Tag: houses

We begin along the waterfront where someone has graffitied this number into something that amuses me.

The cherry blossoms are in full bloom.  It’s not surprising, because it’s been so warm, but I realized the other day that the year we bought the house, we moved in on April 17 and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom that day.  So we are quite ahead of the curve.

The Peace Garden (plantings in the shape of a giant peace sign) needs a little work.

More building going on in the area between the Rose Quarter and the Lloyd Center.  This block has closed a Max station while many units are built.  I always thought that Max stop was a waste of time, because there was nothing there, but now I see there were plans all along.  I still think it’s too close to the Convention Center/Lloyd Center stops, but no one asked me.

This sign seems a bit ambitious. 

Looking back on what I think of as the “used to be only” condo place in this area.  I’m guessing there are more condos I’m not focused on, but this is the building that sticks in my mind because when I moved here in 2001 they had units for $84,000.

I plotted out my walk on Google Maps because I like to get a general idea of a route and then do with that what I will.  I was amused that the route had me cut through Lloyd Center.  It was the straightest path.

The “random” in this sign always amuses me.  Not just bicycle patrols, but random ones.  Don’t try to figure out their schedule.  Note:  I’ve never seen a single bicycle patrol at Lloyd Center.  Not that I go there very often.

I like the lines on this building.  It has those great upper windows, which are probably drafty, and that fabulous octagonal corner.

I take a turn onto the “fancy houses” street.  This B&B is a spectacular specimen.

It deserves a second photo.  What’s behind that window?

The worst example of 70s-era infill.  This is a 4-plex placed perpendicular to the street.  Matt lived in a place like this off of Stark Street.

You know how in some of the John Hughes movies from the 80s we would see a lot of fancy houses as we made our way through the neighborhood?  This house reminds me of those houses.  Also, there’s  woman in the driveway taking a package off her bike.  Right after I took the picture she opened the front door and walked in.  The front door wasn’t locked!

This is a pretty orange house.  Most of the houses on this street look like they have yard services.

The planting of bulbs in what once was a walkway to the street, struck me as rather unwelcoming.

I was interested in this edifice.  The address block makes me want to think this was once a main viewpoint for the house.  But the fence tells a different story.  Maybe the fence was installed by subsequent owners?

If you keep walking on the street, the houses eventually become more “laborer’s cottage” than “Lord of the Manor.”  But I’m willing to bet this house costs close to $300,000 if it went on the market today.

I was very interested in this flyer because 1) It’s totally old school.  Phone for more information? Enclose a SASE?  Also 2) It says the lessons take place in the Kenton Neighborhood Studio and we are nowhere near Kenton.  I live in Kenton and I’ve never seen this flyer.

I should have taken the picture from the other angle, but this house is completely jacked up and receiving a new underneath.

I love how “edifice”al this house looks.  It seems like it could be a mini-diplomats house.

Fancy Tudor-style house.

With a 70s Lounge Lizard living room.

I needed some bean and pea inoculate and was happy to realize I was in the direct path of Garden Fever.  Not only did I get my inoculate, I also saw some pretty blooms.

The “good bark” kick continues.

But this just isn’t any bark, this is Portland Heritage Tree Bark.

Big old infill. 2909 NE Fremont St. I just looked it up on Zillow.  It’s a foreclosure, built in 2010. 3 bedrooms 3 bathrooms 2800 square feet.  $649,900.  Cheaper than I thought.

Here’s the house next door.  I wonder if they were sad when the new house blocked their evening sun?

And here we are at Wilshire Park.  I was early for my book group, so I sat and played around with my phone.  Both softball and t-ball practice was happening.

Classic view in a Portland park.  Picnic table sprouting green from the rain, tall trees keeping the grass from growing.

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.