I have no idea about your local politics and don’t want to judge anything in that matter. I hate when European treat the US as a whole by only going to New York or Florida. I traveled quite a lot in your country with 3 big road trips (1. Atlanta - Nashville - Houston - Vegas - Portland. 2. Denver - Yellowstone - Portland - San Francisco. 3 LA - the big touristic parks in Arizona and Utah). I came three times to Portland: 2010, 2018 and 2025. The last time was really shocking to see the downfall in the downtown area. As you see better than I do on a daily basis, I was able to have a different timeline on the city. After 2010 and 2018, I was really looking forward to the next trip. Now it’s not the same vibe. I haven’t felt terribly unsafe but it didn’t felt as nice and welcoming as i felt before. This time my long time girlfriend was with me. For 12 years I spoke to her about this city and the nice atmosphere i felt when being there. It changed a lot and I hope it will reverse in the future. To say the least she was a bit disappointed after our 5 days here. I still had a good time in overall but as tourists who are used to high pricing (as a Swiss I can say a few things about expensive prices) we were able to avoid most of the bad aspects of tents, drug addicts etc. But the willing to come back feeling is not there at the moment. By the way the best part was living in yourt 12 miles from downtown at the Powell Butte with the nature all around and the farm animals. If relatives want somewhere to stay when visiting you this is the place.
Kind of like Camelot. 2010 was the beginning of King Arthurs (Barack Obama) reign. In 2018 the dark times were still at bay. In 2025 we are truly looking for the holy grail. Percival is still on his quest.
Perhaps that you've been in Portland in the past worked against you. I have been doing walks all around central Portland this summer and there are so many new things (and old) to check out which maybe you weren't aware of. The food cart pods, for one thing, have really upped their game. When they first started out there might be a bench to sit on. Then it was a covered bench. Now you can expect multiple covered seating areas, regular bathrooms, a bar, and of course a lot of food choices. For example the pod where Matt's BBQ Tacos is located. They have two bathrooms , a water filling station, 3 seating areas and a nice bar out front on 50th avenue. For me going there for the first time was kind of a shock, in a good way. Like, why haven't I been here before? The Wonderlove food carts in inner SE Portland have a 3-floor bar (bar on the 1st floor, nice lounge on the 2nd, and rooftop seating on the 3rd) a stage, a basketball hoop and cornhole. And of course lots of food choices.
The timing on that building was really unfortunate; as I recall it was going to be purchased by the Roller Derby league in 2020 so they wouldn’t have to rent Oaks Park anymore. But then COVID hit and the building was suddenly a target for people with a lot of time on their hands. Now it’s got no real value even as a location. Maybe after they finish working on the east west street there (I think they’re turning it from four lanes to three in the same way they did with Hawthorne) it’ll be an enticing enough site to build on but that building is done as far as the structure goes.
I think I saw something on the local news in Portland that the building was just about to be auctioned, and that the building is so solidly built that they expect it to be renovated, not torn down. barfo
That’s right down the hill from us. I had heard, that it was sold and ready to be turned into housing and businesses underneath like the building across the street. Then Covid hit!
I believe it was auctioned off recently. While completely gutted, the inside did look super solidly built. No need for a tear down on it for sure
I used to do manufacturing for Intel. For about 15 years. They are terrible. Such a disorganized and inefficient mess.
