UPDATE and the credit union building next to my morning commute bus shelter, current photos and vintage photos--enjoy!

UPDATE: Friday and I made it through all five days of half time work and only needed that one 15 minute nap yesterday. I am so proud of that. Plus, I didn't need a nap after work until today when I got home, but, then, I often needed a nap on Fridays after work, something about the end of the week--it's finally here--I can rest now. I have not overdone it at all, y'all. Thanks for your prayers, love and concern.



Here's a photo of my morning bus shelter, the one TriMet locates as at NE Sandy Blvd. and NE 20th Avenue which is the cross street you don't see in this photo that I took last November. I love the look of this sunny morning! Plus, I wanted you to get a look at the credit union building prior to its recent remodel.



In contrast, here's the building after the remodel. I took this photo on Tuesday. I like how it turned out looking modern and together.There are more windows than I expected--I'll bet the employees are glad of that.



I do miss the plants that used to be in this planter, though. Right now this is flat out boring.



Here's a look across the boring planter and along the front of the building. You get an idea of what I meant when I said more windows. I've even seen people sitting in those yellow chairs--I think they are customer chairs in front of a credit union employee's desk.




Finally, two vintage photos. This one is actually a photo of a photo that I took so that you could see the building that used to occupy the eastern most part of where the credit union building used to stand. Absolutely would love to have seen it, up close and personal!



The other vintage photo allows you to see NE 20th crossing NE Sandy Blvd. where the man is working on the traffic island. The Richfield service station is about where the credit union parking lot is today. Just to the right of the Richfield sign is the giant shoe building. That building with all of the windows still stands today--it's home to KATU TV Channel 2, the local ABC affiliate. I think the current day bus shelter is located right in front of the service station building with the windows. I love this vintage photo--well, both of them, to tell you the truth!

A. E. Doyle's Bank of California Building, No. 6

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Looking northeast at the end of the lobby, in a photo that I took on October 25, 2012. Thankfully, the arches are still there. Look at the photo below for a comparison.
 

Looking northeast at the end of the lobby, in a photo taken in 1925, on opening day.

Picture yourself entering this huge, open lobby. Which setting would have overtaken your senses? OK, I know the photo at the top leaves a bit to the imagination since I couldn't get such a wide view, and there is a piece of equipment sitting on the floor. Even if I had been able to see it all and could have provided you with a better comparison, would that have made a difference? Not to me. I'd still have to vote for the breath-taking view in the vintage photo. And I still wonder how the sun-filled lobby smelled with all of those bouquets on site.




Here's the lobby as it was when the application was made, in a photo taken in 1977 or 1978. Durham and Bates would have been the occupant at that time. The gorgeous glass and what looks to be marble shape on the left side of the photo is the entrance portico situated on the west side of the lobby. The back of this photo says: Interior view of Old Bank of California Building looking Northeast in former banking lobby, now office space, showing extended mezzanine. 

Here's information about the building's interior from the paperwork turned in to the National Register of Historic Places: The building's main floor, originally the banking lobby, tellers' cages, and office platform, was designed as a grand two-story room with a handsome ornate coffered beam ceiling.The east wall has blind arches which echo the window forms of the west wall and, as with other Renaissance forms, are carried out in fine detail. As on the exterior, the interior finishes demonstrate the skill which had developed in the fabrication of imitation materials at the time of construction. Interior surfaces are almost entirely cast materials--an integrally colored plaster, formed to look like travertine marble. Only the Escollette marble vestibule, marble floor of the banking lobby, and the tellers' counters, which have been removed, are of genuine materials. The floor incorporates three kinds of marble--Hungarian Red, Taverne Le Pink Tennessee, and Jaune Nile. At some subsequent time, the colored "travertine" plaster was painted a rather yellowish color. During the recent remodeling, it was repainted to a beige tint more akin to the original color. 

In adapting the former banking room for use as office space, the original 16' wide mezzanine along the north wall was extended south against the east wall to the south wall. An additional free-standing stair was added to connect the new mezzanine to the main floor. Architects for the renovation--Fletcher, Finch, Far and Associates--designed all partitions, railings, and other added forms in a contemporary style in order to strongly contrast with the original building forms. This was further carried out by the selection of contrasting colors for the new design elements, with no attempt being made to copy the renaissance colors and forms of the original design.