Happy New Year!

Duncan, Cow-Dog, Purq and Flat Stanley might look like a quartet of wall flowers here in Duncan's chair. I assure you, they're actually a quartet of cool, party cats, even if Purq is the only real cat! They graciously agreed to pose for our warmest and best wishes for y'all to have a fun, safe New Year's Eve and a great 2008!

Rainy Musical Corner

First, yes, I took this photo from the Buick, while stopped at the traffic signal on SW 14th Avenue at West Burnside. No vehicle waited behind me, and when I saw the red umbrella and the red signs on both buildings, I picked up the D50 from the passenger seat and snapped several photos. I was on the way home after having a bit of work done on the car--photos to come another day.

Now for info about the businesses you see on each corner.

Situated on the northeast corner, where you see EM in the window, is Everyday Music. Read all about it here. You can see how much of the block the store occupies by the way I've cropped the photo below. The store is deep, too, and filled with waist-high, well-labeled, wooden bins of either CDs or albums, new and used. I have to make myself stay out of there because I can't make myself stop at just one CD. (Now you know one of my musical secrets--I'm not of the IPOD generation, yet.)


Across the street you see the edge of the Crystal Ballroom and its marquee. You can read all about this extremely popular facility here. I've been to one concert there, summer 2006. You probably realized right away that with a name like "ballroom," there are no rows and rows of seats, which we associate with indoor-music-venues. Everyone stands on the springy dance floor--I wore my motion-sickness-acupressure-wrist-bands and made it just fine; however, I was some kind of tired the next day, being somewhat of an old lady these days. Next time I attend an event there, I'll make sure to go early enough to get a seat in the balcony.

See El Debarge, New Year's Eve, on the sign? Lakeside will be there, too. The joint will be jumpin' for sure, with those two acts. Here's a blurb I found about the show on the Web: 9 p.m. doors, 9 p.m. show, $45 advance, $45 day of show, 21 and over. Celebrate the arrival of the new year with a pair of R&B legends: El Debarge, the sweet, soft and soulful voice behind massive '80s hits like "Rhythm of the Night" and "Who's Johhny?" and Lakeside, the veteran funk ensemble behind the groove juggernaut "Fantastic Voyage." Were I a bit younger as well as more financially flush, I'd be right there, dancin' in the New Year, from my seat and/or in the aisle!

Bishop's House, downtown Portland

The center, top floor windows of this building in downtown Portland caught my eye first. Then I noticed that center embellishment at the bottom of the large, arched center window, topped with a cross. Finally, when I read Bishop's House on the building, just above the center awning, I got even more interested.



Naturally, I searched the Internet for information to share with you, not only about the building but also about the restaurant. I cannot explain the differences in the name of the bishop who supposedly built and lived here for a short time. Also, at the Portland Archdiocese's Web site, I found one of the names spelled as Gross, not Goss. And get this--Gross wasn't made bishop until 1885, while Blanchet (the other name, as you'll read) was still bishop until some point in 1880. If anyone knows more facts, please share them with us. I plan to go back at some point to see if there is a plaque on the building, too.

From My Travel Guide dot com: Bishop's House, SW Stark Street, (between Southwest Second and Third avenues), Portland, OR

Catholic Archbishop Blanchet originally lived in this house, which was built in 1879. The Gothic Revival-style building had divine beginnings, but through the years it was also the location of a speakeasy, architectural studio, a sign company and is currently the home for the Al-Amir Lebanese Restaurant. This ornate structure has been well preserved and boasts eight arched windows framed with elaborately carved moldings. The light brown exterior and red trim blend in well with the other historic buildings in this part of downtown area and is a sound example of Portland's historic past.



From Wikipedia: Bishop's House is a historic building in downtown, Portland, Oregon. It is in the city's Yamhill Historic District. Built, 1879.

When the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese was moved to Portland from Oregon City, Archbishop William Goss constructed the Bishop's House as his official residence. Originally, the building contained a church library, the Archbishop's living quarters, and an insurance agent's office. Despite the presence of a cathedral next door, the immediate area was in decline, and Goss moved out only after a year.

For a time the Bishop's House hosted a Chinese Tong society, rumored to be the source of phone taps in the nearby former Police Bureau Headquarters Building. Between 1911 and 1915, an architectural workshop led by A.E. Doyle and Morris H. Whitehouse met in the building.

A major renovation took place in 1965, and Bishop's House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. The building today serves as offices and as a Lebanese restaurant.



