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Post by fumobici on Nov 27, 2010 19:51:45 GMT
I was in Portland yesterday and had a few hours so decided to take a stroll taking a few photos. I should preface this by saying that my family on my mother's side goes way back in PDX (Portland), the family ran a string of salmon canneries stretching from N California to Bristol Bay Alaska and my mother was born in PDX. Her mother did fashion art for the local newspaper, based in Paris to show the frontierswomen of the PNW what was being worn there. OK, enough about me, let's begin in a downtown park: Pretty fallen Ginko leaves etc., Some kinda hokey frontier type bronzes, Plant still blooming in the cold, Odd naturalistic sculpture and a maple leaf among Ginko leaves, Weird installation outside of Nordstom's, Some Old Town architecture, Next stop, street food aka Roach Coach Row.
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Post by fumobici on Nov 27, 2010 19:55:32 GMT
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Post by fumobici on Nov 27, 2010 20:01:15 GMT
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Post by fumobici on Nov 27, 2010 20:03:33 GMT
If only this tattered shred of feather boa in the sidewalk could talk...
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Post by fumobici on Nov 27, 2010 20:10:40 GMT
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Post by fumobici on Nov 27, 2010 20:13:11 GMT
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Post by fumobici on Nov 27, 2010 20:18:55 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 27, 2010 20:35:47 GMT
If your goal is to make us want to go and visit Portland immediately, you have achieved it with panache.
The food looks great, the pioneer family looks like they should have had their own TV series in the 1960's, and I confess that I have a few doubts about local bricklaying skills, but everything is fascinating.
We need more photo posts from the United States in any case. When you see the origin of the visitors in the flag section, it is really a shame not to see more of the country.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 28, 2010 3:56:07 GMT
Well ~~ SOMEONE just raised the bar on excellence for anyport photo spreads several notches!
Cannot tell you how much I enjoyed that tour, Fumobici. As a matter of fact, I went through it three times before I even replied. It's an absolutely beautiful area and you captured it beautifully.
At the beginning you have a picture with the caption, "Plant still blooming in the cold". Also , people are dressed for cool weather. Does it get very cold there? I don't know why I thought it had some warm microclimate. No?
It's so damp and greeeeen ~~ *sigh*
Oh yeah -- why "PDX"?
Wonderful tribute to Portland, Fumobici -- thank you!
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Post by bjd on Nov 28, 2010 7:20:15 GMT
Bixa -- I think PDX is just airline code. Smaller/less important places got weird codes. Toronto is YYZ.
That apart -- thanks, Fumobici. This is great. I had no idea of what to expect of Portland. I like the "Keep Portland Weird" sign. Some nice Art Nouveau architectural details!
I guess you get cold, damp weather in winter rather than cold and dry.
I get the impression that lots of places are a bit rundown and closed. Is that because of what you chose to photograph, or is that indeed what is happening with the city?
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Post by lola on Nov 28, 2010 14:03:29 GMT
Wonderful spread, fumo. Really does capture beauty, quirkiness, character, prosperity, funkiness. Fun Paris-Portland connection with the photos and your grandmother.
I like that babe eternally taking tickets at the adult movie house, casting beckoning glances. The bronze family's certainly hokey, but I don't think the stag is.
I'm driving my daughter home from Tacoma in the spring, so we'll have to devote a day to Portland on the way.
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Post by mich64 on Nov 28, 2010 16:11:43 GMT
I too enjoyed this photo essay. Particularly enjoyed the architecture, the detail of the buildings trim and cornices. Indeed, looks like a wonderful place to visit.
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Post by fumobici on Nov 28, 2010 16:57:09 GMT
Thanks. In order: The Winter climate in Portland is relatively mild but very damp, but being situated West of the Columbia river gorge linking the coastal marine climate with the drier and much colder inland is subject to periodic outflows of that cold air from East of the Cascade mountain range which divides the region into wet, mild Winter coastal and the much colder inland desert zones. Snow is thus infrequent but at times Portland can be subject to pretty fierce (and icy) Winter cold snaps.
As bjd said, PDX is the airport code for Portland but has become common local argot.
Portland is a relatively prosperous city, but I find the less prosperous Old Town area far more interesting and photogenic than the glitzier downtown proper with its high rises and posh stores and restaurants. I frequently find upscale areas bland, generic, unimaginative and boringly predictable in much the same way that I find suburbia similarly insipid and uninspiring. Old Town is gritty and raw, with homeless shelters and strip bars but also with interesting galleries, ethnic restaurants and shops.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 28, 2010 18:37:58 GMT
Fumobici, what's the story on the two paintings, please? I'm referring to the pics in #6 that appear to be giant, excellent comic book panels. They're wonderful.
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Post by Jazz on Nov 28, 2010 21:11:27 GMT
What a beautiful portrait of Portland! And, now I do want to go. Your photos are excellent…the golden ginkos, the Old Town Café plaque, the elephant bronze, all of them, really. I wonder where the’ Yes and No’ door leads to? Thanks, Fumobici. Portland is a relatively prosperous city, but I find the less prosperous Old Town area far more interesting and photogenic than the glitzier downtown proper with its high rises and posh stores and restaurants. I frequently find upscale areas bland, generic, unimaginative and boringly predictable in much the same way that I find suburbia similarly insipid and uninspiring. Old Town is gritty and raw, with homeless shelters and strip bars but also with interesting galleries, ethnic restaurants and shops. Many of our cities are like this. When I travel (or at home), I tend to spend my time in the Old Town, ethnic enclaves and at the port. Your grandmother seems to have had a very intriguing job, especially at that time. Did they ever actually send her to Paris for research?
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Post by fumobici on Nov 29, 2010 4:54:16 GMT
Thanks. The "Yes and No" were beside the door to a pretty dodgy seeming bar. As I rather like dodgy bars I would have gone in but was short of time. My grandmother did all her work in Paris, she mailed her drawings which she made at fashion shows, parties and fashionable restaurants and clubs back to Portland.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2010 13:52:35 GMT
Great photos, fumobici. You give us a real feel of the place. I've been to Portland a few times, driving through, when I lived back in British Columbia, but never stopped to see it properly.
Would you say that it's a town that's big on the Arts and Crafts?
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Post by bjd on Nov 29, 2010 13:53:22 GMT
In today's paper there was an article about a foiled bombing at the Christmas tree lighting in Portland this weekend. The guy said he chose Portland because it was a city where nobody expected anything to happen.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2010 18:38:28 GMT
I just went through all of the photos again and they get better every time.
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Post by hwinpp on Nov 30, 2010 3:27:26 GMT
Yeah, good one, Fumo. Didn't realize even a relatively small place like Portland has what looks like a real Chinatown.
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Post by cristina on Nov 30, 2010 4:42:41 GMT
This is just wonderful. I've been to Portland a few times and always leave wishing I lived there. I always get the feeling that Portland is a miniature San Francisco...in a good way. Your photos are really a wonderful testament to the uniqueness of the city. The city needs to hire you for their Tourism board! p.s. Love Al-Amir below the Bishop's House!
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