The Moore, named for developer James A. Moore (1861-1929), opened at Second and Virginia on Dec. 28, 1907 with The Alaskan, a play about the 1897 gold rush. The 2,400-seat house has hosted vaudeville and Broadway tours, boxing matches, jazz and rock concerts, the first stage version of the rock opera Tommy (with a young Bette Midler), and the first Seattle International Film Festival.

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Caffe Minnie's, the 24-hour eatery at First and Denny, closed on Nov. 20. A sign posted in the restaurant's window said its state business license had been revoked because it owed $15,649 in back taxes. It joins the U District IHOP and the Ballard Denny's, both also recently departed for that bottomless coffee cup in the sky.

Also gone, the Crawford-Waage Hardware building on Third Avenue south of Bell Street, demolished with no announced plans for any new structure; and the Frederick Cadillac showroom on Sixth south of Battery (more recently home to the Teatro ZinZanni dinner theater), razed for a 643-unit condo megaproject.

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The Belltown Housing and Land Use Subcommittee was recently awarded a $400,000 grant for its Third Avenue Streetscape beautification project. The money came from the City's "Bridging the Gap" fund. It will be used to add four blocks to the project, which will be a cooperative venture with the Seattle Department of Transportation.

BHLUS is still seeking funds for another street improvement project, on Bell Street between First and Fifth Avenues.

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CASA Latina's planned move from Belltown to the Central District is back on. The social service agency announced it's reached a "good neighbor agreement" with its future neighbors, including the Jackson Place Community Council. CASA says it may move in to its new site, at 17th Avenue South and South Jackson Street, as early as a year from now.

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Queen Shmooquan, a "transcendental burlesque clown" character created by performance artist Jeppa K. Hall, stars in her own "Say My Name Show" Dec. 13, 8 p.m., at the Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave. Hall promises "a solo, absurd, multi-media" show.... With help from her band 'The Scented Panty Candles,' Queen Shmooquan will dance, sing and eat her waythrough a psychedelic, super-real journey, full of bizarre storylines and prophetic messages."

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The Low Income Housing Institute's second "Punk Rock Flea Market" benefit occurs Saturday, Dec. 1, 10 a.m.-10 p.m., at 2407 First Ave. Live bands take the stage at 6-ish. Admission is $1; vendor tables cost $25. To reserve a table email PRFleamarket@gmail.com or call 957-8076. The first Punk Rock Flea Market, earlier this fall, attracted 35 vendors and more than 500 shoppers.

Another benefit, this one for the Catholic Seamen's Club, is set for Sunday, Dec. 2, 7-10 p.m., at 2330 First Avenue. It stars longtime acoustic singer-songwriter Jim Page, with such friends as Joe Martin from Claypipe and the Pike Market Clinic. Admission is $25; $40 couples. Call 441-4773. And a "Tweener Party" takes place the night of Dec. 28 (in between Christmas and New Years) at Spitfire, 2219 Fourth Ave. Billed as an "anti-holiday holiday party," it will raise funds for what promoter Todd Lawson calls "a charity that sends personal supplies and Christmas gifts to the troops in Iraq."

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Art Beat: The McLeod Residence, 2209 Second Ave., exhibits three stuffed giant squid created by New York textile artist Cassandra Nguyen, coinciding with a show about real squid at the UW's Burke Museum. McLeod's show opens with a reception Friday, Dec. 7, 6-9 p.m. Also at the space are documentary photos of China by Sami Khoury.

Form/Space Atelier, 2407 First Ave., presents oil paintings by former stockbroker Shawn Foote, with an opening reception Friday, Dec. 14.

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Belltown-based F5 Networks, developers/vendors of computer networking software, was named the "best large company" to work for in the second annual "People's Picks Contest" conducted by the Seattle Times Co.'s NWJobs.com.

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How are Belltown condos selling, as the real-estate biz elsewhere contracts? According to Wendy Leung at SeattleCondoReview.com, "The Belltown/downtown area... is showing an increase in pending sales by 42.86 percent compared to a year ago, with more than half of the pending sales coming from new-construction condos. However, median closed prices in the Belltown/downtown area dipped by 19.66 percent, due to a higher number of lower-price-range condos sold last month compared to a year ago." However, Leung also notes that "only one two-bedroom condo less than $500,000 was sold in Belltown in September and another one in October." -CH