"Fremont is falling apart"
Jun. 9th, 2009 03:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
randy_byersOkay, this is an example of another thing that drives me crazy. Fremont Universe announces that the Triangle Tavern is closing and being replaced by a '20s-gangster-theme-bar called 9 Million in Unmarked Bills. Now, admittedly this new bar sounds like a place I will stay far away from. But you know, I've stayed far away from the Triangle lately too.
However, the thing that drives me crazy is the comments: "I think my neighborhood is starting to slip away from me." "The Triangle was doomed when Fremont was transformed into a yuppie corporate office park." "This neighborhood is falling apart."
I'm trying to remember when these complaints about Fremont started. It was sometime in the '90s, I think, probably around the time that property prices started going through the roof. In short, it's been going on for well over a decade now. I'm not sure which is more maddening: that these same comments have been repeated over and over for fifteen years, or that the people making the comments on this post have probably only been living in the neighborhood for five years.
It's true that Fremont has been gentrified. The thing is, it's been true for so long it is no longer worth commenting on! This longing for the golden past before gentrification is really, really tired. From a personal standpoint, it's also tiresome because I actually prefer the gentrified Fremont to the golden age Fremont. I like having restaurants and bars and bookstores and record stores (well, only one now) that I can walk to. We could use a movie theater too, damn it. But that's just me. The main point is that Fremont is not slipping away or falling apart. It is gentrified, plain and simple, and has been for quite a while. Get over it.
However, the thing that drives me crazy is the comments: "I think my neighborhood is starting to slip away from me." "The Triangle was doomed when Fremont was transformed into a yuppie corporate office park." "This neighborhood is falling apart."
I'm trying to remember when these complaints about Fremont started. It was sometime in the '90s, I think, probably around the time that property prices started going through the roof. In short, it's been going on for well over a decade now. I'm not sure which is more maddening: that these same comments have been repeated over and over for fifteen years, or that the people making the comments on this post have probably only been living in the neighborhood for five years.
It's true that Fremont has been gentrified. The thing is, it's been true for so long it is no longer worth commenting on! This longing for the golden past before gentrification is really, really tired. From a personal standpoint, it's also tiresome because I actually prefer the gentrified Fremont to the golden age Fremont. I like having restaurants and bars and bookstores and record stores (well, only one now) that I can walk to. We could use a movie theater too, damn it. But that's just me. The main point is that Fremont is not slipping away or falling apart. It is gentrified, plain and simple, and has been for quite a while. Get over it.
