Etan Patz vanished more than 35 years ago in a completely different SoHo neighborhood than we see now. NY1's Michael Herzenberg filed the following report.

Today, SoHo overflows with affluence, with well-heeled shoppers, boutiques and pricey apartments. 

But it was not always like this. The trial of the man accused of murdering Etan Patz in 1979 has opened a window into the past. 

One witness recalled the neighborhood as gritty. Another, funky. 

The Patzes were among the urban pioneers transforming warehouses and factories into art studios and loft homes.

Etan's mom, Julie Patz, testified that the few families here had no choice but to look out for one another.

"It was rough living here because the heating systems were bad in the buildings and we had to sleep in sleeping bags, and we cooked our meals on hot plates on the floor," said Marie Dormuth, a SoHo resident.

Dormouth moved into SoHo in 1977, Susan Meisel did in '74.

"This was the MJ Ironworks, and next door was a coal company," Meisel said. "They used to shovel the coal down into the basement."

"At night, the streets were dark," Dormouth said.

Much of the area was industrial, with only a few stores.

A jewelry store on the corner of West Broadway and Prince Street was the bodega many in the neighborhood considered a safe haven. It's where Etan Patz was headed.

Detective Bill Butler, now deceased, spoke back then with the bodega cashier.

    Butler: Anybody talking? Anybody saying anything?

    Cashier: Nothing.

    Butler: OK, thanks a lot. Keep your ears open.

Etan's disappearance smashed families' sense of safety across the country, and certainly, for the few parents in SoHo.

The investigators that flooded these streets soon left.

In the late '80s, retail stores moved in, apartment values soared and SoHo became a glamorous destination.  

"That vibrant arts community is still here," Dormouth said. "Many of the original residents are still living and working here."

Among them, the Patz family. They still have their loft. Their hope was that Etan was alive and that he would come home.