Just before I stopped, turned and took this photo, I had sat down to rest for a minute or so on a park bench more to the left than any of these you see. It was dry; it faced the sprinklers which were behind the benches across from it; I felt safe. I had noticed the man in the sweatshirt, down at the intersection of the sidewalks--more to the right of this photo--working on some sprinkler-related equipment in a hole in the ground, down on his knees. He stood, turned to walk towards me, saw me sitting there and said as he approached, "You're not gonna want to sit there. Trust me."
I figured a sprinkler man knew what he was talking about, so I stood up, thanked him and made my way on down the sidewalk so that I could finish my nine blocks between buses which I'm now doing every weekday morning. I couldn't resist taking a photo. And, despite the title that I've given today's post, I only noticed that his sweatshirt had rode up when I took a look at the photo to see if it would work for the blog. I think it works fine and is more interesting that the other two that I took.
About the park, it's in downtown Portland, a complete city block across the street from another complete city block that is also a park. It's known as Lownsdale Square and across the street is Chapman Square. I well remember the first time I rode the 14 bus headed east on the street at the south side of Chapman Square, mesmerized by the great big trees and all of the green, green grass in the midst of city buildings; there's even another complete city block park across that street to the south--Terry D. Schrunk Plaza. It's federal property, not city, and is on top of a parking garage for a federal building across the street to the east of the park. All three blocks are gorgeous in all seasons, in all weather.
Found on the Internet: Chapman and Lownsdale Squares occupy two city blocks just east of the Multnomah County Courthouse and the Portland Building. Historically, Chapman Square, with its all-female grove of gingko trees, was designated for women and children, while Lownsdale Square was for the men. The squares were originally mirror images of each other, with restrooms on either side. Over time, a seemingly-random collection of monuments has been added to the parks, but for the most part the parks remain identical.
Here's the other tidbit. I took this photo a few weeks before. I couldn't resist the cell phone photographer along with the park--this is Chapman Square.
And a bonus. Here's a photo I took a day later, looking from Chapman Square south across the street to Terry D. Schrunk Plaza. Of the three, it's the only one with flowering plants, azaleas and rhododendrons.
