By the end of November Manray will close down in its current location. The entire block where Manray sits will be torn down to build condos. There is now a website, “Requiem for a Block,” that journals the rich culture of the entire 500 Block of Pine Street.
They describe the situation as the following:
Numerous writers have compared the demise of this block to recent transformations in Belltown and Fremont. Many people have pointed out the irony of developers using the “colorful” character of a neighborhood like this one to attract people while they simultaneously destroy that character. Others see just another chapter in the perennial story of gentrification, with rich people pushing poor people out of a neighborhood once it becomes desirable or fashionable.
However, the site does admit that the changes seem inevitable since the buildings themselves are not historical nor interesting and most of the businesses on the block are considered “dives.”
Manray Video’s tribute has many interesting photos that capture the essence of the bar as well as the following statement:
Hedrick, who along with other employees bought Manray from its original Chicago owners, sees no future for the bar after the block is demolished. He is looking for investors to help start a new, more lounge-like bar somewhere else, possibly salvaging some of Manray’s fixtures, such as its Mothership-like central bar structure.
Over the next month patrons both past and present will be able to say farwell to what has been a pillar of the gay club scene on Capitol Hill over nearly a decade.
