Walk on Michigan Ave.

Ah, there are so many ways to get to the Wednesday volunteer job.  This week I took the train to Overlook and walked over I-5 using the Failing Street Overpass , then took a walk up (aka north on) Michigan Ave.  This part of town has a bunch of streets in a line, all named after US states that begin with the letter M.  In fact, when I-5 was in the planning stages, this section of the Interstate was known as the Minnesota Freeway, because that’s the street that the Interstate took over.  (Also, in looking for the name, I found this great picture of I-5 through N. Portland in 1964.)

Here’s a great picture of triplets.  The high vantage point is thanks to the Failing Street Overpass. Which has a review on Yelp.  Notice how in the one closest to us, the bay window is on the side closest to the alley, or the right-hand side of the building. 

Here they are again, from street level and you can see that in the middle and left-most houses, the bay window is on the other side.  It seems we have a flip-flop of floor plans. It would be interesting to walk through all three and see how they’ve changed on the interior over the years. 

Mid-February.  Magnolia bloom.  You know.  Because February.

Another set of triplets.

Only the middle one still has this detail.

And then I found these little friends. And took a lot of pictures.

Look at the recycled metal used on the siding!  And the reuse of bricks.

Maybe you need to look a little closer?  Done!

There’s a grand path to the backyard.

And even a porch swing.  Also, look at the tiling!

I was gushing about these houses to my coworker, who lives nearby and she said that one of the students at school lives next door to these two houses.  So I tracked down the dad and asked him about the houses.  He told me they are tiny, with a loft bed and a guy built both of them.  Further information on Portland Maps tells me the guy lives next door, the house you can see in the picture below, and the houses were built in 2008.  They are 362 square feet.  So cute!  Also, their real market value for the two of the is $294,570.

These dogs came a-yappin as I walked by.

The big orange sign of impending death.  Look for one or two larger houses to appear in the future.

It’s fairly overgrown.  

This was a fun find.  I initially was impressed with the amount of yard this house has. On this block it’s this house and one other and that’s it, which is very unusual for this neighborhood, as you saw with the other houses being so close together.

But as I walked by, I happened to glance back and see that the small house is much bigger than I thought.  So I investigated, which involved walking back around the block to the alley.

And look! There’s been a whole part of the house, even bigger than the original one, grafted on.  I’d like to see inside this house too!

This is the other house on the block, which boasts a yard of overgrown ivy.

It’s a grand Victorian, though. Although I would like it to have a more colorful paint job.

Here’s a set of twins, right by the Q Center. 

The one on the left is for rent.  Reading for-rent signs makes me quite happy we bought when we did.  We don’t pay anything near that amount and we have more square feet too. And our rent doesn’t keep going up.

I liked this duplex.  We don’t have a ton of them.  Most houses are single family.

This bush was very Sueussian in its look and deliciously smelly too.

A fine specimen of symmetry.

It’s  not unusual to find apartment complexes centered around a courtyard in Portland, but it’s very unusual to find Mission-style ones.

0 thoughts on “Walk on Michigan Ave.”

  1. It’s really appalling to me how expensive Portland has gotten! I’m sure it’s appalling for the people who live there too. That $1300, 600 square foot apartment? We don’t pay much more than that for our place here, which is larger, and we don’t have to pay water or sewer, and our place is rent controlled, so they can’t raise it more than $15 a month each year (in fact, we’re over a year here now and they haven’t raised it at all). Oh boy. Even if I wanted to move back there, I don’t think I could afford it. Or we’d have to move back into Dan’s house in BG.

    I digress.

    Really loved those tiny houses. Don’t think I’d live in one, but they’re adorable. Also love those cute little yappy dogs. And the Seussian bush. Nice walk!

  2. Wonderful! I love these matching twins and triplet houses. Ah Magnolias. I will miss them. Haven’t seen any here. I do think that there will be more lilacs. This makes me gleeful as I adore them. But to lose Crepe Myrtles. So sad. Hmmm… We don’t have spring yet, so I don’t know yet.

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