Telliskivi’s "Right Side" Story

Back in the olden days, the railroad used to split every town into two. The "right side" of
the railroad tracks, and the "wrong side." Telliskivi used to be on the wrong side. How
did it manage to change sides?

Imagine walking through a "Steampunk Tallinn Tallinn, the largest city and capital of Estonia (population 440 000). " of the late 19th century – a mediaeval old
town as sedentary as a cemetery. As soon as you pass the Nunne gate, however, you'd
notice the industrial boom happening on the northern outskirts, around the Kalamaja
district.

Take note of the steam-powered ironclad flagship. It's the brand new railway station of
it's time. For your 19th century eyes, this is as modern and innovative as an office
a building filled with promising startups would look in today's age. As soon as you walk
past the railroad complex, you'll find a cow-filled meadow, in place of Pelgulinn.

In the next 50 years, dieselpunk will replace steampunk, and the first railroad workshops
will expand to become full-scale production facilities. Even revolutionary comrade
Mihhail Kalinin, who would later become “head of state” in Stalin's Russia, will find work
and a wife here in the early 20th century. After World War II, the factory complex will be
re-fitted for producing high-tech electronics, even for the Soviet space program. Is that
cool or what?

Now fast forward about nearly 100 years into the future to late-20th-century Tallinn Tallinn, the largest city and capital of Estonia (population 440 000). , and
imagine yourself walking through the Nunne gate and past the railway station again.

The steampunk and dieselpunk glory has faded into oblivion, almost as if it had never
been there in the first place. Now, there are only junkies, winos, pimps, and whores
hanging around: “Hey, boss! Can I borrow a cigarette? Got any change?”

You can feel shivers down your spine as you walk through the chaotic flea market
occupying part of the former railroad workshops. Instead of pastoral fields, there is the
decaying Pelgulinn, a wooden slum from the early 20th century. This time, if an
the individual looks like a hipster around here, it is due to poverty, not fashion. Ah, yes, it is
the wrong side of the railroad tracks indeed...

Oh, and you can’t walk into the now buzzing Telliskivi! Despite being half abandoned
and waiting for the inevitable wrecking ball, it’s guarded by grumpy elder men who have
authority to decide who can and cannot enter. (You’d better be nice to them!) Even still,
they won’t let you in. It's private property, and you are a stranger after all, aren’t you?

At the end of the day, that wrecking ball never showed up. Instead, in the early 2000s,
the first hippies snuck in. From their viewpoint, Telliskivi was on the right side of the
railroad tracks! Of course, it was the landlord's conscious plan to lure them in with
cheap rent for studios. These hipsters didn’t mind the decay. On the contrary... they
found it inspirational!

Now, you would be able to pass the grumpy gatekeepers without any explanation, and
sneak through the barely-illuminated territory toward some distant noises around the
corners. You would see some folks smoking by some door, and smell the sweet leaf...
You knew that you were there!

Hippies, punks, garage rockers, metal heads, skaters, indie kids, and nu-ravers alike
turned the tide for Telliskivi, pushed the wrong side of the railroad tracks further north,
and got slowly kicked out one by one as more established creatives and institutions
started moving in by the 2010s.

Here you are, in the middle of the well-illuminated square between a live music bar,
Asian restaurant, food truck, and an office building with a culture club upstairs...
wondering just how this magical place came to be true. Well, you can blame the railroad
tracks.