Flower Sale Today

Flower buyers showed up at Pioneer Courthouse Square to stock up on the potted plants from this year's Festival of Flowers. Notice in the top right corner, a bit of the wrought iron arch seen in the post earlier this week about the Festival of Flowers.



Selections made, time to pay at the table set up beneath the EZ-Up canopy labeled Pioneer Courthouse Square Portland's Living Room.



I saw this lady with her box of flowers before I walked across the street to enter the square. I wonder if she had a car or if she was heading for a bus? I've seen people on the bus with flowers from the sale.



For some reason this banner really appealed to me. Is it the font? The colors? I don't know.



I walked to the west side of the square and stood on what I call the viewpoint which is above the door to the Visitor Information, also seen in the post earlier this week. Across the square, you see Pioneer Courthouse itself. In front of it, the two-car MAX train and a TriMet bus. That's SW 6th Avenue, the north-bound street that is part of the Portland Transit Mall. SW 5th is the southbound portion. The MAX Yellow, Green, and Orange Lines run north and south on the mall; the Red and Blue Lines cross it on the other two streets that make up Pioneer Courthouse Square--SW Yamhill and SW Morrison. Buses go through the mall, too, spreading out to all portions of the metropolitan area, across three counties. The Portland Transit Mall runs from NW Irving to SW Jackson; it's 1.2 miles long, this couplet of one-way streets, SW 5th and SW 6th. One of these days--well, it'll take me more than one day--I'll be walking those blocks and photographing all along the way. I'll share lots and lots with y'all. We'll have a great time together!



Here's a map TriMet has on their Web site for the Portland Transit Mall. It's on the west side of the Willamette River, the two parallel lines, and there's a closeup of it on the right side of the picture.

Merry Christmas from Portland's Living Room to yours

Portland's Christmas tree proudly stands in the middle of Pioneer Courthouse Square, just feet west of the Mile Post Sign. Since the post points in all directions, I decided what better image to use to convey my Christmas wishes for you and yours, wherever you call home.

NW Portland Area Indian Health Board 5th Annual Dancing in the Square POWWOW, 9/24/2010

I missed the best first bus home after work last Friday, so I took the next one. Then I got on the second bus so that I could ride it and get closer to the third and last bus. It went less than a block and stopped at the curb with the front door standing open. I walked to the front and asked, "Are we broken?" "It's the sign; he's going to try to fix it," replied the bus driver. "I'll go elsewhere," I said as I stepped through the door. The bus driver allowed as to how he'd like to do that himself. He couldn't. I could and did, walking north on SW 5th Avenue in downtown Portland.

Imagine my surprise when I soon heard the deep rhythmic beat of Indian drums accompanied by singing. I headed across the street at SW Yamhill and walked into Pioneer Square, Portland's Living Room. As soon as I saw the men in their Indian finery, I found a spot to sit on the brick steps and settled in to enjoy a beautiful exhibition. Turns out it was the 5th annual Dancing in the Square POWWOW in celebration of National Indian Day, presented by The Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board.

As the MC stated, the men danced to the drums, when the drums stopped, they stopped. I found the spectacle delightful, a serendipitous find on the way home on a Friday. I didn't go by 3 Doors Down Cafe because I had gone on Thursday to wish Lamont an early "Happy Birthday" since he had Friday, his 35th birthday, off from work.

More dancing and drumming pictures soon.