Clues that he's in a hurry.

Clue #1--he's jay-walking, on busy downtown SW 6th Avenue, the northbound leg of the Transit Mall. These blocks are only 200 feet long, y'all. I cannot imagine why would he take such a chance. But, there he goes, angling across all designated lanes--those for private-owner vehicles, TriMet MAX Light Rail trains, and buses from TriMet and C-TRAN (the Clark County Washington public transportation agency).



Clue #2--he's barely letting his feet stay on the pavement, striding out with purpose, using his arms efficiently despite the heavy-looking duffle bag in his right hand.



Clue #3--he's changing direction just enough now to make me certain that he's going to go west on SW Taylor. That bus, the #199, 99th St. Express, is a C-TRAN bus.



Clue #4--he's appears to confirm what I had guessed, going west on SW Taylor, towards wherever his bicycle waits patiently. Why do I think he continued left instead of crossing the Taylor and going south? Especially with the crossing signal on red? I don't know. He certainly had not paid any attention to other traffic signals in the time it took for him to jay-walk.

I wonder. Is this is a daily routine for this man, to throw caution to the wind after taking the time to don his bike helmet and shoes, secure his pants legs, throw his backpack onto his back, grab his duffle bag with his right hand, and his bicycle gloves with his left? I'm glad that his yellow sweater grabbed my attention so that I could get these four quick photos after work on April 2, 2014, as I waited for my second of the two buses I take on my homebound commute. The time on each photo is 5:17 p.m. I thoroughly enjoy my Nikon D5100, DSLR. Yes, I do.

A. E. Doyle's Bank of California Building, No. 2

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Standing at the front door, I took this first photo after I got off the bus. Excited to see something inside, anything at all--I'd never been able to see anything through the doors. So, these light fixtures and what look to me like maybe bank teller stations tickled me, big time. 

Next I walked to the south end of the building to look in the first window there, after I walked around the corner onto SW Stark. I like the perspective of this view which shows those light fixtures and the counter as seen through part of the brass metalwork along the bottom of the arched window. The juxtaposition of the light fixtures with each other intrigued me. 

Curious and still not satisfied that I'd seen all I could see, I moved a step or two and took one more photo through the metalwork on the window--this one. I believe I saved the best for last. Look at that curved counter! The metal supports of the light fixtures! Well, it looks like metal to me. And you can tell that someone's been in there and left a chair and a piece of equipment. Left the lights on, too, thanks be to the architecture-lovin'-gods!

A vintage photo of the building--on the back it says "View looking Northeast at the corner of 6th Avenue and Stark Street showing Old Bank of California Building." and "Bank of California Building (Old), 330 SW Sixth Avenue, Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon, 3 of 8, Curtis Finch photo 1977. West and south elevations. Fletcher, Finch, Farr & Associates, 920 SW Thirteenth Avenue, Portland, OR 97205." From the National Register of Historic Places application for the Bank of California--I could not find the photos online anywhere except in the PDF, so I took photos of the photos with my camera because the thought of not being able to share them with you saddens me immensely. Please do not copy and paste this photo. Thank you. Oh, by the way, notice that curved-topped structure at the right corner of the building--that's what all of the mass transit stops used to look like downtown, on the Transit Mall. I miss them and their shape immensely.

Waiting, with Loyalty, #2

I noticed just this much visible of the waiting dog. I couldn't resist taking a photo of what I felt represented a fine slice of life. I love how the dog could care less about that nearby orange and red fire hydrant.


A few minutes later, the dog's man came out and they walked north on SW 6th Avenue, downtown Portland.

About the Green Line MAX public art on the Transit Mall which you can see most of there between the woman with the red bag and the man with the black backpack:

Continuation, 2009
ARTIST
Michihiro Kosuge
LOCATION
On 6th Avenue, between Columbia and Clay streets
DESCRIPTION
With the five sculptures that make up Continuation, Michihiro Kosuge reused red granite from an earlier sculpture and fountain installation on the Portland Mall. To create relationships between the sculptures while allowing each one to stand on its own, the artist sculpted pieces with interconnecting visual elements that include repetition, tension and stability.

A. E. Doyle's Bank of California Building, 1924

On the corner of SW 6th and SW Stark, stands another of my favorite downtown Portland buildings. I'm partial to Portland's prolific architect of yesteryear, A. E. Doyle.




Huge windows. Tiny pedestrians, in relation to the huge windows. Notice the public art? It's part of the Transit Mall's collection.




Notice the Benson bubbler, to the right between the public art and the tree?



The Z marks the transit stop near that corner.




You'll see this same intricate light fixture on a different Doyle building.

From Wikipedia, but I need to add that the sign on the building is not for The Bidwell & Company. It says Three Kings. I couldn't find anything about Three Kings, Portland, at that address. Anyone know anything?

The Bank of California Building or also The Bidwell & Company Building, is a historic two-story building in downtown Portland, Oregon. Since 1978, it has been on the National Register of Historic Places. The building is currently vacant.

This location was the site of the first Portland Central Library, which moved to its present site in the early 1920s. The Bank of California saw the lot as fit to build a Portland branch and hired local notable architect A.E. Doyle to design it. Doyle's chief designer Charles K. Green had traveled abroad to study Greco-roman architectural forms in the 1910s. The result of his research resulted in three Italianate buildings, of which the Bank of California Building was the first. The others were the Chicago/Italianate Pacific Building and the Public Service Building, an early skyscraper. The exterior lights on the Public Services Building are of the same design of those on the Bank of California Building.

The Bank of California remained at this site for 50 years until moving a couple of blocks west to the Union Bank of California Tower. The building underwent an intensive renovation in 2000.

Public Art on the Portland Mall

The renovated transit mall downtown includes lots of sculpture, some new, some that was there before the renovation. I've been taking photos of some of it, as I come upon it while walking either on SW 5th or SW 6th Avenues.

This is part of the original collection. I took the photo on June 22, 2009, thus the bright sunshine and the green leaves on the trees.

Located on SW 5th, between SW Ash and SW Pine, "Untitled," by John Killmaster, 1977. It is made from Cor-ten steel and porcelain enamel.