Brick storefronts from the 1890s sit under mid rise apartment towers a few blocks from the waterfront, and a Belltown nightclub played an Italian restaurant in the film Cheap AF.
What Belltown looks like
Second Avenue and 1st Avenue run through blocks of mid rise apartment towers, glass and concrete standing directly over ground floor shops and restaurants. The streets slope gently down toward Elliott Bay, ending at piers and a rail line along Alaskan Way.
Along 1st Avenue, four storey brick buildings from the 1890s carry terra cotta ornament and cast iron columns at the sidewalk, among them the at 2324 1st Avenue. A few blocks south, still hangs a large painted sign over the sidewalk.
West on Western Avenue at Vine Street, three wood frame cottages from 1916 sit around a small courtyard, the last such houses left in downtown Seattle. A BNSF rail line runs close behind them, with an old streetcar shelter still standing at the Vine Street stop.
, a midcentury art house theater, stands at 4th Avenue near the neighborhood's northeast edge. At the water, the Port of Seattle's teal clad building and the piers along Alaskan Way sit across the tracks from parked cars and passing trucks.
Shot in Belltown
For the 2025 feature Cheap AF, the production dressed one room of as an Italian restaurant. The nightclub sits on 2nd Avenue between Battery and Bell Streets, one block from the residential towers along 1st Avenue.
Cheap AF, 2025
Vue Lounge
Played an Italian restaurant, present day
One room of the nightclub was dressed as an Italian restaurant for a scene in the film, with tables and decor added for the shoot. The building sits mid block on 2nd Avenue, with Battery Street at one end and Bell Street at the other.
Old brick warehouses stand beside new mid rise condo towers throughout the Pearl District, much like the older brick buildings and newer towers along Belltown's 1st and 2nd Avenue. The flat grid and wide sidewalks read close to Belltown's own blocks. Portland's streetcar wires and bike lanes are more visible than Belltown's, so a tighter street level frame keeps them out of a wide shot. Try searching brick warehouses towers now.
Converted warehouse blocks now carry glass residential towers a short walk from a marina, close to how Belltown sits between its brick storefronts and the docks at Bell Harbor. Loading bay openings survive at street level on some of the older buildings. Yaletown's brick loft conversions are more uniform in height than Belltown's mixed blocks, and its marina sits closer to the towers than Bell Harbor does to 2nd Avenue. Try searching glass residential towers warehouse now.
River North in Denver, Colorado
Newer apartment towers have gone up among older low brick industrial blocks in River North, known locally as RiNo, a similar mix of scales to Belltown's avenues. Murals cover many of the brick walls there, more than Belltown's own blocks show. RiNo's murals and rail crossings would need to stay out of frame to avoid giving away the different city. Try searching brick industrial blocks apartment towers now.