You can click on Al Amir's Web site here. I've not been there yet, but the menu certainly looks interesting. I'll have to ask around to see if I can get any personal experiences with it.

Snow No-Show

I'm not playing a silly trick,
Showing that moisture on the bricks.

No way, no how, no where, no snow.
That's how my wishes went from dawn to night
Sort of like this escalator appears to go
On 2nd Avenue--to nowhere, out of sight.

Snow did fall at a higher height
But just not where I stood last night.

About no snow, it's true, I'm sad.
About clear roads, for sure, I'm glad.
'Cause I made it home to size my photo at Flickr
And then to post it for y'all, City Daily Photo Bloggers.

So, even with the snow a no-show
Tonight's post is still a go-go!

Sparkly, sparkly night, NW 23rd at Glisan, a few blocks from home

This evening, I took this photo on the way home from the bank. I wanted to show you the lights on the trees. When I got home, it dawned on me that if our weather forecast comes true, I really should go back Thursday evening at the same time to take another photo for you.

As unreal as it sounds, here's what the local NBC affiliate predicts: "The National Weather Service issued a heavy snow warning which goes into effect from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday for the lower Columbia and greater Portland Metro area, with 3 to 6 inches expected in Portland by late afternoon. KGW Meteorologist Ron Pedersen said cooling temperatures and more precipitation Thursday would bring accumulating snow all the way down to the valley floor. Pedersen said drivers could see snow during the morning commute but that the main accumulation would happen later in the morning and into midday. He said that the lowest elevations in Portland could see several inches of sticking snow from this latest storm."

Rest assured, I'll be outside as much as work, weather and TriMet allow, taking photos of any snow that I can find, and I'll make every effort to get to the corner of NW 23rd and Glisan once again.

ABC Wednesday - W is for Whoops!

Whoops! Somebody forgot their sushi. I saw it sitting on the 17 bus, one weekday after work.



I wonder why somebody would walk off the bus without their sushi? Was his or her mind wandering? I wonder how long the box of sushi would have to wait to be tossed into the trash?

For all you sushi-lovers, let me go ahead and say what you are thinking, "What a waste!"

Our Happy Holidays' Photo Shoot for Y'all

Flat Stanley and Duncan wish one and all a Merry Christmas, from the comfort of Duncan's pine green rocker.


Now, for the first time, meet two more of our loved ones. First on the left is Purq (pronounced Perk), our purple and turquoise cat. In the middle is Cow-Dog, whose creator repeated this question while fashioning him, "Am I making a cow or a dog?" And, of course, on the right is our well-loved, lucky boy, Flat Stanley himself. The guys are wishing you a Merry Christmas, from all of us here in Portland.



For a bit of levity, I thought I'd share this one with you, too. Duncan, our darling dachshund, couldn't stay still long enough to get a shot with all four of them. He sniffed at Purq and Cow-Dog, upsetting the precarious balance of Flat Stanley's Vespa, and decided it was now time to leave the pillow-filled armchair. I caught him before he could jump!


Let me say that I can't think of a better present for myself than the CDPB and all who post there. It's been an inspiration to me to visit as many cities as possible, to see the evidence of your love for where you live. I believe in what you're doing, for so many, many reasons. Thank you.

Finally, I must say, "Go Beavers! Go Ducks! Go Trail Blazers! (in alphabetical order). And most of all, GO DAWGS! (as in my beloved Mississippi State Bulldogs)."

My Ricochet Brain Brings You a Shopping-related Post

What to post, what to post, on this Christmas Eve? I'm saving something special for Christmas Day, at least I think it's special--hope you do, too.

After the local and national news stories about the lack of shoppers today, and all through the season since Black Friday's good start, I wonder--have I photographed something related to shopping, other than decorated store windows? I know, that photo I almost missed on Dec. 8, while walking east on NW Everett!

I'd first seen and heard the vehicle and its trailer at the corner of NW 21st and Everett, but my D50 was still in my rolling red bag. Drat! I quickly got the camera out and slung it around my neck. I'd be ready next time; I had a feeling I'd get my chance.

Fifteen minutes later, I recognized the rattling sound of the cart-filled trailer in the nick of time.

Now for the explanation. In response to a state law that takes effect Jan. 1, I figure that retailers in my neighborhood must have begun their cart retrieval campaigns. According to the law, retailers could be fined $50 per abandoned cart. I'd be paying some company a reasonable fee to troll for carts, too, at that price--there's at least two dozen in the pickup bed and on the trailer. It matters not that some retailers, like Fred Meyer, have some sort of wheel-locking thing installed in their carts to keep them close by, folks push and pull carts all over the place. Read an article I found in the local daily about it here.

