walks – Page 11 – Out & About

Oh my god, it’s 1992!

I snapped a picture of this couple on my way to the #20 bus stop. I walked through high school in ankle-length skirts such as the one above. And I loved it when boys wore long johns under their shirts/shorts.

Two things found on the way to/from acupuncture.

I appreciate whatever designer came up with the repeating motif for this restaurant.

This is the still-ugly lot where the house was torn down last year. Someone has prettied the chain link fence up with some spring blooms and greenery. I’m guessing this was done by the homeless people who frequent the stoop. Thank you homeless people!

A Walk to St. Johns Cinema & Pub

Edgefield on Sunday, Kennedy School on Monday, St. Johns Pub on Tuesday. It’s a McMenamin’s week. The walk from my house to St. Johns takes about as long as the walk to Kennedy School, but it feels much longer. For whatever reason, that road has at least two spots where I always think, “Why am I not there yet?”. This happens via foot, bike or car. On the bus, I’m always reading so I don’t tend to notice specific points of “long”. It’s just a long bus ride.

I started my walk at Cup & Saucer Cafe (because there was still not any food in the house). An excellent tuna melt was consumed, as were two cups of green tea. Not long into my walk, Mr. Schofield stopped to have his picture taken.

On the site where these two large houses now live, there used to be a tiny stucco house with an out-of-control Kiwi vine in the yard. RIP another small-house-big-yard.

Super awesome light/address block.

I’m curious about this garage. The double French doors are an interesting combination.

Exciting times in the Don Lee family. I’m guessing baby Ben is probably a grandchild, given the age of the sign.

So much of Lombard is still full of old-school businesses. Here is Western Meats, which always has the best painted windows. None of the new school places would have painted windows, but I love them! However, I notice the building is for sale. so perhaps Western Meats isn’t there any more. [Pause for googling] Well, I found a web site, so perhaps they are still around.

This dilapidated garage is one part of the lot that includes a grand house that has fallen into overgrowth and despair.

Driving, or riding on the bus, I’ve always wondered why this lot hasn’t been developed. Walking by I noticed the church (left side) guessed that the house next door is the parsonage and figured out that the church probably owns the lot. They keep the grass in very nice shape, I must say.

Here’s the iconic Fabric World, whose merchandise had not turned over since 1972. It was like going back in time to the fabric stores of my childhood. The Yelp reviews say that the store was owned by an old woman who just kept it going, despite lack of sales/customers. She has now died, and the contents have been liquidated.

Another landmark on the road to St. Johns. This gas station sign, which always has pubic appreciations/recognitions.

Eagles Aerie which features Blue Collar wrestling. St. Johns enjoys it’s blue collar status. So much so that it’s made some interesting development choices. Stay tuned.

We’re in transition on Lombard too. You could buy this car wash lot.

I’ve always appreciated the continuation of the -N- in this sign. Although I might have suggested the ampersand, were I the sign maker.

Check out Gary N John’s hours. I so rarely see opening times on the half hour. And a random Thursday closure.

I love the dramatic names of these 70s era infill apartment complexes.

Today it’s a real-estate office, but back in the day I know that many of our regular readers can identify what chain establishment this building used to house. Some of us may have even worked for said chain establishment.

I like this stripped-down lock place. It’ a landmark on the route. I thought it had disappeared, but it turned out I just wasn’t as far along as I thought I was.

I’ve heard-tell that this is where a New Seasons will be built.

I’ve always liked the cheerful paint job for this U-Haul place.

Crossing the bridge over the railroad tracks. Such a pretty bridge. Also, yet another point where I think, “Am I not there yet?”

The bridge also affords a very nice view.

Great poetry in motion outside the other Fred Meyer on Lombard.

Kruger’s farm stand, featuring not only delicious fruits and vegetables but also food carts. Kruger started his farm stand when the weddings and concerts he had been hosting on his Sauvie Island farm were deemed in violation of the land-use laws. (Also, am I not there yet?)

Interesting tiny house infill.

The other Videorama/West Coast Fitness on Lombard.

There are a lot of small churches along Lombard. This is the Portland Samoan Church.

City Farm! New-school business.

The next three buildings/businesses have been built since I moved to North Portland in 2007. They all fit the blue collar aesthetic of St. Johns.

Aside from Lady Secrets Fashion Clothing (my favorite store name on Lombard) this store also has really great window displays.

This is the point where I’m finally getting close to my destination. It’s also a main focal point as you drive out of downtown St. Johns toward Portland. It has a shack on it.

This is a main focal point on the way into St. Johns. A 7-11 was built there.

“They had a huge parcel of land in a prime location that could really make St. Johns beautiful. And what do they build there? A huge self-storage facility!” A longtime St. Johns resident bemoaned to me. I have to agree. There was a car dealership that closed up shop. During construction I thought it might be something great, but it soon had the looks of every other self-storage facility in the nation. There’s still hope for the building in the front of the picture, but it’s a quite tiny hope.

My destination is in sight! I love seeing movies at this theater because the building was part of the Lewis & Clark Exhibition in 1903. It was floated down the river and served a variety of functions before becoming a McMenamins. However, I’m early for my movie, so I continue on.

Another interesting looking church.

And look! The North Portland Library. I’ve never been, but I aim to change that.

The North Portland Library was tiny and cute and has a wealth of reference material about St. Johns and Portland. I enjoyed poking about.

