Category: Structures

Portland City Walks Irvington and Sullivan’s Gulch Loop

Time for a fun date! Once again Laura O. Foster provides a great walk for us..

It’s a house that John Povey, of Povey Brothers Glass Company fame lived in! Such a charming façade!

The book said Povey’s name could still be seen in the front steps. It took a bit of squinting, but Matt eventually found it and pointed it out to me. Can you see it? Look at the top step.

Portland has hosted its share of protests focused on racial injustice, police brutality and the killing of George Floyd and others. The Irvington Neighborhood was awash in signs included this Burma-Shave-type message:

Last sign says: Our Minds

We spotted this fella in some side yard bamboo.

Aside from signs, Irvington is awash in Little Free Libraries. I found a big win in this one. Look at all these postcards!

And everyone can use a neighborhood cat review.

Or two.

Cambia Todo Cambia translates as Everything Changes (or maybe Changes, Everything Changes?) You can see a delightful performance here and read the translated lyrics here.

I can tell that the Crystal Garden Apartments were built when Apartments were faaaaaaancy. Guess how!

It’s that plaque telling “tradesmen” to go around to the side.

I found a great site that has a list of apartment houses, including the Crystal Garden Apartments. The same site also has two images of my beloved Rose-Friend Apartment, now torn down, but forever in my heart as my first Portland home. Actually, I’ve now just spent 15 minutes clicking around the site which includes an interactive map with current and destroyed Apartment Houses. There were apparently three other apartment houses in the next block over from my beloved Rose-Friends Apartments. This is a fabulous site and you should check it out. The Apartment House in Portland.

I wonder if the cat at 1538 and the dog at 1530 are aware of each other’s presence.

This gorgeous house has unique window covers on the second story.

Names of Black people killed by police.

I also thought these signs were beautiful despite the sadness that comes with them having to be made in the first place.

This was a great walk! Thanks Portland City Walks!

Signs of Support on Watts Street

This section of Watts Street has been featured before on this blog. It’s the street of cascading house renovations. I’m not sure if the residents of this street coordinated their sign creation efforts, or if they fed off of each other. But either way, most houses on this streets have put up signs of support for essential workers. Let’s take a tour!

I’ve always liked this house, both the shape and the color. I like how the “thank you” has a slant like their roofline does.

I like this sign with printed coloring sheets. The house is cute too. They always have nice lights up in December.

I appreciate how many groups are included in this sign.

This also has a similar amount of people, and I like the “no COVID 19” symbol. Plus the general “all those helping”

This is a great use of markers and polka dots.

There were more, but my camera battery died. Alas.

Nearly Able to Walk on the Sidewalk at NW 10th & Davis

It’s been a very long haul, as I posted about this corner back before the building was torn down, but the sidewalk is very nearly open! It looks like they were doing the demo in June of 2017, which means it has been nearly three years since this street and sidewalk have been navigable for anything other than construction workers.

Reporting from seven months in the future, I can say that I’ve still not walked on that sidewalk. A few days after I took this picture, we were told to work from home and two days after that we were told our positions would be eliminated as of March 31.

Having no office to go to any longer, this corner is not on my daily route. I’m pretty sure the sidewalk is open now, but who knows?

Westwind Apartment Building

Grabbing these pictures now, because the Westwind Apartments are going down.

I love the blue accents against the stucco, dingy though they both may be.

I think lighter color buildings work well in Portland, and I find them especially cheering in the winter.

There must be a photo of the original entrence, which was probably much grander than the current incarnation.

What will be put on the site of the Westwind? Here’s what my favorite site Next Portland says:

Construction of a new, 7-story, mixed-use building on a quarter block site. Project includes 100 deeply affordable units of permanently supporting housing, including 72 transient housing units (SROs) with PHB funding, and 28 studio apartments. It will also contain ground and second floor CCC Office space and community functions. There will be a small retail space at the northwest corner. 

Next Portland

So that’s, exciting, that the building torn down will house the same population it has been serving. This is funded by the housing bond we passed in 2016.

When I was looking for the name of the building, I found reviews on Google Maps. I thought I would drop them in here for posterity. The average rating for the Westwind Apartments is two stars. There are three reviews.

Spent 5 plus years at the Westwind. Interesting place, not for the faint of heart. A wide cross section of the down and out along former & soon to be street people again. Medical emergencies and police & parole officers frequently visit. Close to train, bus, local bus, metro light rail, with easy access to the metropolitan Portland area and the Ptl. Airport. Willamette River a few blocks away with its river side parks and walks along both sides of the river. Free food and services for those in need abound if one looks and asks question of the local residents. Many medical services nearby plus the VA Hospital and its services. China town nearby, much reduced from its former glory. Multiple temporary shelters in the area along with services such as food, shelter, training, referrals,. Downtown Portland core six or so blocks to the north, bus, light rail handy. Basic room, bed, sink, refrig, chair & desk plus overhead light. Common bathrooms. No elevator, three levels access via stairs. Parking on street, limited, very limited. Local parking lots with rentals spaces abound but a bit of walking necessary; Bring your own fan or air conditioner, radiator heating in the winter. Bring your own cell phone or use the lobby payphone. Local residents have cats and dogs, BUT! ask Management for permission !!! Rating ???. Well it was interesting, Be ready to wait for an open bathroom. Raymond J. Metzger, aka Doc. former apt #37

Raymond Metzger, posted c. 2013, three stars.

this place is overrun by cockroaches bedbugs Bratz junkies slumlords but slapstick maintenance workers highly overpriced and 555 months small room trashed dirty self centered on site management smack also shares the same corner as the worst gang bug hoodrat hugens so there crack on in the middle of Chinatown

jeremy Wolverton, posted c. 2016, one star.

It’s better than being on the streets, old building, bad location, has a life of its own.

Cecil, posted c. 2018, three stars.