The Original Vivace

The old brick building was filled with the smell of fresh roasted coffee, Capitol Hill captains of culture would gaze out the window overlooking the old reservoir and read their leftist manifestos from the basement bookshop. All are gone now – the razor-wire and jogging path ringed reservoir now paved over into a family friendly park with water features and manicured paths, the revolutionary bookstore long since shuttered, and the original Vivace closed to make way for a sound transit terminal. Also lost, perhaps not lamented, the Jack in the Box across the street, and in fact the entire block up to Twice Sold Tales, taking with it Seattle’s best peroshkies and a decent smoke shop.