UPDATE and modern day street parking procedures

UPDATE: I had a bit more energy parts of today for which I am grateful. It's great that it's Friday, believe me. And the FedEx man left a package inside the building at my front door--I've been hoping for this since he missed me by about 30 minutes on Wednesday and a whole lotta hours yesterday--now Leland and I don't have to go to their location tomorrow to get the package. Yea! If I feel right, we're going to the Laurelhurst Theater to see the latest Mission Impossible as a second run movie, therefore much more affordable. And if I feel right, we'll go to Fred Meyer afterwards, for my second time to go there since June. Everyone keeps telling me I should ride the scooter. I don't know about that 'cause I'm pretty much uncoordinated. I really shouldn't subject Leland to it or the other shoppers.



Does your town or city use this sort of parking meter? Is this even called a parking meter? Well, I just looked online and the City of Portland calls this a Pay Station when they give you a link to how to operate it. The other links about parking use the term parking meter, as in Parking Meter Rates and How to Report a Broken Parking Meter, etc. Does that make parking meter a term like Kleenex which lots of us use when we have any sort of tissue in hand. Know what I mean?



The lady has the piece of paper she needs and is on her way to her car to place it as instructed, I'll bet. When you click on the link about how to operate the Pay Station, you learn that the piece of paper is officially the receipt and that it is to be placed in the curbside window seal. You have to keep reading paste what looks like the end of the instructions on the Web to find out that you need to be certain that the date and time need to face out. Of course, all of this is on the receipt itself, in case you're new to the whole thing.

All of this is just one more reason that I'm glad that I don't own a car and that I hardly ever drive the Zipcar anywhere that I have to park on the street. Count your blessings where they are, I always say.

UPDATE and the marquee and facade at Hollywood Theatre, the vintage theater I'm able to go to on the bus, when I feel good enough! Plus, the facade of the Laurelhurst Theater, which is close enough that I can walk, when I feel good enough and the weather cooperates!

UPDATE: No nausea, even without the anti-nausea meds--I've made it past the number of days that I'm prescribed to take them. Hooray! Less peripheral neuropathy today, too. Another hooray! Still very tired, but I've managed to stay awake all day so far. Maybe I'll sleep longer than a couple of hours at a time during the night. I am thankful for all of your continued prayers, love, and concern.



Here you see the results of two successful fundraising campaigns, one to install a marquee reminiscent of the theater's 1926 original, plus a recent campaign to clean and restore the gorgeous facade, along with other needed repairs, etc. I went to see Straight Outta Compton and am glad that I saw it although I know little about the real people it supposedly portrayed and I wonder about the degree of verisimilitude in the film. Still and all, it was an emotional ride for the entire movie.

Here's some info about the marquee, from the theater's Web site:  

The new neon, illuminated sign is the latest sequel to many other Theatre improvements. New auditorium seats, digital projection systems, screens and sound systems were recently installed as well as a fresh coat of paint inside and out (done by pro-bono worker extraordinaire Joel Hamberg.) The marquee was funded by grant funders, businesses and over 1,100 people who donated to a Kickstarter campaign.

And here's some about the facade project and what else is planned at the same time:

Starting July 13, we’re beginning a $265,000 building project to restore and repair the facade and roof of our historic 1926 theater. This project will include the in-depth cleaning and restoration of the Theatre’s stunning façade, the re-tiling of the Theatre’s period clay roof, and the repair of water leaks throughout the building. Which means:

• We can re-open and operate our former box office window • We can proceed in partnership with the Columbia River Theatre Organ Society with the installation of a functioning pipe organ (now that our organ loft is dry) • The Theatre as a structure will be stabilized and weather-resistant for decades to come • This Portland landmark will be more beautiful than ever!

This exciting restoration project is made possible through the generous support of the Kinsman Foundation, Jackson Foundation, Pacific Power Foundation, ESCO Foundation, Fred W. Fields Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation, and Collins Foundation, and through the ongoing support of the Hollywood Theatre’s board of directors, members, and donors. Thank you!



For comparison, here's photo of the previous marquee and the facade before any restoration and repair. At two different times during their runs, I saw Win Win (fabulous film with the the wonderful Paul Giamatti) and Jane Eyre (the 2011 version, totally gorgeous and breath-taking in all aspects).



I enjoy going to the movies here, too, especially when the weather's right for walking the eight blocks there and back, when my health permits. Plus, neon always gives me a thrill! I went to see Kingsman: The Secret Service--a totally entertaining movie loaded with mayhem and violence; I believe I can say that because there was little blood and flesh flying around, exploding on the screen. Both Colin Firth and Samuel L. Jackson played their characters to perfection!

Here's some info about the Laurelhurst, from its Web site:

The Laurelhurst Theater became part of Portland's cultural and architectural history when it first opened in 1923. The original single screen could seat 650 people and was one of the first art deco style theaters of the period. Over the years the Laurelhurst has been added onto and now offers four auditoriums with modern amenities but still maintains its classic appeal. Now celebrating our 15th year as a theater and pub. Thank you Portland!