I'm curious. Is there a law such as this in your city?

An interior shot at Decades Vintage Company

Do I ever wish that my head was small enough for that white hat! Doesn't it look warm? It's true, though, that I have a big head. I don't think I'm all that and a bag of chips--my skull just grew that way--I promise.

One thing about this photo fills me with nostalgia. I can remember when my family's Christmas tree looked like this one, back when aluminum Christmas trees were the latest thing. We even had blue ornaments. Mama always plugged in the rotating light wheel, after pointing it at the tree, just so. It was fun to look at the tree and see the colors change from red to green to blue to yellow.

If you're interested, you can check out my earlier post about Decades Vintage Company in downtown Portland by clicking here.

Greg's Christmas Window

I like shopping in this store, Greg's, on Hawthorne at SE 37th, directly across the street from the Bagdad Theatre. I took this photo while the car was stopped at the traffic signal. Greg's sells funky, personality-filled items and cards. It's a fun place to browse, too.

You can see the marquee reflected in the store window, with "Bourne Ultimatum" at 6 p.m. That's the movie I had just been to see with the young ones, Lamont, Lindsay and Leland. Years and years ago, I read those Bourne novels, mesmerized by every word. When I heard about the first movie, that Matt Damon would play Jason Bourne, skepticism at how he'd pull it off made me curious to see the movie. Now I can't imagine anyone else in the role on the big screen.

Nine, count 'em, nine wins in a row!

Larger than life, that's how the Trail Blazers seem right now, having really and truly won nine games in a row, against all odds. I don't know the exact height of this sign, but LaMarcus Aldridge, on the left, is himself 6' 11" while Brandon Roy is 6' 6" tall, in real life. It's a message, y'all, to all Portland Trail Blazer fans--this team is for real, in town and on the road, exciting everyone who loves professional basketball.

You can read about win No. 9 right here.

UPDATE: Finally, Blogger and Safari are behaving themselves! I have taken off the other two photos.

Riding the Streetcar

Although I took this photo of the Portland Streetcar back in October, I wanted you to see this particular stop, at Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital, so that you would know what the streetcar looks like and where Mama and I recently caught it.

On a good weather day, we could have walked the eight blocks. A couple of Mondays ago we knew it would be raining, maybe hard, but we still made the decision to go to her eye doctor appointment using only mass transit. People do it all the time in Portland--one of my bus buddies has not owned a car since 1976!

We boarded a 15 bus in front of the Goodwill Store on West Burnside, a block and a half south of us, but uphill all the way. The bus turned north on NW 23rd Avenue, and we rode downhill all the way to Lovejoy, where we got off and quick-stepped on a totally level sidewalk (thank goodness) to catch a waiting South Waterfront streetcar.



Naturally Flat Stanley accompanied us--he'd never been on a streetcar and was curious about how it compared to a TriMet bus. You can read all about the Portland Streetcar here. Flat Stanley himself was particularly pleased to read the section about bringing your bike onto the streetcar, just in case he ever decides to trade in his Vespa for a bicycle.

As you can tell, Mama got a kick out of Flat Stanley's sitting all by himself in the seat beside her. Since it was raining pretty hard, Mama had taken off her eyeglasses and put them into her pocket. She's holding tightly onto my somewhat water-resistant tote bag. I carry it in a downpour rather than my rolling bag because I can't figure out how to keep the rolling bag from getting drenched.



Did you notice those shiny spots on the floor? That's where rain dripped off people as they stood, waiting for their stop to come along. I'm surprised that the floor is that surface. It looks hazardous to me, but I don't particularly remember feeling unsafe.

We made it both directions without a hitch--riding the Portland Streetcar, braving the wind and rain--just like we'd lived up here all of our lives. We are Portlanders!

ABC Wednesday - V is for Veritable Quandary

It's true. There's a long-lived restaurant in Portland where, without a doubt, the food and service always go beyond one's expectations. Please visit the VQ Web site for all sorts of interesting facts, menus, etc.


I took these two photos on January 16, 2007, just as I started my walk across the Hawthorne Bridge in the snow. Regular mornings, rain or shine, when I go by the restaurant between 7-8 a.m., deliveries for the day are already underway.



Here's a clearer shot that I took ten days ago. The restaurant sits just west of the Willamette River at 1220 SW 1st Avenue. On the Fourth of July, the patio is a perfect spot to eat dinner before you walk up onto the Hawthorne Bridge to watch the fireworks on the river.


