Portland

Portland’s industrial landscapes
This shot was taken just below Portland’s Fremont Bridge, in Northeast Portland.
Fuel storage and trucks line the Willamette River in Northwest Portland.

Portland seems to be associated with Nike, Portlandia, Intel, and hipsters in the national imagination. But for those of us who live here, the city itself tells a story of international shipping, truck manufacturing, rail traffic, shipbuilding, and other heavy industries. And still, this Portland never seems to make a blip on the national consciousness. Well, here are a couple of pictures of the Portland I see every day.

Fall colors in and around Concordia University
I took a picture of these maple leaves in Portland’s Concordia neighborhood.
Luther Hall at Concordia University
Fall colors illuminate Concordia University’s Luther Hall.

I discovered the neighborhoods and campus of Concordia University, a Lutheran university in Northeast Portland where a friend of mine is on the faculty. This is part of my larger project to visit and document all of the neighborhoods and landmarks and flavors of Portland. The school is a little over 100 years old and still has some of the older buildings standing, covered in ivy. Fall colors were spectacular on and around the campus. The surrounding area is also called Concordia. I very much enjoyed this part of town, which historically has been associated with a lot of crime and drug traffic. Now houses start at $300,000 and up.

Water towers, northeast Portland
Two large water towers can be seen off Willamette and North Mohawk in Northeast Portland. (October 2014)
A larger water tower stands above the Interstate Firehouse Culture Center in northeast Portland (October 2014). I shot this with a GoPro.

I began noticing water towers a lot after I discovered the work of Bernd and Hilla Becher, masters of photographing typologies and industrial forms. Water towers are one of the most ubiquitous structures one sees in a city. They are not toxic, or dangerous, or even ugly. They primarily serve as temporary water storage tanks for water suppliers and departments during specific times of the day and help to address peak demand needs at hours when residents bath, flush, and use water. I noticed these towers on a bike ride through Northeast Portland this month (October). Many communities choose to paint them and brand them with the names of the city or a local football team, and it is almost always football teams. (Click on each photo 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.)

Barrel yard, near the Willamette River
A storage yard on the Willamette River is filed with barrels that proved irrestible, so I took a picture.

I passed by this storage yard several times on my bike, along Highway 30, which is the main arterial serving the many industries that line the Willamette River in north Portland. Barrels are normally used for storing and transporting chemicals, but I had no idea what these were used for. I found similar barrel yards in Seattle along the industrial Duwamish waterway, in Seattle. (Click on the photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

Swan Island Shipyards, Portland
This photo is taken from the campus of the University of Portland, looking south.
The Swan Island Shipyard has dominated the city’s port since World War II, when it was a bustling hub for war related ship building.

Most of Portland, Ore’s heavy industry is located on the banks of the Wilamette River. The Swan Island Shipyard is one biggest areas dedicated to what are still high-paying, blue collar jobs. I took these pictures from the bluff overlooking the yards southward, from the campus of the University of Portland. The shipyard has a storied history dating to World War II, when Kaiser was in the business of building ships, not running a health insurance monopoly. (Click on each photo 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.)

Cement kiln, southeast Portland
Shot in October 2014.

The Lehigh Northwest Cement Co. is located near the large railroad yard in the industrial area of southeast Portland. I always have liked living near railroad yards. They are reminders of what keeps our country’s economic engine moving, and cement producers are always likely neighbors. To me they are strong icons of our industrial economy and fall into the category of photography I embrace focussing on industrial typologies. (Click on the 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.