Architecture

Old Laurelhurst Church, Portland, Ore.
Shot with a GoPro.
Shot with a GoPro.

Today, I was exploring a few areas around the Hollywood and Laurelhurst neighborhoods. Laurelhurst is one of Portland’s very tony, planned upscale communities that dates from the early 1900s. Portland is full of these high-end places, along with areas that are extremely low-income. One of the landmarks in this posh hood is the Old Laurelhurst Church. It is non-denominational and available for rent for events like weddings. Standing out front I would have thought I was back in sunny San Diego today, except it was below freezing. This town is just full of interesting churches.  (Click on each photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

A potpourri of Portland places of worship
Taken with a GoPro.
Taken with a GoPro.
Taken with a Nikon 300S.
Taken with a GoPro.

I took these photos in October and November 2014. I will eventually have photographed most of the unique houses of worship in Portland that I considered to be architecturally significant and uplifting to the eye, mind, and spirit. There is no particular order or deeper purpose. I really do like what the craftsman, architects, and builders did in this town in the 1900s. Nice work, everyone. (Click on each photograph to see larger pictures on separate picture pages.)

Two perspectives on two Portlands
The Pittock Mansion exemplifies the degree of wealth that still typifies the highest income earners who call the Portland area home. Today it is a museum and a popular tourist destination.
This homeless shelter, made from a tarp and many other makeshift materials, is one of dozens one sees along underpasses and in greenbelts in Portland.

I had thoughts of developing a blog devoted exclusively to the divisions I see in Portland, where the professional and monied class have lives as radically different from those at the bottom as did the nobility of France prior to the collapse of the Old Regime in the late 1700s–a topic I studied at great length back in college. I am stil not sure what the point would be. I mean this is so obvious to everyone who lives here, what would I say and show that is new. So with that on my mind, I share two of the most commonly observed images one has that define the Portland I see all the time.

These two homes are actually less than 1.5 miles apart, as the crow flies. The homeless shed is one of many one sees, everywhere under the freeways and in green zones and transportation corridors and downtown. The Pittock Mansion is the crown jewel of the postcard Portland the city likes to beam out to the world. From this former home-turned-museum, one has a grand view of Mt. Hood, the shipyards, and downtown Portland. It is a beautiful place. (Click on each photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

Temecula, Calif., a suburb in the desert

I visited Temecula in September and enjoyed myself. I could not imagine living here, but people love all that sun. It is a brutally hot place, and yet even amid the worst drought ever, lawns are green and everything looks like the Midwest, if you ignore the thermometer and the rock and scrub mountains that surround it. Probaby a few Beaver and Wally Cleavers live here. You cannot survive here or function without a car. Period.

St. Patrick Catholic Church, Portland
Taken with a GoPro.
Taken with a GoPro.
Taken in October 2014.

It is not a happy day given the elections that saw virtually unchecked amounts of unregulated and mostly corporate cash sway electoral outcomes in my country. So, I have decided to publish some peaceful pictures of a peaceful place, St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, in the now up-and-coming area north of Chinatown, practically underneath Interstate 405. I have seen this church for decades and was amazed it had not been torn down and converted to, oh, say a parking lot or bland building. Finally, I decided to pay a visit to the church two weeks ago. It looks like it barely clung to life as the interstate highway juggernaut ripped apart neighborhoods across the country, including in Portland–roads that i use daily, I might add. Dating from 1889, St. Patrick is the oldest Catholic church in Portland. (Click on each photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

A day at the bridges, Portland style
A shot of underside of St. John’s Bridge, on the east side of the Willamette River.
A shot of the 1931 St. John’s Bridge from the east bank of the Willamette River.
The Fremont Bridge carries only car and truck traffic on Interstate 5, north of downtown Portland.

Portland, Ore., has been dubbed many things, including bridge town. Here are two of the most distinct ones: St John’s Bridge (1931) and the Fremont Bridge (1973). The former dates from the Depression, when public works projects had a sense of artistry. The latter was built to serve one purpose–carry cars over Willamette River on Interstate 405 as efficiently as possible. More bridges are to come. (Click on each photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

Development along Portland’s Willamette waterfront
Looking south on the railroad tracks and Naito Parkway
Looking south on the railroad tracks and Naito Parkway
Development along Naito Parkway, in Downtown Portland

Downtown Portland, Ore., has seen a boom in high-density development turning industrial land into high-rise apartments and condos. This has taken place in large areas along the Willamette River, including near the Fremont Bridge, in what Portland calls Chinatown. I took these photos on Oct. 19, and was struck by the prevalance of homeless camps very close to these projects, including the one that is seen in the photograph of campers and vehicles that double as people’s shelters. The Portland area is expecting nearly 725,000 new residents in the next 20 years, which pales in comparison to what African cities like Lagos and Chinese cities like Shenzen have seen and will see. (Click on each photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

The Montgomery Ward Building, a Portland landmark
Shot with a GoPro.
Shot with a GoPro.
Shot with a GoPro.

When it opened in 1920, the Montgomery Ward Building was the largest commercial structure in Portland, Ore. It was sold in 1984 and then upgraded with a new glass atrium. The box-like structure sits atop a high plateau overlooking the city’s still industrial properties in northwest Portland, at the base of the affluent mansions that dot the hillside to the west. It is a prominent landmark that can be seen for miles in many directions, and for me is a beacon to the “old Portland” I fell in love with when I first moved here in 1983. This was before the city became a microbeer-brewing, bike-friendly, hipster, green-energy, whatever-you-want-to-call-it kind of city that absolutely fascinates sometimes naive out-of-town reporters, who are oblivious to thousands of homeless residents living on the streets or in makeshift and transitional housing. Meanwhile, the giant white box still stands proud, weathering the changes just fine. (Click on each photo to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

St. Mary’s Cathedral in Portland
The cathedral is located in Northwest Portland at NW Davis and 17th. (Shot in October 2014.)

Within about five blocks of each other, one can find three of the most exquisitely designed and built religious structures in Portland: the Catholic St. Mary’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Temple Beth Israel, and Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. St. Mary’s is designed in Romanesque Revival style, similar to churches I have seen in Italy, but also in the United States duplicating those in the Old World. The complex has a large courtyard and ancillary facilities attached. If you are in Northwest Portland, take a stroll to 17th and NW Davis, and you’ll find a beautiful complex taking over a city block.

I shot this photograph with a GoPro camera. To see a larger photograph, click on the picture to open a separate picture page.

Portland’s Holy Trinity Orthodox Church
The Holy Trinity Orthodox Church serves Portland’s Greek Orthodox community in the Laurelhurst neigbhorhood. Taken in October 2014.

Last weekend I did a photo tour of neighborhoods in Portland, with an eye for finding aesthetically interesting homes, buildings, and churches. I stumbled on Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, serving the Greek Orthodox community. I of course stopped immediately when I saw it and took a few portraits. During my visit, I met Sofia, a native of Athens, and we had a lively discussion of the Hagia Sofia chruch in Istanbul and life in America. It is very fun to get to know who lives in your community, and churches can be a great place to meet people on their “home turf.” (Click on the photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)