Tag: Portland

Where the building exploded

A little past 9:30am on October 19, I heard a noise, which was loud enough to rattle the windows at work and cause some computer thing to beep as it reset itself.  It happened a second time and then there were many sirens.

My co-worker, always quick to find answers, found the news on the Fire Department’s twitter feed.  There had been a gas explosion in Northwest Portland.  Firefighters were on the scene and reporters were told where they should go for updates, and the best route to get there.

Though there were injuries, amazingly no one was killed.  You can see pictures and video by going here.

A week an a half later, we drove through the intersection, on the way to my Birthday dinner.  This the corner with the building that exploded, as well as the apartments next door.  

The plate glass blew out of the building across the street.

No longer a KFC. Parking space not included.

When I moved to Kenton in 2007, this lot at the corner of N. Lombard and N. Fenwick was a KFC with a drive-through and a parking lot.  The KFC closed a few years later.  The building was taken down and the lot has been empty for some time.  I recall a fluttering of plans for something, but those did not come to pass.  But now we have what looks like a six-unit complex that has been built on the lot.  And it looks like there will be another six-unit complex arriving soon.  This is located a block away from the Lombard Transit center, so hopefully many people without cars will rent these places.  However, if they do have a car, they will be parking the neighborhood.  It’s past time for the Portland City Council to start figuring out  a parking system for the city.  Big, compact cities have parking enforcement throughout.

Interestingly, the Google Map of the corner has not erased the presence of the KFC, or the parking lot.  While I don’t think it should instantaneously show a new building, the building it is showing hasn’t existed for years.

This building at NW 10th & Davis is soon to go away.

This is the corner of 10th and Davis, soon to be another tall building.  Kush Handmade Rugs has the corner.  They are moving to a new location.  The storefront on Davis was a print shop that has moved. Aztech Sign and Graphics is on 10th.  I’m not sure what will happen to them. Next in line is Jimmy Mak’s, Portland’s Legendary Jazz Club.  They were going to move across the street, but the owner’s cancer came back, so he decided to close at the end of the year.  Their final night will be New Year’s Eve.  (Note from the future:  Jimmy Makarounis died on New Year’s Day.)

PDX Green Loop

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I took this picture because I hadn’t heard anything about the Portland Green Loop.  It seems that it is a proposed 6-mile linear park that “invites residents, workers, and visitors to experience Portland’s Central City in an entirely new way. It will create active new spaces in the Central City that are comfortable to all Portlanders, and will offer everyone an opportunity to determine how their city, districts, and neighborhoods can retain and further grow their distinct qualities.”

Hmmm.  There’s a map on the website.

Will this ever come to pass?

Spotted on an Oregon car

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I’m an Idaho girl by birth and coming of age.  But I think I’ve always been an Oregon girl at heart.

I’m also intrigued by this sticker thing.  Did she get it made?  It seems very specific.   Hmmm.  There seems to be a t-shirt.  And for those Oregon girls in Idaho there is this hoodie.  In fact there are a bevy of Idaho-themed choices.