The resurgently chic Belltown area (also referred to as the Denny Regrade) has left its grunge legacy behind and is now choked with bohemian cafés, vintage clothing stores, used record shops and alternative galleries. Belltown casually blends the swank and avant-garde, beginning just to the north of Pike Street Market and extending one mile in the same direction towards the Seattle Center, with the heart of Belltown being the five-block area of Second Avenue between Stewart and Battery. Godfathers of the neighborhood, Sub Pop Records , famous for promotion of the early 1990s grunge scene with releases by Nirvana, Mudhoney and Soundgarden, began its operations on the edge of Belltown, where it still occupies several floors of the Terminal Sales Building. You can get the best sense of the local bohemian scene, though, at the Center on Contemporary Art , 65 Cedar St (Tues-Sat 11am-6pm; $5; ), which focuses on edgy regional works with a satirical flair.

Belltown

• Belltown

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