REVISITING THE PARK | How to not live in Madison Park
My in-laws have been uprooted, due to a $400-per-month rent increase, here in Madison Park. Then, there was the gasp that could be heard around the world when my wife, Karen, and I got our property-tax statements made it clear that where we live truly is Carmel, Calif., North. Must we be priced out of our very own home and neighborhood?
In the way-back era when rent was high, several people would split the rent. Would that work now — three in a studio? After rotation, one could get the bed every six weeks.
A favorite place I rented was the pantry — ever wake up saying, “I want a snack?”
People will do almost anything to rent or buy something in our villa by the sea. We have received several letters from Realtors and construction companies, offering cash to buy our fixer-upper to which we reply, “What do you mean, fixer-upper? This is our home, built by grandfather Walter Larsen, and it’s our home, thank you very much!”
A handwritten letter came from one lady, saying our house is just what she was looking for. The writing appeared a little shaky, as it must have been written on the dashboard of a D8 bulldozer — and it had a slight smell of diesel.
The bottom line: We are losing some good, solid, blue-collar folks in this upsurge of lavishness. It is happening right in front of our faces, but it’s a similar refrain all around the country.
The high life
When Todd Shipyard closed on the Eastside after World War II ended, many moved away from Madison Park to be closer to job potentials. Rentals here, however, were reasonably priced so college kids and flight attendants moved into the area. It was mostly a singles’ locale, and it was fun!
Parties took place every weekend — sometimes more than one. Bars closed at midnight on Saturday and all-day Sunday so the action moved to Chinatown: The Wah Mee, the 605, the Black and Tan, the China Pheasant and many more. No matter which club you were in, people from Madison Park showed up.
It bears repeating that many of us stayed up as late as 5 a.m., making it to the club East of Elliott open for live jazz, Bloody Marys and screwdrivers. But the last stop, Birdland on 22nd Avenue and Madison Street, was the best for live jazz — we couldn’t forget the sunglasses as we often left there just as the sun came up.
Wintertime, we hit the mountains via Volkswagen Bus and a keg — $7 for beer and gas, and ski attire consisting of Warshal’s Sporting Goods coats and Levis. Making several runs soaking wet while enjoying a bota bag filled with 4 Roses bourbon was considered an affordable excursion.
The action was at the beach during the summers in the early ‘50s. Life aboard a houseboat on Lake Union was very bohemian, as it attracted and inspired all kinds of starving artists. The houseboat community, with its humble floating abodes, was a tribute to camaraderie.
Bohemia-Ville became Hippy-Ville around the lower Queen Anne area and University District, as well as Broadway and the public market.
Workdays, it was all suit-and-tie, but while enjoying free time, it was bell-bottoms and jeans, free love and getting by on the minimum.
The houseboat scene began changing from one-story wooden floats to two stories that were not built on log rafts but on floats fabricated of cement and Styrofoam. It meant higher rents and an influx of the affluent, which created a gap among water tenants.
The changing neighborhood
Madison Park remained in a pleasant holding zone from the ‘50s to the ‘80s, when word got out how desirable it was to live here with its gas stations, drugstores, bakery, Eggs C’etera, The Attic, the Red Onion Tavern, the Bamboo Terrace for excellent Chinese food and even a New York-style deli with an excellent corned beef on rye!
Soon, construction companies infiltrated the area, buying homes, paying well but ripping off roofs, leaving a first floor and maybe a basement. To allow for expanding affluent families, second stories and even rooftop gardens were added — although there would be no more backyards to play in.
If you can afford to stay in Madison Park, you are most fortunate. It could be worse: A friend on Queen Anne just had his rent raised $1,170 a month to the tune of $4,000-plus! Granted, he has a view of the Space Needle and the Puget Sound, but he is trying to move downtown to be closer to his work.
Downtown could not possibly be any more reasonable! There, a view would be obstructed by any of the yellow cranes tearing down the old and bringing in the new.
People are moving south to Tacoma, where the cost of living is a bit cheaper, but they will spend an hour or more on the tram, bus or as a single in one large car on the way up to Seattle.
The dream: to one day make enough money to move back to Madison Park.
RICHARD CARL LEHMAN is a longtime Madison Park resident. To comment on this column, write to MPTimes@nwlink.com.