Seattle’s Capitol Hill is one of Seattle’s oldest and most liberal neighborhoods, where the crosswalks are all painted in rainbow colors to celebrate the large gay population that calls the area home. The hill is full of eclectic murals befitting the free spirited people. Every June the hill is a vibrant celebration for Gay Pride Week, while in the fall many blocks shut down for the annual Block Party, music fair of growing popularity. The Century Ballroom puts on regular dance events, including their annual winter masquerade. Here, as in all of the city, high costs of housing have let to gentrification and as old buildings and houses are replaced by expensive new residences, some resentment among the more established locals surfaces.
West Seattle, connected to downtown by an often traffic clogged bridge over the Duwamish River, is sort of a city unto itself. From its shore fishermen, many immigrants fishing for subsistence, can take in the view of the city skyline as they catch salmon, or bottom fish or squid, depending on the season. Many Seattleites come to recreate on the pathways that follow the West Seattle shore to Alki Point on Puget Sound
