UPDATE and the after-work commute today

UPDATE: I made it through work today without any problems--hooray! Soon I'll be back in the recliner at the Oncology Center for Chemo Round Three. I wonder if it will be different, the side effects. Or, will it be much the same as Rounds One and Two? We'll see.



After work today, I missed the streetcar, so I took the 4 bus across the Hawthorne Bridge to wait for the 12 that I would then ride the rest of the way home. Here we are looking south on SW 6th Avenue. Where's that next bus? I like to be in downtown, so I do this most all of the time after work when I'm there full time because the bus gets filled up with folks coming out of downtown office buildings. That means if I were to ride the streetcar or a bus north on SE Grand to change at East Burnside like I did last week in the middle of the afternoon, I'd be waiting on a 12 or 19 bus with no seats available. I'd rather go west across the river, then end up going east to make certain that I get a seat. It's safer to ride sitting down than standing up, in my opinion.



Ah, there's the 12 at the other end of the block. Why? I know. It's shift change, from driver to driver. When I walked by after getting off the 4 bus, I had noticed a TriMet employee sitting on the sidewalk with his back leaned against one of the huge concrete planters that dot the streets of downtown Portland. When I noticed the 12 pull in, I put two and two together and came up with shift change. I've been riding the bus since July, 2006, and often make correct guesses as to what's going on after observing lots over time.



Curbside service, thanks to TriMet and the 12 bus, y'all! I only had to wait seven minutes, total; I spent the first few minutes sitting at the bus shelter, but the sun shined on me too directly which I knew I didn't need to have happening, due to the chemotherapy, so I ended up standing where I figured the bus would come to a stop in order for all of us commuters to board.



I decided to put my phone on, I guess you call it Facetime, so that I could hold it up to the window and catch some candid shots, maybe a video. Here's a photo that I cropped because about a third of it was of the inner wall that separates this window from the next one. I like how this turned out! The shelter and the stop are at the MAX Green and Yellow Lines' stop beside Pioneer Courthouse on SW 6th between SW Yamhill and SW Morrison. Pioneer Courthouse Square is directly across the street.



I like this video! The building is one of A. E. Doyle's best, in my opinion--it's my favorite--the Bank of California built in 1924. I wish I were filthy rich 'cause I'd love to own it! The video ends as the 12 pulls to a stop at the bus shelter in front of a restaurant called the Original Dinerant on SW 6th. The next building north is the Big Pink. I've eaten at the Original twice, but that was at least two or more years ago. The food was good, sort of expensive if you don't make Happy Hour, and I might stop there some time in the future before I go to a Portland Trail Blazers' home game. I would then catch the MAX to the game at the stop beside the Big Pink.



Here's a video as we head up the slope of the Burnside Bridge and on across the Willamette River. I stopped the video sooner that I meant to, but that's OK. You get the idea of how the bridge railing looks, as well as the sidewalks. At the beginning of the video, the bridge approach is above downtown streets and the Tom McCall Waterfront Park, thus all of those trees.



Finally, here is a video shot through the windshield, showing you the new building being built at the east end of the Burnside Bridge, right up against the north side of the bridge. The building's name? Yard. Just Yard. Not The Yard.

Seen downtown, No. 4

Not your everyday headwear for sunny Saturday in May. Naturally, once I saw the young man and his hat through the viewfinder, I had to keep clicking.
  Oops. Busted.
 

He turned to his friend, no doubt explaining that there's a crazy woman over there on the corner taking my picture.
 

His friend smiled and they continued walking south across West Burnside.

Seen downtown, No. 1

May 7, 2013, a delivery bicycle from B-Line, caught between two parked parking enforcement vehicles. I'm standing in the park known as Chapman Square--I'd finished my lunch and was about to walk over to the bus stop when I saw the B-line guy turn onto the street. I just knew I'd get a great photo if I could catch him in that space between the parked vehicles. Got it!

Here's some interesting information about the park, found on the City of Portland's Web site:

• Chapman Square, SW 4th Ave. & Main St.  
• General Info: Acquired in 1869. 
• Amenities: Includes disabled access restroom, historical site, paths – paved, and statue or public art. 
• Special Information: Park hours: 5:00am-midnight.