Now, let me tell you a veritable non-quandary to keep in mind if you ever get to dine at Portland's Veritable Quandary--for dessert, you ought to order the Chocolate Nocello Souffle. I can't pronounce that middle word, but I can tell you that this dessert is most certainly served in chocolate heaven.

From Merriam-Webster online:
veritable: being in fact the thing named and not false, unreal, or imaginary
quandary: a state of perplexity or doubt

The Christmas window at Decades Vintage Company

I love this display of Christmas finery. If any of it were my size, I'd be buying it to wear to a future holiday gathering. Read all about this cool looking store at their Web site. I want to go back there at some point. It won't be hard to find again, at 328 SW Stark, downtown.

Do you like the vintage look in clothing, jewelry, furniture, accessories?

Birthday and Christmas Celebratory Fun, Portland Style!

Mama and I spent several totally enjoyable hours on the Trader Vic, a really nice, big boat owned by the owners of that cute Chihuahua in the Santa suit. Yep, that's Mama holding Lexi and Flat Stanley, with me peering at you over her shoulder. Thank you, Fred and Lori, for inviting us aboard! What an outta sight way to spend my 60th birthday!


Here's Captain Fred, wishing all of you "Mele Kalikimaka" from the Columbia River portion of the Christmas Ships Parade here in Portland. The Christmas Ship Parade has a rich history.




Please go to Mama and Me from PDX for lots and lots of photos of friends and fun. Here's just one picture to entice you to make that click!

Flat Stanley helps make Christmas cookies

Flat Stanley lent moral support to Lindsay as she decorated dozens of Christmas cookies.



I need to apologize to Lindsay for cutting off her head in this photo, but getting FS in focus sometimes means a sacrifice, especially when the little guy's had some sugar. Believe it or not, he's quick!

The Proliferate Photographer

Yep, that's me, reflected in the button one may push to cross the MAX tracks in front of the Rose Garden Arena--you can see it on the right side of the button, it's light gray. The Trail Blazers play basketball there. I took this photo on that cold and sunny Saturday, Dec. 8. You can see my rolling red bag--the zipper broke on the rolling black bag--with a cup of Barq's Root Beer sitting on it. I'd been to a Burgerville for lunch while out on my multi-hour walk.

Snowflakes at the World Trade Center

Portland's World Trade Center takes in three buildings over several downtown blocks. As I walked north on SW 2nd Avenue to catch my second bus for the trip home, these sparkly snowflakes grabbed my attention.


Is your country's flag hanging here?


In this photo you can see the covered walkways that connect the WTC buildings. If you walk down the sidewalk on the right, beneath that walkway that goes left and right in the photo, you'll be heading east, right toward Tom McCall Waterfront Park and the Willamette River.

Another U for you

Useless Umbrella


For you, in sun-bleached color, evidence of the reason I don't carry an umbrella in Portland.

P. S. I'm posting early because Mama and I are out for celebratory fun. Watch for photos soon!

ABC Wednesday – U is for under U 4 men

Check out the designer underwear and swimwear at Under U 4 Men, 507 SW Broadway, downtown Portland. I've not been in the store since the only men in my life are my two grown sons who have their own ideas about their underwear, and a 14-year-old miniature dachshund name Duncan who doesn't bother with underwear. Still and all, I couldn't pass up the perfect U photo, complete with Christmas balls and boughs of green.

Here's an article about the store from the Willamette Week (an alternative paper, one of Portland's multitude of free newspapers):

"Under Where? A new downtown store hopes to get in your drawers.

BY BYRON BECK | bbeck at wweek dot com
[November 29th, 2006] Is Portland, and the rest of the nation, ready for a Victoria's Secret for men?

Steven Lien thinks so.

I'm not surprised. Twenty years ago, I worked for the now 50-year-old Lien at his used sporting-goods store, Sports Exchange (it was where Spartacus now stands). I've always known Lien to be an astute retailer. He taught me the proper way to sell ski equipment—including a slightly improper way to fit ski boots on hot men—even though I'd never spent a day on the slopes. After I quit in '86, we lost contact; I'd heard he'd gone on to co-own a nightclub. So I was stunned last week when I strolled into a still under-construction shop downtown and found him behind the counter.

"Men's underwear is underrepresented in Oregon," Lien said when I asked him why he was opening a store devoted to the most intimate of apparels. "I thought I might make it into a Web-only-based business, but underwear is tactile. I needed to open a brick-and-mortar shop."

