u district

I decided to attend a Viniyoga class taught by a friend and classmate this morning in the University District, and since parking on the busiest part of the Ave is tough and the weather was passable, I opted for leaving the car up by Ravenna Park, where the time limits are generous and there's lots of space, and walking the dozen blocks or so to the classroom location.

It's been years since I walked University Ave, and found it much changed since the time I used to hang out there almost daily, back in the early 70's. The photo shows one of the very few remaining wood-frame multi-family houses that used to line both sides of the street; this one was originally the Dresden Hotel, and dates from 1904. The street-level eating establishment on the left is typical of what you see in the U District nowadays, kind of down-at-the-heels looking and ethnic. There were a few like that in the old days, but now the street is crowded with them. The Subway shop, representing a national franchise chain, is very atypical.

The U District reflects the same general trends you see everywhere you go in this country now, and it's especially noticeable in areas which were once familiar, but that haven't been viewed intimately for a few decades. What was once prosperous and well-maintained is now run down and seedy, and there's much more of an immigrant presence than in former times. The decline of commerce and regime of tight money, especially since the middle of the double-zeroes, has contributed mightily to the overall effect of creeping poverty in formerly affluent, or at least comfortable neighborhoods.

The U.S.A. is aging fast, and none too gracefully. It's as Moll Flanders said when she looked in the mirror at age 50: "I saw only the ruins of what formerly was."

The Viniyoga class was very nice, by the way, and Ravenna Park looks the same as it always did.

Photo and building info by Joe Mabel.