Category Archives: Portland

Messages From The Underground

The streets of Portland are still full of anonymous messages although I can not help but notice that graffiti is making a transformation. In some ways this change mimics rock and roll’s move from underground to mainstream in the 80s and 90s. Medium sized gang tagging, crude graffiti and whacked out counterculture messages appear to be on the wane as more and more wall sized murals begin to dominate the landscape. These gigantic, amazingly produced, pieces of art appear to be commercial calling cards that help businesses stand out from the landscape and visually separate themselves from the surrounding buildings.

The Rise of the Sticker

The counterculture appears to have become more automated, opting for huge numbers of preprinted minuscule wackiness that has firmly harkened in the age of the sticker. Think of it a little like Punk Music; rude, disorganized, snarky, messy, small and, yet, still loud. Clever miniature tags, notices, art and bits of wacky wisdom festoon most every pole or metal railing in town. They seem to encompass artistic expressions, clever ads, nasty pronouncements, silly doodles or simply the rantings of lunatics.

Invisible Things

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The Hippie/Artist/Cartoonist/Illustrator/Social Commentator R. Crumb keeps an extensive library of source material containing hundreds of photographs of telephone poles, overhead wires and electrical transformers. These things are part of systems working in the background of our lives, transporting unseen energy and silent communications to and fro. Because of that background role these forces don’t seem to impact our daily lives in any immediate way, so we simple dismiss or remove them from our consciousness and over time they become invisible. Crumb accurately concluded that including the things, which most people visually edit from their reality, added authenticity and believability to his drawings.

Of all the things that we have chosen to unconsciously ignore in the urban environment there are none more loyal or steadfast than the legions of fire fighting minions that wait patiently on every street corner.

They are woefully ignored and I would go as far as to suggest that, even though we are literally surrounded by these conscientious little lifesavers, most people would be hard-pressed to even tell you what colors they are painted or if they come in more then one style.

Are they offended? No, they quietly hide in plain sight, ever ready, just longing to remove their cloak of invisibility and be called into action.

Spigots

Let’s not forget the lowly spigot. The downtown buildings are riddled with every manner of faucet, fitting, pipe, coupling and drain you can imagine. These things, having none of the cartoonish charm of their fire hydrant buddies, are truly invisible.

Nonetheless, I’m certain that their hidden role in the urban landscape is critical, probably.

The Portland Journal _ F8

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NW Neighborhood Stuff

The Northwest District is a hugely eclectic area full of distinct neighborhoods, the Alphabet District, the Pearl, Slabtown, Nob Hill, King Heights, Chinatown and probably a few more. It’s densely packed with Craftsmans, Colonials, hillside mansions, small, medium and large apartment buildings, mid-century professional buildings, ultramodern office buildings and sleek new condominiums. The Portland Streetcar’s first line (the NS Line) terminates here, connecting the district with Downtown Portland, Hillsboro, SE Portland, PDX and the rest of the world.

This is where we are staying at 1223 NW 24th Ave, in a great one bedroom, a block from the street car and close to all kinds of cool stuff. Check it out on VRBO.

NW 24th Ave

24th Street Waiting For Rehab.

NW18

An Artist’s Backyard

NW13

Hillside Garage – NW Summit Ave.

This is the Bruce House. Really.

Garage2

NW17 NW14

GarageDoor2

NW Cumberland Ave.

The Alano Club

Doorway1

1332 NW 21st Ave,

This dive is not actually a cellar, and nobody seems to remember Joe.

NW Thurman St.

NW 24th Street & NW Northrup

NW7 NW9 NW8 NW10

Useless Fact #233: Several characters in Portland native Matt Groening’s television show The Simpsons have names based on the alphabetically named streets in the Northwest District: Ned Flanders, the bully Kearney, Reverend Lovejoy, Mayor Quimby, Milhouse Van Houten (actually in North Portland), and possibly C. Montgomery Burns[ide] (also named for the large neon Montgomery Park sign).

24th Ave & Northrup

Streetcar Dog

The Portland Journal _ F5.6

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Important Messages

Anyone who writes on a wall or puts up a sign is convinced that they are sending an important messages out into the world. Messages that will attract business, change our attitude, alert us to some unforeseen danger or just make us smile.

Journey

WetPaint

Panties

Reincarnation

EverythingMustGo

InternetBusinessCenter

Israeli

StreetMeat_15

Wall11

Vicky

Capax

BlazerWall

Wall4

Wall6

Wall9_15

MrPlywood

The Portland Journal _ F2.8

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Portland’s Public Stairways

I saw a OPB documentary on Laura Foster’s book “Portland Hill Walks” about the public stairways that were built in the 1920’s along the city’s hillsides to allow easier travel between neighborhoods. These were invaluable for kids going to school and people going work or shopping. I went exploring in the Northwest Hills from the western end of NW Northrup to the top of Kings Heights and back down to NW Overton. This is what I found.

Walkway6