Historical Information: Chapman is one of two courthouse squares that comprise the Plaza Blocks which are bounded by Third and Fourth Avenues and Salmon and Madison Streets. The south square is named for former Iowa territorial legislator and native Virginian William Williams Chapman (1808-1892) who arrived in Portland in 1850. An attorney with business interests, he also served as surveyor general of Oregon. In 1870, he sold this portion of his land claim to the city. The north square is named for Kentuckian Daniel H. Lownsdale, who settled in Portland in 1845 when there were fewer than 800 people living in the city.

The Plaza Blocks were lively places where orators held forth and citizens assembled. They are characterized in part by several large old elms and gingko trees. Chapman Square, originally designed for the exclusive use of women and children, features all female gingko trees. Lownsdale Square was to be the "gentlemen's gathering place." Today the Plaza Blocks are still a busy gathering place, although men and women can now safely coexist in either of them.

In Chapman Square is a bronze statue commissioned by the Oregon Trail Coordinating Council to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Oregon Trail in 1993. The Promised Land, by Oregon artist David Manuel, depicts a pioneer family - father, mother, and son - at the end of their journey. The red granite slab upon which the statue is mounted is inscribed with a quote by Thomas Jefferson. The plaza in front of the statue is sandblasted with footprints reminiscent of pre-settlement days: jackrabbit, black bear, porcupine, grouse, coyote, elk, and moccasin prints.

Between the two Plaza Blocks, Main Street curves around the second oldest sculpture in the Portland metro area - a huge elk fountain given to the city by David P. Thompson. Thompson arrived in Portland driving sheep over the Oregon Trail. He served as Portland's mayor from 1879-1882. One day he looked out of the office window in his New Market Building at the Skidmore Fountain and decided that he wanted to dedicate a fountain to the city as well. As founder and director of the Oregon Humane Society, Thompson’s vision for the sculpture was to provide an accessible watering place for "bird, beast, and human." He commissioned Roland Roland Hinton Perry, whose work adorns the Library of Congress and the dome of the Pennsylvania state capitol, to create the sculpture. Local architect H.G. Wright designed the stone base of eastern granite, which included drinking troughs for horses and dogs. In 1900, the 3,000-pound bronze fountain was placed in a site that was a former feeding ground for elk that wandered down from the west hills of the city. The Exalted Order of Elks refused to dedicate it because they considered the statue "a monstrosity of art." Many have tried to have Thompson's elk removed because it can be considered a traffic obstacle, but the statue remains. In 1974, after a debate about disturbing the blocks in order to complement the then-new General Services Building, Thompson's elk and the Plaza Blocks were designated as Historic Landmarks.

Seen on the streets of Portland, B-Line, sustainable urban delivery

Please scroll down to see today's dahlia, Nick Sr., from Swan Island Dahlias.

Click here to read all about B-Line, sustainable urban delivery. This is one of the reasons I really like my new home city.

Heading north on SW 6th Avenue, July 17, 2009


Heading north on SE 6th Avenue, July 24, 2009


Waiting at the traffic light, heading east on SE Hawthorne Blvd., April 14, 2009


Today's dahlia, Nick Sr. Facts from Swan Island Dahlias--Bloom: 11" Red, Bush: 5'

Flat Stanley and the Christmas Tree Lighting at Pioneer Courthouse Square

We had a blast, watching people, singing carols, seeing the lights come on. Please look at Mama and Me from PDX for the rest of the story and a bunch of photos!

Portland's Christmas Tree

On Nov. 9, the Stimson Lumber Tree arrived in downtown Portland at Pioneer Courthouse Square. In between then and the tree lighting on Nov. 23 at 5:30 p.m., workers trim the tree and wire in a branch here and a branch there, to increase the fullness and fine tune the shape.

Here's a bit of info about the tree, from the square's Web site: For the fifth year in a row, Stimson Lumber Company is generously donating a 75-foot tall Douglas-fir to the City of Portland for all to enjoy this winter season! Grown on Stimson forestlands near Gaston, Oregon, these trees are managed by professional foresters for the sustainable growth and production of timber. Stimson's forestlands have been independently certified under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Program. Stimson Lumber is proud to present this tree to the City of Portland which will light up Pioneer Courthouse Square throughout the months of November and December.

