See the slightly curved roof overhang above the double doors, on the right? If you look really close, you can read Willamette Building running across the front. Can you recognize the shape that the tiny white lights are on, standing up above the words? It's a giant diamond solitaire, made out of some sort of metal, but a diamond solitaire shape nonetheless. I've been wanting to show you that "rock" practically since I started Portland (OR) Daily Photo Blog in September.
I'll try to get a closer, better shot of the solitaire when it's not raining. Since the holidays are here, I figured why not go ahead and get a wide shot of the building, complete with Christmas lights, vehicles and pedestrians whizzing by on their way home from work. I'm tickled with how the photo turned out. All hail serendipity!
I first noticed the Willamette Building as I rode by on the bus one morning back in January, after the bus mall closed and my going-to-work bus went down SW 3rd Avenue before turning southeast to cross the river. I found a 2004 newspaper article about the Willamette Building that I think you'll enjoy reading. Turns out its right in the middle of Portland's diamond district.
