I realized that though I had featured the buildings on one side of the block, I hadn’t taken a proper picture of the other part of the block that will go away.
On the right we have the EUROCAR building. It’s a nice looking one with some good windows. It’s been empty for a very long time.
On the left is the Jimmy Mak’s building with the sign saying “Jazz” still illuminated. The marquee says, “Thanks for 20 years. We love you Jimmy. Fuck Cancer”
Aww, man, this post bummed me out. I used to love all those old brick buildings downtown, whether they were vacant or not.
It’s true we are losing a lot of brick buildings downtown. One of those people who likes to make interactive maps should do one showing building composition.
Walking around Portland right now is an exercise in practicing detachment to structures. Sigh.
That building would make an awesome shop, office, coffee shop, donut shop. Something shop! It’s so fabulous! TOO BAD is hardly a strong enough statement. The exterior could be kept and the inside redesigned and built up (that’s a favorite DC trick. Tuck a modern building inside of an old facade!). PROGRESS!?!?!?!? Blech!
Buildings do get reused. As parking garages, and we also do the trick of extending behind the original exterior. But Portland has A LOT of unreinforced masonry buildings that are destined to just collapse into rubble when the big earthquake happens. I can’t be sure, but I’m guessing all of these buildings on the block are that type. None of these are particularly beautiful specimens, so I’m not terribly upset to see them go. I will be annoyed that I won’t be able to afford to live in whatever they are building, though.