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Back in 2008 I remember visiting my daughter in Red Bank, New Jersey while she was living there. I noticed in the downtown area many closed shops, empty, out of business. It was the depth of the recession. But Santa Barbara seemed to be immune. Our downtown area was still vibrant and active, storefronts full. I believed it to be because we were a more affluent area and were effected less by the economic downturn. I still believe that. However there has been a change. Now that the “economy” is doing well, Santa Barbara has lots of closed stores, empty, out of business. I look around and wonder what forces are at work here now. My belief is that there is the re-gentrification of what is known as the “Funk Zone”. That are used to be old warehouses that serviced the waterfront industry back in the day. Today there isn’t that kind of need and the buildings have almost all been converted to galleries, restaurants, wine tasting rooms, and condos. This has all the tourists flocking down there below the freeway leaving  lower State St. with all these empty spots. When I’m in that area I push my iPhone up to the glass on these void spaces and take a snap to document the desolation.