A Walk to Kennedy School

The movie playing at Edgefield was the truly horrible Jupiter Ascending, which I did not want to subject myself to a second time. So soon after I returned from my visit, I set out for another McMenamins property: Kennedy School. Because the previous week my sum total exercise minutes were equal to 20 (my imaginary fitbit was not pleased) I walked there. Which means you get to see what’s going on in N/NE Portland.

I’m quite interested in this fence. Is there more to come? How did they decide on such a haphazard arrangement?

Good use for an old head/foot board, but I can’t help imagining how all the varnish will peel after a few years of exposure to the weather.

I like this porte-cochere added to this bungalow. I can tell it was added because the brick is different. Someone got tired of unloading the groceries in the rain.

Can you believe it? Lilacs are starting to bloom!

Well hello huge row house structure behind Walgreens that appeared seemingly overnight. I’m sure people who can afford to live in your “starts at $409,000” price will enjoy living here.

And right next to the brand new row house structure? This little friend. Who might not be long for this world.

I do appreciate how these new four-square-type new houses fit right in with the grand houses along this Boulevard.

Here you can see an original inhabitant of this street.

Bees were buzzing madly around this not-standard hive.

Should you have a spare $525,000, this stylish home is waiting for you. It has a gorgeously landscaped lawn.

This has more bedrooms, but a less attractive yard.

Turning the corner onto 33rd, you can see that this house isn’t interested in blending. Hello dark wavy metal siding.

Good poetry via post.

This is the poetry post I encounter on the way to Laurie and Burt’s house. This is a particularly fine poem, perfect for the weather we’ve been having. I like the illustration they’ve included too. To read the full text without squinting go here.

Long walk to librarian book group.

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.

A walk up the alleyway.

The Missouri/Michigan alleyway to be exact. Let’s see what we find.

Some alleys are paved, but many are not. However, unlike the ones in my neighborhood, this one is well traveled and not overgrown at all.

I love how illicit alleys feel, the ability to look right into people’s back yards.

Nice use of “urbanite” and old shovels in this wall. This yellow house is where the owner of the tiny houses (featured a few weeks ago) lives.

A rather ominous doll. Is it a message to alley interlopers such as myself?

I liked the bark pattern on this tree.

A very nice back fence.

I found it interesting how a new house was grafted onto the old house. From the street front, it’s probably not at all visible. But in the alley we can see the secrets.

More good bark.

This is the back side of the house up for demolition that I featured a few weeks ago.

An abrupt ending to the alley and a good view of how the freeway, aside from cutting out Minnesota Ave., also took a bite now and then out of some other streets.

I was amused by the tulips being planted in the planter box with vegetable-like spacing.

Pretty house for sale.

It seems to have very nice looking original glasswork.

This is the Patton Home, which was originally a retirement home, but now is run by Ecumenical Ministries and offers SRO housing to drug-free low income population.

I wondered what this was and the internet told me. It’s an Urban Farm and Guesthouse.

I spy in this window some starts.

Which will no doubt be planted on one of the many beds that surround the house.

I really like the look of this back/side yard.

Here’s the plaque for the Emmanuel Temple, organized in 1965.

And here is the building itself, which we can see is not taken up by the Emmanuel Temple any longer.

But fear not! Across the street from the old church is the new Emmanuel Church.

The stickers on this car had me wondering just what “low mileage” on a 1974 car would look like.

I liked the look of these two houses. They are unique. Very skinny–kind of like the infill skinny houses. Portland Maps tells me that this home is owned by William and Mary Gump and that the house was built in 1906, is 1,875 square feet and the real market value is $218,500.

The second of the two, and a better view of their shape. This one is owned by Donna Gump and was also built in 1906. Same square footage, but worth $2,000 more. Probably because it’s not on a street corner.

Ever wanted to rent out your own bar for the evening? This is your place.

Walk on Michigan Ave.

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.

January walk up Williams

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.

Walk up Vancouver Ave.

My Wednesday swim has been usurped by freezing cold shower water. The swimming water is a good temperature, but the shower before and after is more “alpine lake” than I would want. So I’m putting off swimming until warmer weather arrives. In the meantime, I’m taking long walks before my Wednesday volunteer stint. Here’s my walk up (a.k.a. north on) Vancouver Ave.

Before we even get to Vancouver, here is a building on Russell St.

I love it because it has bits from all different decades.

Possibly original doors, but the plywood covering are much more recent. Then there’s the wood that trims the bottom. Most likely not original.

Looking above the front door, we’ve got wavy sheet metal, original ceiling and a busted out light. I also really love the way peeling paint looks.

Original roof detail, asphalt shingles and more plywood.

Really great side detail with original siding peeking through asphalt shingles.

Also, this building is much larger than it looks from the street. And it’s not abandoned. On the other side is a garage door (which completely doesn’t fit) so I think this building is used for storage.

The Vancouver/Williams Corridor has exploded in the last few years. When I first moved here there were many empty lots and even empty blocks thanks to really bad urban development in the mid-20th Century. Supposedly Legacy Emmanuel Hospital was going to hugely expand, so they moved out the largely black business owners and tenants, razed the buildings and then didn’t do anything. Things are being done now, decades later. But it’s not the hospital that is doing things.

Vancouver Ave is the street that runs one way south (towards downtown). Williams is the street that runs one way north. I used to get them confused until someone told me that she always found it odd that Vancouver’s traffic pattern took cars in the direction away from the city of Vancouver.

I was happy to see this bank of houses somehow managed to escape the devastation. Perhaps because they front the lovely Dawson Park.

Just one block north of those houses this is what it looks like. And that is the Vancouver today. Houses that still survive, empty lots that are being gobbled up and the building of high rises like crazy.