That's what he and his partner, Larry Laughead, have done with Under U 4 Men.

Located just steps from Jane's Vanity, an upscale lingerie women's outlet, Under U 4 Men features men's unmentionables from cool vendors like C-IN2 and Ginch Gonch (QW, April 26, 2006) in fabrics from bamboo, hemp, soy and milk, priced from $12 to $45. It also features live male models in their skivvies on two different platforms (Lien trolled Craigslist for candidates) and scantily clad shop workers.

Is Lien pouring thousands of dollars into this venture just to see men in the buff, or is this just the ultimate dream sequence from Sex and the City? Well, neither.

Lien says he's spent two years researching the market, and he believes now's the time for a Victor's Secret. Only in the past decade, he says, has this men's-furnishings category gone beyond such stalwart basics as Hanes and Jockey—as well as once hot but now mainstream brands like Calvin Klein or Polo—to embrace more form-fitting gear. His hope is to open more stores in the near future, with plans of eventually going nationwide. For now though he'll focus on the downtown boutique. And it's interesting he chose downtown for his very first locale.

"Most men's underwear is bought by women," says Lien on why he and Laughead chose Southwest Broadway over Stark Street, or any other queer-centric thoroughfare that might be more accustomed to seeing nearly naked men through store windows. "That's why we didn't want it to be on Gay Street, U.S.A." To that end, Liens also doesn't plan on carrying thongs, jockstraps or other stripper-friendly items.

Still, this might be one of the sexiest stores to open in Portland. And it'll bring a new meaning to your holiday package."

Here's a photo I took the night after Thanksgiving when Flat Stanley and I had gone to Pioneer Courthouse Square for the Christmas tree lighting. See those people walking on the sidewalk on the right side of SW Broadway? They're almost in front of under U for men--it's the chartreuse-colored store, just past Marx Jewelers.

Flat Stanley wants you to meet someone.

Flat Stanley and I stopped by Fred Meyer after work today, to shop for deviled-egg-makings. Back at the bus stop on West Burnside, we settled in to wait a few minutes, standing beside the yellow metal newspaper box a few feet from the curb.

"Look!" Flat Stanley cried. "Look at that alien! Let's take a picture of me standing beside him 'cause I think the kids back in Florence, Mississippi, at Steen's Creek Elementary will get a kick out of that! I'll bet the CDPBers will, too! I'll bet we've got time before the next bus!"

He talked so fast that in just that few seconds I went from looking right, left, up and down, to unzipping my rolling bag and pulling out my camera. Somehow in all of that movement, I managed to find the alien on the top part of the newspaper box. Great idea, FS! Click, click--quickly--here comes the bus.

Back at the apartment, when he looked at the photo after I downloaded it, a thoughtful look came over Flat Stanley's face.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"Where do you suppose the rest of his body went?" he said to me. "I'll bet he's got that look on his face 'cause he's wondering the same thing."

Then he looked and me said, "I know. Let's ask the CDPBers what they think happened to him."

Another great idea, FS.

Bridge Break for Random Santa Sightings

Saturday as I walked west on NW Everett, covering some ground until the bus came along to take me to the post office on NW Hoyt, I glimpsed two Santas up ahead, walking on the north sidewalk. They disappeared quickly. I couldn't catch up with them to get a photo. Hours later, after walking over the Broadway Bridge (post to come), eating lunch at Burgerville, and then walking toward the Steel Bridge (post to come), I spied three Santas crossing the street in front of me.


The man on your left wears sunglasses, the woman in the middle wears what appears to be red-and-white-striped tights beneath her Santa-style skirt, and the one on the right wears traditional wide, black Santa Claus belt.


After walking across the Steel Bridge, I sat down on a curb to get a better angle for a photo of it, and a Santa rode by on a bicycle--a lady Santa in a plaid coat. What's going on with these Santas here, there and everywhere, I wondered.


Once again, hours later as I waited at SW Washington and SW 3rd Avenue for the 15 bus, I noticed four--count them, four--Santas getting out of a parked car. (Sorry the photo's not any better.) Now I'm really curious, but it's getting late and cold, so I board the bus and head for home.


To my surprise, a bus buddy--that's what I call people I've struck up an accquaintance with, mostly on the ride home--got on at SW 5th and Washington. She'd been downtown shopping at Macy's and told me all about it. As we looked out the front of the bus when it stopped at Broadway, three more Santas crossed in front of us, going north. "What's with these Santas all over today?" she asked. Shocked that she'd seen Santas, too, I explained my chance encounters to her. We couldn't come up with an answer to our mystery.

