have a drink, unlike a park. You could have fun there without actually spending lots of money.

Its space evolved over many years in an ad-hoc way according to need and make-shift ingenuity. It will be replaced by something more efficient and initially without character. It smelled funny, it was full of cheesy noises, and it had greasy, unpretentious food. Sunset was a fatty slice of life dripping with the bustle, grit, and local color of a long-time neighborhood in an otherwise chain-dominated intersection that is characterised by uniformity.

I think we mourn the loss of the familiar or the passing of time. On one level we all know that bowling at Sunset Lanes is no longer state of the art and if we really want to bowl we can find the new facilities. But losing Sunset Bowl tells us that we are aging and the comfort of the life "as we knew it" is passing - this just cuts to the emotional quick.

I suggest that as a community, we find some of those near-and-dear insititutions and work to keep them. And those that don't make the cut we wish a fond "farewell" and welcome what is new.

What are some of the "keepers?" Certainly not the Denny's building! But I would sure care for Mike's Chili Palace. Are there others that will maintain the ambiance of Ballard and still leave room for taking the scene to the next level?

I'm with John.

I liked the opportunity. And the reminder of that opportunity every time I drove by.

That's it then.
RIP Ballard.
Viva Yuppiesville.

Honestly, I've been in Sunset once, just to walk through, but yet, I'm going to miss it.

You know why? It isn't that I'd take advantage of it, but, I like to know that, if for some reason I *wanted* to bowl at 3am in the morning, I could.

That is what I'll miss. The ability to bowl at 3am.

Awwww- I just now realized it opened on my birthday!!! :( My best memories are of Karaoke while waiting to bowl! So much fun and SUCH a good, friendly time!!! :*(