Sun rise and public art at my work building.

One January morning I walked my usual route from the bus shelter across the street, up to the corner to await the walk traffic signal, crossed and walked toward the building's entrance. Then, I say this lovely sight.



Here's the reason for the rosy glow on the brass panel and the brick wall.



This is the same bronze panel, photographed from across the street on February 20, 2009, during another swell sun rise.



Here's the reason for the golden light on the panel--I took this photo four minutes before as the bus headed across the Hawthorne Bridge towards my work building.

Read about the public art at my work building when you click here.

Icy sidewalks have kept me from taking a walk today, so far.

I stood at the edge of the side entrance to my building and took these two photos. Looking west on the left, looking east on the right. I combined them into a collage at PicMonkey.

Here's an emergency alert that arrived on my iPhone three hours ago: Portland strongly urges all residents to stay indoors today & not travel due to ice. I think that is a great idea after realizing that my big ol' self didn't cause a dent in the ice-covered snow on my sidewalk. However, it it gets above freezing, I may put on my polka dot rubber boots with the YakTrax attached and go out to take a few photos. We'll see. Now I'm going to post this and take a nap in the recliner.

Seen Downtown, No. 3

Setting sun accents the Salvation Army building on the corner of West Burnside and SW 2nd Avenue. Down the street, it hits the top floor of the New Market Block, too. I was downtown for an after-work artist talk about the public art installed as part of the Portland Streetcar Central Line outside my workplace. Couldn't resist taking some photos.
 

HDR-altered at PicMonkey. Fun to fool with photos, now and then.

B after B after B, Saturday a week ago. Killer Burger on NE Sandy Boulevard at NE 47th

Barq's Root Beer, one fine fountain drink.


Basketball, NCAA basketball, on the TV at the back of the room, sound turned off. Blues blaring, down home blues blaring from the restaurant's speakers. As I ordered at the counter, I mentioned to the young woman taking my order, "Blues, basketball, and burgers. It doesn't get any better." She chuckled and agreed.


Bun, burger, bacon. I forgot to ask that there be no cheese on my Classic Burger, so I ate it--I'm OK if I only eat cheese once in a blue moon. I have two B words for the fries--bountiful and best.


Bites. Burger on bun with bacon going bye-bye, along with cheese, lettuce, tomato and grilled onions. I did remember to ask that there be no Smokey House Sauce and pickle on my Classic Burger.


Busy, busy at the building which houses Killer Burger on the southwest corner of the intersection.


Bus home, the 12 Barbur/Sandy. I left with a bellyful of Bs.

Seen on the Walk to Work, September 30, 2011

A new, modern building on the corner of SE 6th Avenue and East Burnside. I cannot explain why, but it appeals to me, so much so that I always look up when I walk or ride by (if I'm on the correct side of the bus to able to see it out of the window). As near as I can tell, businesses occupy or will occupy all of the space.

Here are three versions of much the same cropped photo. This one is merely cropped at Picnik. The grays and rectangles are a gray flannel suit. The windows are the shiny tie paired with it by a stylist with personal flair.


This one is cropped and altered for clarity at Picnik. Clarity makes the grays pop which brings into greater focus the architectural details--those various rectangular shapes extended from the main structure. I don't know architectural terms, sorry.


This is the second photo, further enhanced with the HDR-ish special effect at Picnik. This version is just plain fun to me. Moving the Strength slider and the Radius slider, I came up with this combo which I like, mostly because of the glowing on the gray rectangles and the details become better visible in the clouds.

How do you like the looks of the Bit-o-Honey Building?

When I first saw the golden sections on this high rise, I immediately thought of a candy from my childhood, Bit-O-Honey. Those of you familiar with the candy can see why, I'm sure. Actually the building is The Casey, a condo tower. Online I found that there are 61 living spaces in the 16-story building, averaging 2100 square feet and starting at $600,000. Outta my league, mine and Mama's.

Here's what I found at Wikipedia: Bit-O-Honey first appeared in 1924 and was made by the Schutter-Johnson Company of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Bit-O-Honey was a new kind of candy bar consisting of six pieces of candy wrapped in wax paper and then packaged in a wrapper. The candy consists of almond bits embedded in a honey-flavored taffy which makes for a long-chewing candy. It is possible to purchase the larger, candy bar version, or a bag of smaller, bite-size versions. Between the mid- and late-1970s, a chocolate-flavored version called Bit-O-Chocolate was made, but this product was later dropped. Bit-O-Honey was acquired by the Nestlé Company in 1984, which continues production. Bit-O-Honey is similar in style and packaging (single pieces) to Mary Jane made by Necco.

Here's a bit more about The Casey, found on the World Wide Web:

N.W. 12th and Everett
The Casey is distinctive because it occupies one quarter block, elegantly scaled in comparison to other Pearl projects which occupy half and full blocks. It offers 61 well-appointed residential units, ground floor retail, concierge service and underground parking.

The Casey is a “green building” -- meeting Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) requirements -- and has the 52 LEED points required for a Platinum rating, the highest certification possible. It features an eco-roof, photovoltaic panels for powering common-area spaces, operable windows, and window glazing that keeps out unwanted heat.

Developer : Gerding Edlen

Architect : GBD Architects

Builder: Hoffman Construction