We got off the bus, wished each other "Happy Birthday"--hers is next Tuesday, mine is Wednesday--and I continued on into Walgreens to empty my memory cards onto photo CDs. I shopped while the machine worked and overheard a very tall woman talking on her cell phone while looking a reindeer headbands with little blinking Christmas lights. Evidently she was about to join friends who had been in a pub crawl since noon, and she wanted to wear something funny and/or entertaining. I tucked that bit of information away in my mind.

Once I got home, I downloaded photos, put those other Morrison Bridge photos on the blog, then started reading comments on my blog and looking at those blogs. I came across a new one, Nicole, at The Path of a Modern Goddess. In exploring her posts, I discovered that she and her husband had met at a Santa Claus pub crawl--the light bulb atop my head came on!

Could that be the explanation? I couldn't find anything on a quick search of Google, so I stopped thinking about the Santas until tonight when I started working on my blog. I typed in more specific info on Google, and I found out that there indeed had been a Santa event of sorts in Portland yesterday, beginning at noon, complete with a set of instructions and a map. You can read about it here, but be forewarned, it is NOT meant to be a warm and fuzzy holiday event.

Still and all, I'm glad to have an explanation for those random Santa sightings. And I'm planning to be at this year's tuba concert--Tuba Christmas--weather permitting, at Pioneer Courthouse Square on Dec. 15; maybe I'll see a second wave of Santas.

Oops! I almost forgot the Burnside Bridge!

When I said come back today for the Steel Bridge, I got ahead of myself going north. I jumped right over the Burnside Bridge. I took this photo from the west side of the Willamette River, looking south. I took these photos on Saturday, Dec. 8, while out and about.




Wikipedia: The Burnside Bridge is a bascule bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. The bridge opened on May 28, 1926 at a final cost of $4.5 million (including approaches). It is the only Willamette River bridge in Portland that was designed with input from an architect. This led to the Italian Renaissance towers and decorative metal railing. ... Electric streetcar tracks were removed in the 1940s. In 1995 one of the six lanes was removed to accommodate new bicycle lanes. From March until November of 2002 the bridge went through a $2.1 million seismic retrofit, making it the first bridge operated by Multnomah County to receive earthquake protection. The bridge is currently under construction in order to replace the deck. The electric streetcar tracks, removed in the 1940s, are now visible again. This project is budgeted at $9 million and scheduled to be complete in late 2007.

The Burnside Bridge renovation was the subject of my first CDPB post on Sept. 1, 2007.



While lowered this span is normally 64 ft (20 m) above the river. The deck is made of concrete, which factors in it being one of the heaviest bascule bridges in the United States. The counterweights, housed inside the two piers, weigh 1,700 tons. The lifting is normally controlled by the Hawthorne Bridge operator, but an operator mans the west tower during high river levels.


Here's another tour boat, the Portland Spirit, cruising beneath the Burnside Bridge. Read all about it here.


I've been seeing seagulls in Portland since October, 2006. Maybe it was because when we moved to the Northwest Hills, I had to cross the river twice a day to get to work.

Looking south at the Morrison Bridge, et al

Today dawned clear and cold, perfect December photo weather for the Pacific Northwest. After finishing two errands, I went lookin' for bridges. First for you, the Morrison Bridge from Tom McCall Waterfront Park.


The Crystal Dolphin sets sail on the Willamette River from the east bank, between the Hawthorne and Marquam Bridges. Here it glides beneath the Morrison Bridge. You can read all about this yacht-for-rent here. In the background above the yacht, that's the Marquam Bridge curving down as it finishes crossing the river from west to east. This view further reinforces my hope to never have to drive or ride, to tell you the truth, over the top of that bridge.



In this close-up shot of the Morrison, you can see Hawthorne and Marquam Bridges in the distance.



Just before I crossed Naito Parkway to head for the bus stop and a homeward bound 15 bus, I took this photo.



Standing at the bus stop at SW 3rd Avenue and SW Washington, I took this photo looking back towards the Morrison Bridge. You can see the bridge splits and the westward bound three lanes come off on SW Washington at SW 2nd Avenue.

Can you see what looks like green traffic signal lights on the bridge, near the control towers? That's not an ordinary traffic signal--it turns red when the bascule bridge has to open for river traffic. Remember the photo of the open bridge, on the Dec. 7 post? I'm guessing that if the bridge had been raised when I took this photo that the control tower on the left would have been hidden from view by the bridge deck.

Please come back tomorrow for Portland's Steel Bridge.