Last year when the bus mall still ran on SW 6th Avenue, which borders the east side of the square, I got off the bus after work and made my way to a spot in the crowd. I wanted to be sort of out of the way--you know how people constantly walk back and forth in big crowds. It seems I'm a natural magnet for those walkers, a door if you will. I managed well enough because I got close to a pillar and enjoyed watching people until the flip of the switch. I took a few photos with the old CoolPix and left shortly afterwards, headed for another bus to take me to the apartment. Unless extenuating circumstances prevent it, I will be there again this year.



Across SW 6th Avenue is the building that gives the square its name, the Pioneer Courthouse. I need to find out what those little blue sheds are, there in front and to the side of the building. What do y'all think they could be?

Time Change, Different Direction

After work as I waited for my second bus, the 15, near the intersection of SW 2nd Avenue and Taylor, the sharp contrast between the shadow and the sun captured my attention. I took this photo on Sept. 22, standing about 12 feet north of where I stood to take the two photos of the Lotus Cafe and Cardroom, posted on Nov. 8.



Standing there after work on Friday, I looked up at the trees, enjoying the lights, the limbs and the leaves against the darkening blue sky. When the bus pulled to a stop, I knew what to do--take a photo for y'all! Even if the bus started to pull away for the curb, I'm pleased with it anyway.

Have you seen dump trucks like these in your city?

Thursday morning I boarded the 20 bus in front of the Volvo place and rode ten blocks east on Burnside, downhill.

I got off at SW 12th, to walk a different route part of the rest of the way to work. First I thought I had lucked out and could get a shot of a big ol' crane, swinging its bucket out over an I-don't-have-a-guess-how-many-stories-deep hole. I could not move fast enough, doggone it. A few steps later, I spied something I've been wanting to photograph for you. Two double tandem dump trucks, just sitting there in the middle of the street, waiting.

By the way, the golden gingko trees in the background stand in front of the church where the "ABC Wednesday J is for Joy" bride and groom wed back in September.

Does that Lay's delivery van look rather larger than normal to you?



I crossed at the corner and walked about half a block, then turned to take a photo of the trucks, looking north. The lead truck had moved down beside the crane, and the second truck had stopped at the crosswalk. Would that I could have seen and photographed what the scoop scooped, then dumped!

I'll still be on the look out for my favorite double tandem dump truck. When I get that photo for you, I'm certain that you'll understand immediately why I say favorite.

YMCA Child Care, Downtown Portland, Revisited

On a recent sunny afternoon, day care workers took these toddlers outdoors for a bit of fresh air. While parked in their strollers in front of the window to the left of the door, these eight little cuties looked in at their friends who looked right back, faces pressed to the window. Photo opportunity!

By the time I got the camera out of my rolling bag, the day care workers had the surrey-with-the-fringe-on-top strollers headed for the door.

Have you seen strollers like these in your city?

ABC Wednesday – O is for Octopus

Before we moved to the Northwest Hills last October, I used this great big purple octopus as a landmark when driving through downtown. Now every day after work I ride a bus whose route goes right through the intersection of SW Washington and SW 4th Avenue. Often I wonder about the Greek Cusina, proud displayer of the octopus. You can read about the restaurant here.

I took the first photo below on Sept. 14 when I went on an ABC Wednesday trek throught parts of downtown. I took the second photo below on Oct. 30 on the way home. What can you find in both photos that you would not expect to find in photos taken six weeks apart?

.



Believe me, this is the only octopus I ever want to be underneath!

Elk, revisited, here and there

This is the second picture I've posted of this elk statue/fountain in the middle of Main Street in downtown Portland. You can see the photo from the September 14 post and read about it and the southernmost park, Chapman Square, here.

I wanted you to see exactly what the traffic does with the statue, so after work one day the first week of October, I stopped where SW Main Street intersects SW 4th Avenue, turned facing northeast and took this photo. The David P. Thompson Memorial Fountain began as a watering trough for horses. Now every day thousands of horses slip by it on the right or the left--horse power, that is.



Also I've posted another photo of the park and the elk at Mama and Me from PDX. You'll get to see another example of Portland's beautiful autumn leaves and find out all about the northernmost park, Lownsdale Square.