Enjoy microbrews, wine, pizza, salads, wraps, popcorn and candy. All of which may be brought into the auditoriums to enjoy at your table while you watch your movie.

The theater's four screens bring the best of modern cinema, Independent, art and classic film to Portland's movie lovers.

Saturday afternoon matinee, recently seen with my younger son Leland, at one of my two nearby vintage movie theaters--the Laurelhurst over at NE 28th and NE Burnside

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First time I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark was when it came out in 1981, with my husband LeRoy. I cannot remember if we took the boys to see it with us, but I'm guessing that we did because by the time the movie-related toys came out in late 1982, we had some at our house. That's all that I can remember about it.

I found online that it might have been a playset called "Well of the Souls" (I seem to remember the ark and its carrying poles) or one called "The Map Room." Wish I could remember. Shoot, for all I know, we might have bought one of each, one for each son. Now that I've looked at some accompanying photos, I believe I can rule out "The Map Room." I don't remember any of those pieces. We must have bought some of the 4" action figures, too.

Anyway, I've always loved the movie, my sons have always loved it, so when I found out that it was at the Laurelhurst, I mentioned it to them. Leland could go, so we ate lunch first at nearby Franks-A-Lot on East Burnside and then walked over to the 1:15 p.m. matinee--for some reason that time is not showing on the marquee where you only see what looks like that start of a numeral nine. That movie's a classic, real treat, even after all these years and having watched it no telling how many times on TV!

Laurelhurst Theater lobby accoutrement, the expected and the unexpected

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Accoutrement is defined by Merriam Webster Online as equipment that is used in a particular place or for a particular activity. On the right near the door, complete with colorfully lit front panels, the Laurelhurst concession counter represents to-be-expected equipment in a movie theater lobby. The booths on the left, while not originally something folks expected to find at their neighborhood theater, have become expected in many vintage movie houses which have adapted themselves into the realm of survivor, offering patrons the whole evening-out experience with more substantial food and drink prior to the first-run or vintage movie of their choice. Pizza, wraps, salads, micro beers, PBR, wine, popcorn, candy, cookies, soda, iced and/or hot tea, coffee, OJ, lemonade, bottled water, non-alcoholic beer.
 

At the self-service area at the opposite end of the concession counter, you complete your coffee, tea, water and/or pizza prep before taking a seat in a lobby booth or at a narrow table inside the theater before your movie begins. Self-service might not seem like it goes with the fancy-sounding word accoutrement, but, with the proper equipment in place, I think it is certainly expected here and there when out and about in Portland. What about where you live?
 

Once you've finished devouring and/or drinking and before you leave the theater, the Laurelhurst offers you the choice of how to dispose of your detritus--here in the lobby and at the back of each theater. Portlanders expect this accoutrement throughout the city, in venues where table bussing is done by the patron. I have never seen anyone get bent out of shape about sorting their own--I've come to appreciate the opportunity. I especially appreciate the signs above each bin which make the whole process très facile.

A night of firsts

Today is Veterans Day. Support those who served and their families, plus those currently serving. Thank you.


Last night, I went to the Laurelhurst Theater for the first time. I saw Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 classic film, "Rear Window," on the big screen for the first time. I walked home from the movie theater, a total of 10 blocks, for the first time since I was a little girl in Norco, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans.

Back then, the movie theater was a couple of blocks away, and I remember going several Saturdays to watch episodes of a serial. Don't remember which one, but I vividly remember walking down the shell road in the trailer park where we lived, walking toward the street perpendicular to the road between two rows of trailers, walking toward the levee that enclosed the Mississippi River. That levee soared above me, it seemed. I remember once seeing the smokestack of some sort of ship moving slowly by. I was in elementary school, maybe eight years old. I was short which added to my impression of the height of the levee. I remember that the smokestack was blue and white and yellow; there might have been a star on it. And here's why I only saw several episodes--my Daddy's job, building water cooling towers for industrial purposes, took us from place to place all across the country. The longest we lived anywhere was three months, the shortest overnight in Enid, Oklahoma--the supplies to build the cooling tower were not on site, so we were sent back to Borger, Texas, to work on another one there.

I don't have any trouble remembering scenes and the setting and the plot of "Rear Window." It is my favorite film, probably seen it on TV a dozen times. I feel blessed to have been able to see it tonight on the big screen. I never get tired of watching Jimmy Stewart act, seemingly without effort. I never get tired of watching Grace Kelly glow on screen. The characters played by Thelma Ritter, Wendall Corey and Raymond Burr-all so well done. And let's not forget the folks who lived in the other apartments overlooking the courtyard. Intriguing to be sure. No wonder Jimmy Stewart's character couldn't stop watching. He could go no where else, so he found the perfect way to spend time.


The lobby, looking toward the box office.


The theater where I watched "Rear Window." There are narrow, rectangular tables in part of the seating area, on every other row, I think. Until everyone ate their slices of pizza they'd bought in the lobby, I have to admit to sensory confusion--smelling pizza in a movie theater struck me as weird.

And the icing on the cake, this delicious neon all over the marquee.