While exploring a part of Northeast Portland, i spotted two churches that needed some photographic attention. The light was just setting as I pulled up to St. Stephen’s Catholic Church on a cold day last weekend, and then minutes later, the sun dipped, and the entire look and feel of the church changed.
Click on each photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.
I really love having no reference points, visual or otherwise, between the time I lived in Portland in the 1980s and the present. This lets me make comparisons from mental pictures. SE Division Street between Cesar Chavez Boulevard (formerly 39th Street) and about 26th Street used to be a quiet place. I distinctly remember several biker bars. The Oregonian (now called Oregon Live) now claims it is Portland’s “hottest food destination.” I like the food cart court here, St. Honoré Boulangerie, and the Bollywood Theatre.
Yesterday I published a video highlighting NE Alberta Street. Here are a few more pictures from that outing, as stills.
Technically I live in the Sellwood-Westmoreland neighborhood, but I consider Westmoreland to be distinct unto itself. I once lived here oh so many years ago when I was an undergraduate, so it is a place I have called home. The defining features are the massive rail right of way, the Westmoreland Manor retirement community off McLauphlin Boulevard, and the newly restored Westmoreland Park. They all mash together in a valley. I now run and walk here and enjoy the park, the local eateries and brewpubs, and cozy little homes. It would be a good place to call home for the long haul. (Click on each photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)
I had a great lunch recently with an old college friend and former squash partner. I don’t think I ever won a true squash match against J. when we played way, way back in the day in college. (There were some great players at my college, and J. was among them.) Some people are just naturally talented, and J. is a gifted athlete, among many having other fine attributes. My knee prevents me from doing pivot sports, which spares me the need to try and have a rematch. Injuries sometimes can be a blessing. So can good people.
In northwest Portland, on NW Vaughn Street and NW 23rd Street, the Vespa dealership partnered with mural artist Larry Kangas to create a 10-feet high and 65-feet long mural that celebrates neighborhoods and the Vespa’s connection to Italy. It is known mostly as the Vespa mural. I love murals. They transform urban spaces into a living shared meeting place. You cannot miss this mural if you take Interstate 405 to the west side of the Willamette and exit at Vaughn Street. And there it is. I suggest parking your car, grabbing a coffee, and taking a closer look. (Click on each photograph to see a larger photograph.)
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.)
I used my GoPro camera fo the first time at a dog show. Dogs are fascinated by the GoPro. I think they cannot decide if it is a toy or food. Some dog owners thought the dogs would try to snack on it. But they behaved, and they demonstrated perfect camera form. (Click on each photograph to see a larger picture in a separate picture page.)
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.)
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.
What Beautiful Light 