I too find this and the inevitable list you have conjoined into the article deeply distressing. And while my personal loss is small in comparison (I was the former curator for TwoWall Gallery on Vashon, which was the recent victim of homophobic censorship by the building owner) it too still leaves a hole in my aesthetic heart. I so often found visiting all of thes places listed here (and of course others) a remarkably stimulating trip off island just after the chaos of first friday, when owners and attendant staff were eager for conversation. It is difficult to stop rationalizing what is feeling like an inevitable move for me as well. Over the years I've been in this area , several theater venues that stimulated me as well have disappeared. I can't help but think it is more than merely the recession. I was having this very conversation with people I've shown over the years, from the likes of Seattle warhorse Ries Niemi, on down to young new upstarts about who will carry the ball. Unfortunately, for Vashon work with little vision short of the ability to match the wallpaper and sofa cusions will be the survivors. Best of the Northwest, even though it fills that same bill on a grander scale, is also in fragile mutability; even standard functional craft is having its own death throws.

Give'em hell in LA!

These kids get IT and I expect to see great things from this move. I'm sad to see them go but this is the right time to make this move.

@3
I'll have to agree but damn it makes me sad!

I can only hope that these losses will be an opening for new galleries and curators to fill the gap.

Didn't they start out as a toy store in Capitol Hill?