Four years, after becoming the “Upper Tacoma Business District,” Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood finally reclaimed its name.
Back in 2007, the area was struggling with drugs and gang violence, and business owners felt re-branding the neighborhood would do away with what they saw as a tarnished reputation.
But to many locals, the name Hilltop was a point of pride. The decision to rename the neighborhood was eventually reversed in 2011.
Some now reference the increased number of families in the area and a decreased presence of drugs. The neighborhood is safer, they say.
Student reporting intern Austin Hilliger spoke with community members in Hilltop.
This story originally aired on June 6, 2015
