South Park, one of Seattle’s dwindling blue-collar pockets, is on the rise. Yet the scruffy, geographically isolated enclave has managed to transform itself without losing its soul to gentrification, causing outsiders — including other Seattleites — to take notice.

Situated on the western shore of the Duwamish River in a hard-to-reach corner of the city, South Park has turned its relative remoteness and affordability into an advantage, attracting creative entrepreneurs who otherwise might not be able to set up shop in one of the nation’s fastest growing cities. (Rents are cheaper here.)

A hip wine shop, a brewery and a handful of new restaurants and bars greet interlopers who cross the neighborhood’s main artery to mainland Seattle, the South Park Bridge.