Last week I walked up (aka north on) Vancouver, this week, Williams. Williams is the one-way north arterial. While Vancouver has more houses, Williams has more businesses. I suspect it was the main drag back before poorly planned urban renewal destroyed the neighborhood.
But before we get to Williams, let us pause and mourn these abandoned Christmas Trees. Poor things.
It’s around this time of year that dandelions start to look delicious to me. I wouldn’t mind harvesting some of these and frying them up with some bacon.
Here’s a really nice infill that fits well with the neighborhood. It’s a little older than what you are about to see.
I like the lines on this high-density housing of long ago. Four units, people! And even some yard.
There are still empty lots on Williams, but they are becoming extinct.
This is called Blue House Greenhouse Farm I hope someday to have such a pretty spread. And I see from their blog that they have work parties now and again. Perhaps I shall go and make my acquaintance.
The amount of things happening in this photo is crazy stimulating. New Seasons is in the distance. I read in the paper that they leased all of the retail space in the building being built. They have no plans for that retail space, but they needed all the parking spaces.
An indication of why one of the bars had a sign posted for a few months that said, “We are open during all this f*@ing chaos”
House being eaten by a building/boa constrictor. This house now houses businesses, including Betty Jean Couture which designs clothing for full-figured women.
This is a bar/restaurant I’m intrigued by, but I haven’t successfully visited because I can’t tell what their name is. Googling and guessing a few months ago led me to a different bar down the street. POA? DOA? Let’s see what results I can pull up. Ah. It seems to be Poa Cafe. And not a bar. Alas.
One of those rare empty/overgrown lots.
Old school business. Back in the day when they had a lot more added security.
The building’s occupant has a similarly old school sign on their door.
Going up! The empty lot on the left is the back half of the block with the building on Vancouver I took a picture of last week.
Old school Vancouver building. I’m guessing, from the graffiti on the front, that it’s unoccupied.
Notice how the taller building steps down to a more respectable house-sized level.
I’ve always though this was a good example of a “remuddling”
Old school houses, including one that has been converted into a church.
This building had a very nice refurbishing. It was pretty decrepit.
Uniform in their modernity. I wish I had taken a picture of the houses across the street, just for contrast.
Old school building with mural. Probably not long for this world. There was once another mural on the front that has pictures of edible weeds.
The building on the left was once a church. It was for sale for a long time. I wanted to buy it because I’ve always wanted to live in a converted church. You can’t see it in this picture, but I think they have a catio on the other side of the house. I can’t remember what the building on the right used to be, whether we are looking at a renovation, or new construction.
Twins! Fraternal, not identical.
Someone is going to make a pretty penny off of this lot. Hidden under the tarp are the items that are periodically for sale.
There was a time in my life when I rode my bike on Williams on a regular basis. I watched this lot transform from the side lot of a grand house into this row of three houses.
Here you can see the grand house.
Speaking of grand houses, this was initially a family residence, then a women’s hospital and maternity ward. After that it was the first African American funeral home in Portland and now the East Multnomah Soil and Water Council District owns it. Though EMSWCD interviewed me twice for a position and never called to tell me I didn’t get the job, all is forgiven because I love what they’ve done with this building.
This is a grand example of a well-kept house. I love the colors and the mystical creatures guarding the property.
On Killingsworth now, I noticed a detail on the Scanner Newspaper building.
Those aren’t awnings, they are solar panels!
So ended my walk.
